by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells
- Pooh, Rabbit, Owl, Eeyore, Kanga, and Roo are stuck in a hole, while Piglet is outside of the hole.
- Rabbit to Piglet: Go look for something to get us out of here!
- Piglet: [Hiding under a teacup] B-b-b-b-b-b-but-okay. There m-m-m-might be something over by the pack. [Piglet leaves]
- Rabbit sighs: Thank goodness one of us is up there. I was worried we'd be stuck here forever.
- Piglet: I found something! [Returns with a flower] Here!
- Rabbit: What?
- Pooh: Ooh, well, that's a lovely flower, Piglet.
- Piglet: Yeah, I thought so, too.
- Rabbit: Yes, Piglet, it-it's very nice... perennial. But I think we need something longer.
- Piglet: Longer? Of course. How silly of me. [Giggles and leaves again.Returns with a large book]
- Rabbit: Oh, good thought, Piglet. But you can't possibly think that that's long enough.
- Piglet: Oh, yes, it is. Uh, Owl read this to me once and it was certainly the longest thing I've ever heard. [The book falls into the hole and lands on Pooh's head.]
- Pooh: It's true, Rabbit. It lags a bit in the middle.
The messy middle describes that section of the book between the first act, when a writer is fueled with the potential of the story, and the final act when the challenging part is behind as you tie up the loose ends in surprising ways for a satisfying ending.
Generally, a story can be divided into three sections. Act one is the beginning quarter and act three is the final one-fourth. In the middle half, act two of the manuscript, the author
- further develops the characters
- prevents the character we care about from achieving their goal
- intensifies the suspense
- sets up the resolution of act three with an explosive moment that has been building
The middle is the proving ground for the length of a story. If your novel lags in the middle, is the manuscript better suited as a novella, short story, or included in an anthology?
To cure a lagging middle, heighten the suspense. The middle of the story is best characterized by rising action that culminates in the climax. Conflict creates tension and tension supplies suspense.
- Increase the stakes. In Chasing Sunrise, not only is the category 5 Hurricane Hugo bearing down on St. Croix, but killers have come to the island, and a deadly virus is about to be released.
- Put more blocks between the character and the achieving of the character’s goal. In Homeless for the Holidays, the Baker family will lose everything if Jack can’t get a job. When the news channel runs a negative story about Jack, complete with photo, no one in town will hire him.
- Maximize the number of people affected by the character’s success or failure. In The Patent, if Marc Wayne fails to outsmart his kidnapper, World War 3 will begin and America’s enemies will be militarily invincible.
- Create a midpoint reversal. In the film, Fools Gold, the writers brilliantly cause surprising reversals of who is the antagonist and who are on the side of the good guys.
- Give the main character a crisis where they find within themselves the qualities needed to confront the problem. In the Avengers film, Endgame, Tony Stark finds the key to bring back the 50 percent of the world’s population who have disappeared. And the task will probably cost him his life.
- Drop the character into their lowest point where they realize they do not have what is needed to solve the problem. Despite fierce fighting, the Gondorians look like they will lose the great battle to the evil Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. This scenario sets up the main character to be reinforced by the proverbial calvary as when Gandalf and the Riders of Rohan arrive at Helm's Deep to turn the tide of battle.
The middle of the story must grab the reader’s attention or they might put the book down before discovering the exciting ending. Energize the messy middle with action, betrayal, complications, crisis, setbacks, and startling revelations. Compel readers to keep turning pages by giving them reason to care about your character and what happens next.
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