April 9, 2018:  The Middle

I will get to the middle section of a story after I share the good news about BLOOD MONEY. I received the .pdf version and the correction sheet, which according to my editor means it is nearing the last stage before going into production. Whoo hoo! With each revision this story gets stronger, better, and tighter. Yes, it’s hard work, but the benefits will be worth it; and I have to confess that even at this late date, I’m seeing mistakes: a period here, a comma there…a stronger word, and even an entire sentence that needed to be flipped. I cannot stress enough the importance of revision. It’s so important NOT to submit to an editor before the manuscript is ready. If after so many revisions, one tends to STILL miss some boo boos (and it’s almost certain you will), then submitting before the work is ready will almost guarantee rejection. I've even seen a rejection that said, "love the story line, but we feel the manuscript is not ready." If I were a publisher, I’d consider the stronger submissions over all others−no matter how good the plot is. Does it matter that much? You darn tootin’. Revise, revise, and repeat!

As for the Middle section of a story, sometimes this is where I, personally, get off-track. I have been known to chase too far and too long down the rabbit hole on a plot. Readers lose interest, back-story overpowers, and the plot stagnates.

Some questions I ask during this phase include:

•         Are the secondary story lines critical to the overall plot or have I twisted and turned too many times?
•         Do these chapters move the story forward or are they just taking up space?
•         Do my characters grow and evolve or have I created one too many example of their bad behavior or wonderful charity work that leaves the reader falling asleep?
•         Have I built enough tension into the plot that forces the reader to turn the page?

A couple of things to avoid in the middle section are:

•         Lengthy long chapters that repeat the same thing three different ways in order to add to my word count. You only need to tell it once, no matter how interesting it may be. Build off the idea, solve the conundrum, but don’t fall into the trap of retelling the same situation using different words.
•         Floppy, ho-hum middle unable to make good on the mind-blowing first paragraph’s promise of a good read

If the beginning is geared to grab a reader’s interest to make them want more and the ending ties up all the unanswered questions and leaves the reader a better, happier person for having spent time there; then the middle must be the conflict, the shock and awe, the ‘boy I didn’t see that coming’ section. The middle is where your characters live on the edge, every minute cheating death, losing hope and suffering crushing blows at every turn. I also call that Monday.