Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Help with Middles?

This is topic Help with Middles? in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by shadowynd (Member # 2077) on :

Very well, since someone posted "Help with Endings", and help with beginnings is the staple of F&F, I'll post this one!

I generally have no problem at all with endings. In fact, I find I HAVE to know the ending before I can write a story. I don't mean 'know where the story is going', but know the actual ending: The last sentence, at least, if not the last paragraph, and already have them written out.

My beginnings can always stand work, but F&F is a wonderful tool for that.

Getting from point A to point Z in a novel length work is my problem. Short stories I can handle.

In general I end up with a vague idea of what needs to happen, but it always seems too linear to me. I'm thinking that I have too few ideas with which I am working, that I need to combine one or more additional ideas to weave a richer tapestry, but how does one get those ideas coming?

I usually take my blankness to mean the story just isn't ready to be written yet, and shelve it to await another day. Meanwhile, though, I do keep working on it in my head. Unfortunately that doesn't get anything written on paper... err.. screen!!

Suggestions, oh wise ones?

Susan

Posted by HSO (Member # 2056) on :

I'm waiting for the topic that simply says "Help with everything!"

Right. I don't know a good answer to your question, but what I do is think about my characters' personalities and challenge their core beliefs a bit.

Rough examples: If Bobbi-Sue believes that all men are evil, I'll show her a nice, good man and let her cope with that (or not). If Franky thinks there's no such things as ghosts, I show him a ghost and let him react. Just little things, really, that add color to the character and the story.

Posted by Jules (Member # 1658) on :

Here's a suggestion. If you absolutely have to know the ending you're aiming for, that's fine. I'll accept that there's some kind of psychological benefit from having a target in site.

But... this _might_ be making your stories too predictable. Its the obvious ending, and everything moves towards it. So, write the first half of your story with one ending. Then sit back, read what you've written, and come up with a _new_ ending. At least slightly different from the one before. And change track so that you're heading toward that ending.

Does that make sense?

Posted by Robyn_Hood (Member # 2083) on :

I like Jules suggestion. To build on it, perhaps try writing out several endings beofre you start.

If you want help on plot, Lorien started a thread about it awile ago.

http://www.hatrack.com/forums/writers/forum/Forum1/HTML/001295.html

Also, SiliGurl had a simillar problem. She knew her ending and was mostly through her story but couldn't figure how to get from point "P" to point "Z" (something like that).

http://www.hatrack.com/forums/writers/forum/Forum1/HTML/001308.html

There maybe some things in these threads that could be helpful.

Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :

I have struggled with this too, but I recently came across something that works for me. In my novel, I knew I needed more depth and layers, but I was absolutely clueless until I stopped looking through the protagonist's eyes. When I looked into the antagonist's mind, I saw a whole host of plot thickeners. I realized that he also needed challenges, and would do other things after the primary task I had assigned him. Once I knew what he would do I knew what my protagonist had to do.

Maybe try (in your own mind if that's all it takes, on paper if it needs more) choosing a smallish or seemingly less important character and make them the star of the show for a moment. What would they do? What conflicts would they have? How would those conflicts affect the other characters? Add that back into the mix and maybe that helps your plot.

Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :

You might take a quick browse through the Dramatica theory located here http://www.dramatica.com/community/resources/resources/downloads.html and see if looking at your work from their perspective sparks any ideas.

Posted by GZ (Member # 1374) on :

Middles have been one of my biggest problems too. Middles may well be inherently evil.

What seems to be helping is exactly what you said -- adding more ideas. The more threads I have to try to weave together, the more character reactions and actions I have, and the story starts having some substance to it. It's just thicker, and you have more to work with, which makes the middle start to flesh out, rather than be this nebulus thing that happens before you get to the ending.

Posted by Pyre Dynasty (Member # 1947) on :

Your problem might be what my problem is, I know the ending so I can't wait to get to it. How I cope with it is I do little endings, for instance I think up the ending of the chapter or even the moment, and I get to it. Try thinking of where you are and only worry about where your going when you get close.

Posted by Balthasar (Member # 5399) on :

You can always do what Raymond Carver did--skip the parts you're unsure about just to get the first draft finished. Then you can fill in the gaps--if, indeed, there are any--in your second draft.

Posted by shadowynd (Member # 2077) on :

Bless you all for your suggestions, they certainly ARE helping! (But keep 'em coming, please, I need all the help I can get. *G*)

HSO: Good advice at any point in a story, long, short, or in between! Sounds like a great way to get over the dreaded "writer's block", too.

Jules: I'm always open to a new ending. I don't feel totally tied in to the one that I see initially, but it does seem to help keep me sharply in focus, at least with short stories. With a longer work, though, it's just the huge gap between beginning and ending that was getting me!

I knew where I needed to go, and some highlights in between, but they were too far and too few to really work with. Too much needed to be filled in.

Your "new ending" exercise sounds like a great one for anyone that gets stuck writing part way through, and is something I'll keep in mind.

Robyn_Hood: Thanks, I was following both of those threads as they were being posted. Didn't hurt to look them over again, though!

autumnmuse: I found your suggestion to be particularly helpful to me! I drew a nice hot bath, poured in the nice smelly bubble stuff, brought a few minor characters in with me and... well, I was up until nearly 2 am last night, well past my bed time, making notes on all that I came up with!!

mikemunsil: Haven't had time to read much on that site, but what I did see sounds interesting. I'll definitely check it out more. Thanks for posting!

GZ: Thanks for the laugh!! I think you're right, middles on longer works ARE evil! *G*
Try some of the other suggestions here, these folk are wonderful!

Pyre Dynasty: Brilliant idea!! Since I have no problem with endings, making a series of smaller endings as guide posts along the way may be a technique which will work well for me. I will definitely be trying it!

Balthasar: See my response to Jules, above. What I had was too sketchy even to do a decent first draft!

Thanks, all, and please keep these wonderful suggestions coming! You guys are the greatest! If there was a huggy face or kissy face, I'd hug and kiss you all!

Guess I'll settle for this one:

Susan