Thread by @melisscaru

Here's a #WritingCraftMC thread I got a request for a while back: How to fix a soggy middle!

So often we have a great beginning for a book and an exciting ending, and then the middle chapters are just kind of...there?

The good news is that you can absolutely fix that!

The bad news is that it's a lot of work. 😅

BUT HEY! Not being afraid of work is like one of the top 5 key things you need to be a published writer! And structural stuff is always a ton of work to fix and that's totally fine and normal and everyone has to do it. So let's go!

So there are multiple ways to wind up with a soggy middle, and the fix is different depending on what the issue is. I'm going to run down some common issues and suggest fixes for each.

THE ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE STATUS QUO: This is a cmmon one. The line between your beginning and your ending is too direct, without a lot of twists in between, so you wind up kind of stalling out in the middle with the same stuff happening over and over.

A classic example is an oft-used fantasy plot which, uh, I may have indulged in JUST A BIT in my pre-published days:

1. MC gets cool powers
2. MC spends entire middle of book on the run from things trying to kill them due to cool powers
3. MC defeats villain who sent the things

This actually has multiple issues (I'll get to more later), but one is that nothing really changes in the middle. There's no forward progress or devastating setbacks or dramatic unexpected turns to a new direction. We're just spinning our wheels in place.

No matter how exciting the action, that can get dull.

A good fix for this is to reroute your plot to add some exciting twists that fundamentally change the situation! Something that completely changes the goals, stakes, or internal or external conflict.

A great example: Halfway through THE HUNGER GAMES when Peeta confesses he's in love with Katniss. Changes EVERYTHING. Fantastic pivot point.

Think how much less exciting the book would have been if she'd known from the start, or if he'd kept it a secret until the end.

If you're looking at your book going "But I don't have a pivot point like that and to do it right I'd have to change everything so completely," here's a wonderful cheaty fact: You know how your book will end, but your readers don't.

If right now the problem is that your characters start at point A, end at point B, and just kind of mess around in between forever...You can have them THINK at the start that they're going to point C.

Then your big twist happens, and it changes EVERYTHING.

Maybe your character's goals and priorities (yay growth!), maybe what they fundamentally thought was going on (yay plot/cosmology twists!), maybe the stakes (yay escalation!), maybe all of the above.

And now they change course for point B, where your readers will NEVER KNOW you wanted them to wind up all along.

IRRELEVANT SIDE TRIP: This one STILL bites me in the butt all the time. You have this thread that felt integral to the core plot when you were drafting/outlining, but now that you take a closer look, it's a diversion. It doesn't really move plot or character development forward.

Sometimes this comes with an actual trip—a setting change or journey, which are often clunky to handle (I swear, every time I switch locations I feel like I'm docking a garbage barge). Sometimes it's only a side quest in the metaphorical sense.

If you're not sure, a great test for this is to ask yourself "If I cut this section/this side plot/etc, would the story still be fundamentally the same?"

If yes, you've got an irrelevant side trip.

If your wordcount is running high, the easiest solution for this is to cut the side plot. Move any important character moments or info dumps or whatever that happened there to the main thread.

If your wordcount is running low or you really don't want to cut it, ask yourself how to integrate that side trip more meaningfully into the story. Make the side plot more closely related to the core plot, or move some important developments there. Make it matter.

LACK OF AGENCY: Sometimes you can have stuff happening that SHOULD be important and exciting, and your middle STILL feels saggy and you can't pinpoint why (ugh). I check for lack of agency in these cases (and I usually find it, but uh, maybe that's just me).

Agency basically = your main character(s) having an impact on the story. Their choices and actions matter and change things. (It doesn't have to be for the better, heh.)

Without agency, sometimes it can feel like your character isn't DOING anything even when a ton is happening.

I NEVER give my main characters enough agency in first drafts. 😅 I often first think of plot as a series of things that happen TO the MC. Then I have to do major edits to make my MC drive the plot as well as the villain. They both need a hand on the wheel to make it a struggle!

This is another place where it can help to remember that your readers (and characters) don't yet know what will solve the plot in the end. If it's too early for the heroes to succeed, let them try and fail dramatically! Then they can have agency without ending the plot too soon.

Bonus points if this failure leads to relationship and character growth, stakes escalation, increased dramatic tension, and all that good stuff!

(Really, a soggy middle is just RIFE with opportunities to up the tension in your story when you fix it.)

Related to agency: UNCLEAR GOALS OR THROUGH LINE.

It really helps to have your character have something that's driving or pulling them through the story. Something they desperately want to do/achieve/be.

(Ideally, you want external/conscious goals AND internal/unconscious goals. And if they're in conflict with each other, WOOHOO!)

Goals give your character a direction to push the story. They give your readers investment. Without them, you bet your middle will get soggy.

I run into this problem sometimes when goals change in the middle of the book due to shifting circumstances. Make sure you don't leave your characters temporarily goal-less while things are changing, or you can drop your momentum like a rock.

Goals are also part of the larger question of the through line. Basically, one thing that keeps readers invested is when they have things to look forward to (with dread or eagerness—both are good). They keep turning pages to GET TO something. (A revelation, a kiss, a fight, etc.)

Sometimes a middle can feel soggy when you have cool stuff coming up but the reader has absolutely no idea what it might be. If they're not anticipating or dreading anything, they can put the book down.

You have lots of tools to accomplish this anticipation: foreshadowing, watching goals point the MC straight at obstacles, giving readers burning questions they want resolved, relationship tension, etc. Use multiples if you can!

CUT THE FILLER: Sometimes your middle is just soggy because you've got a lot of scenes that don't need to be there dragging it down. Repetitive scenes that can be combined, pointless scenes that can be cut, over-lengthy transitions, unnecessary info dumps, etc.

One thing I tend to be guilty of in early drafts is having the scene where we plan for the thing, the scene where the thing happens, and then the scene where we go "Whoa, that thing sure just happened!"

Don't do this. 😅 (Or more to the point, fix it in edits like I do.)

Sometimes in mid-draft I have this idea that a lot of time needs to pass or wheel-spinny stuff needs to happen between plot points F and G.

But then I stop and ask myself, "What if we just go pretty much straight from F to G?" Sometimes that's the right answer.

All right, speaking of cutting to the chase, this thread is getting pretty long, and I've got stuff I should be doing! So I think I'll leave you there.

I hope this is helpful! And happy editing!!!