Writing Through the Dreaded Middle

How to prevent story stall

When a new writer is tackling an outline, they can usually fill up the first quarter pretty easy, and they have a general idea for how they want things to close, but whatever happens in that barren wasteland called the middle remains an obstacle for them.

Plots tend to slump in this area, as writers are uncertain how they’re supposed to get their character from where they are (generally around the 25-35% marker) to the beginning of the final act (the 75% mark).

In his book “Write Your Novel from the Middle,” James Scott Bell suggests beginning your planning from that location, rather than letting it come up to surprise you later. He likes to think of the middle as a mirror for the character. A point where they stop and look at themselves and ask: Who am I? Who do I want to be? How can I honor what is right?

Then, from that point forward, they are working from a different set of values. Whereas, prior to that point, they weren’t sure who they were or what they really wanted.

This is a good tactic. It’s effective and is true for how the character arc in a book needs to flow. A character begins their journey rather clueless (at least about the particular problem they’re facing), yet as they dive deeper into this issue and learn more, they inevitably come up against the greatest barrier possible—themselves. The midpoint is then a time for them to reflect and is a milestone for the internal change that then allows the conclusion of the story to take place.

All of that is absolutely correct. However, in working with writers, we’ve found this signpost for internal change is not always enough to give them the tools to fill in the rest of the outline. It informs them on the character journey, but not necessarily what scenes need to happen around it or how to put them in the proper order.