I saw a twitter post the other day that said a writer wished he knew what happened in the middle of the book. I couldn't agree with him more. I find that I run into one of two problems. Either, I know the beginning and end or only parts somewhere in the middle. It's a rare case when I know what will happen straight through the story. Of course the story is ever evolving and changing and the amazing things tend to take place when you aren't looking.
I have been focusing on Book 1 again and I had the same issue. I knew the beginning and mostly the end, but the middle was rather murky. I decided that I needed to change perspectives and tell some of the middle from a different character's point of view. I had a lot of information that I needed the reader to know, but it would have been a bit draggy if the same characters threw out all this description. I found that when I'm stuck on how to present new info, I should change my character and give the reader a new vantage point. I was also able to let the readers learn a little about a character that would continue on throughout all the books. He was able to guide me through some tricky spots and then hand off to a third character that will be equally important.
So I was writing the big reveal the other day and I was having trouble arranging it so that it made sense. I had all of this information, but it felt like one giant mess. I decided to slow down the pace a little and instead of having huge descriptive paragraphs from one character, I made it more of a conversation so that the information flowed more easily. I ended up cutting and pasting and rearranging the info and allowed my character to process it all before hitting her with something else. I didn't want all of this news to be hurdled at her, but broke it up into understandable chucks and let her drive the conversation. I am much happier with the result.
In short, sometimes you have to allow a story the freedom to grow and develop in a way that feels right. I tried to force the writing a number of times in that section and I hated it each time. This chapter has been weighing on me for months. I tried coming at it from different angles but it wasn't right. I felt so much more relaxed once I had taken my time and let the story unfold rather than jam everything together and give the reader and my character whiplash.
I was having so much fun writing the other day that I wrote a scene that I hoped would make the first book, but in the end I decided that it should really be used in the 2nd book. I love writing something that is fun and cracks you up as you are writing it. I told my son, Thing 1 what I had written, and the King of the One Liners threw out the funniest thing I had heard in awhile. Thing 1 has a tendency to not only have great witty remarks, but the tone in which he says it would break the most serious person. I was driving the car at the time and actually considered pulling over to the side because I was laughing so hard. He's had this ability since he was about 2. The kid is good. It was so awesome that I decided to add it to the scene. This is the kid that was condemn for not having enough creativity to write his own book. (He is currently considering writing a story about dragons, having moved on from vampires.)
I am grateful to have the support of my family so that I can get through the tough middles and impossible endings. Whenever I'm stuck, I can always go to Thing 1 and talk about a monster or an odd problem and get a new perspective. Even if I don't use his idea, I can talk it through with him and find a resolution. Thankfully Thing 1 takes after me and loves vampires, werewolves and zombies. (Actually I have to thank his girlfriend for getting him into horror novels, but still we both have a love of the unexplained, and superheros, and Greek Mythology.) I'm hoping that he doesn't become a serious adult who only watches the news and Masterpiece Theater, though somehow I don't think he will. I'm hoping that one day he can write a book and I can help him with his impossible middles.
I have been focusing on Book 1 again and I had the same issue. I knew the beginning and mostly the end, but the middle was rather murky. I decided that I needed to change perspectives and tell some of the middle from a different character's point of view. I had a lot of information that I needed the reader to know, but it would have been a bit draggy if the same characters threw out all this description. I found that when I'm stuck on how to present new info, I should change my character and give the reader a new vantage point. I was also able to let the readers learn a little about a character that would continue on throughout all the books. He was able to guide me through some tricky spots and then hand off to a third character that will be equally important.
So I was writing the big reveal the other day and I was having trouble arranging it so that it made sense. I had all of this information, but it felt like one giant mess. I decided to slow down the pace a little and instead of having huge descriptive paragraphs from one character, I made it more of a conversation so that the information flowed more easily. I ended up cutting and pasting and rearranging the info and allowed my character to process it all before hitting her with something else. I didn't want all of this news to be hurdled at her, but broke it up into understandable chucks and let her drive the conversation. I am much happier with the result.
In short, sometimes you have to allow a story the freedom to grow and develop in a way that feels right. I tried to force the writing a number of times in that section and I hated it each time. This chapter has been weighing on me for months. I tried coming at it from different angles but it wasn't right. I felt so much more relaxed once I had taken my time and let the story unfold rather than jam everything together and give the reader and my character whiplash.
I was having so much fun writing the other day that I wrote a scene that I hoped would make the first book, but in the end I decided that it should really be used in the 2nd book. I love writing something that is fun and cracks you up as you are writing it. I told my son, Thing 1 what I had written, and the King of the One Liners threw out the funniest thing I had heard in awhile. Thing 1 has a tendency to not only have great witty remarks, but the tone in which he says it would break the most serious person. I was driving the car at the time and actually considered pulling over to the side because I was laughing so hard. He's had this ability since he was about 2. The kid is good. It was so awesome that I decided to add it to the scene. This is the kid that was condemn for not having enough creativity to write his own book. (He is currently considering writing a story about dragons, having moved on from vampires.)
I am grateful to have the support of my family so that I can get through the tough middles and impossible endings. Whenever I'm stuck, I can always go to Thing 1 and talk about a monster or an odd problem and get a new perspective. Even if I don't use his idea, I can talk it through with him and find a resolution. Thankfully Thing 1 takes after me and loves vampires, werewolves and zombies. (Actually I have to thank his girlfriend for getting him into horror novels, but still we both have a love of the unexplained, and superheros, and Greek Mythology.) I'm hoping that he doesn't become a serious adult who only watches the news and Masterpiece Theater, though somehow I don't think he will. I'm hoping that one day he can write a book and I can help him with his impossible middles.
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