How To Keep People Reading

The Middle Of Your Story Doesn't Have To Be Boring!

So you've made it through the first 'act' of your story. You have an outstanding first chapter, a gripping hook, a mind-blowing Inciting Incident, and a first plot point and pinch point that have your reader on the edge of their seat.

. . . Now what?

We've all heard the horror stories about 'the muddy middle'. Second acts that sag. Midpoints that don't hold up. It doesn't help that this is where your motivation tends to flag anyway. Many times, writers know exactly what's going to happen in the beginning and end of their story, but they have no idea what goes on in between.

I struggled with this for so long. Longer than I'd like to admit.

And after a lot of sleepless nights, stressful NaNoWriMos, and deep research, I found some answers which I now offer you here.

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The Plan

Remember that goal, fear, and misbelief we talked about at the beginning of this series? That fatal trio that drives everything your Main Character does? Yeah, it's still important.

Your MC wants something. But until the Inciting Incident, their fear has kept them from going after it. Now that they're already out of their comfort zone, they realize it's actually less painful to continue after this thing they want (as opposed to crawling back to their comfort zone and forfeiting their heart's desire forever).

An antagonistic force looms in the distance. The MC forms a plan: Do everything I can to get what I want without actually facing my fear. (Usually MC is not consciously aware of their own misbelief or fatal flaw, though it's obvious to everyone around them.)

Terrible plan, right?

But THEY don't think it's a terrible plan. In fact, they think it's the greatest single moment of genius in their life so far. Accomplish Goal; Avoid Fear. Simple, easy, and effective!

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Foreshadowing

I know, I know, we talked about this last week - but the thing about foreshadowing is: You can, and should, sprinkle it throughout the story. You don't have to confine it to one place.

And guess what? It keeps that suspense rolling. It makes your reader ask another question, get an answer (or at least part of one), and experience satisfaction, leading to another question. There is a cycle of mental investment when we read or watch anything, and we as writers can take full advantage of it.

Brain science, baby!

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Lead With Internal Conflict

I can't stress this enough. Internal conflict is everything. It's what drives every single character to do the things they do. MC, side characters, love interest, even the villain - every single one of them has some form of internal conflict: Desire clashing with fear and/or misbelief.

As the story unfolds, your MC's internal conflict should deepen. Let it manipulate their decisions and cloud their judgement. The external events are moving toward a point where your MC will have to face their fear, but that is the last place they want to go - and they'll avoid it at all costs.

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Gear Up for the Plot Twist

The midpoint is just a few chapters away by this time. We'll talk about the plot twist next week, but for now you should do everything you can to put foreshadowing, internal conflict, and the MC's plan all together to lead toward this inevitable game-changer. They don't know it's inevitable, but the reader should be able to see the general direction the story is going in. The MC's plan (still a bad one, btw) is about to send this whole thing downhill.

Why?

Because they still think they can achieve happiness (heart's desire, life goals, etc.) by avoiding their fear rather than facing it.

The reader, however, knows better. Which is what will keep them engaged; they see a monkey wrench in the MC's future, and the need to know how it ends will keep them up well past their bedtime.

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See? The middle of your book doesn't have to be boring! In fact, it can be a nominee for the most suspenseful part of your story.

If you found this helpful, be sure to share it with a friend! And you haven't already subscribed to my email list, the form is right over there on the sidebar. Trust me - you don't want to miss next week's post!

Best of luck to you on your writing journey, mate!

- Lydia