I’ve arrived at the middle bit of my novel.
Some call it the ‘soggy middle’ and others call it names that probably shouldn’t be shared here.
It’s a murky quagmire where the plot gets gnarly, characters seemingly change names at random or meander aimlessly, like lost tourists on an impromptu city break.
If my beginning is chaotic, then the middle is anarchic. It’s Rik from The Young Ones yelling at Neil for stirring his lentil stew the wrong way, or Vyvyan crashing through the wall in an apoplectic rage.
Right now, I’m awash in a treacherous swamp of ideas, plot and panic. I’m concentrating on writing specific scenes (set pieces?) and will somehow find the glue that binds them together when I write the next draft.
Stephen King says that the middle is where “the story takes over.” I had to think about what he meant by that but he’s got a point. Well, obviously he does because he’s written 43423 novels and I’ve written one memoir and an unofficial book about the Spice Girls, where Wannabe is spelled with two ee’s throughout.
The middle, much like my own menopausal midriff, is bloated, out of control and going in directions I could never anticipate. Flaws, desires and fears are on show. There’s a destination in mind but the route is shrouded in mystery.
I’m trying not to overthink it (she said clearly overthinking it) but thank goodness this book is a comedy. I’d be wailing in despair if this were a serious novel. At least I can enjoy the funnies.
Should the middle be this much of a daunting chasm? This is my first novel and I’m learning as I go, so the question is not simply rhetorical. It helps that I know where all of this ends, so like a jumble of old power cables, I’m just trying to untangle the plot in the hope that I find the through line.
Nobody said this would be easy. If they had, I’d probably want to throw them off the end of Southend Pier.
This is what I am enjoying though (she says grappling for a positive); I really like my characters and the world I’m building. At 30k words and counting I’m getting to know them, so I’m finding it easier to have them do things that not just ramp up the action but that actually make sense. It also feels like I’ve made a slew of (bonkers) new friends and of this, I heartily approve.
So yes, it may be a confused middle and sometimes, I admit, an unnecessarily busy and bloated middle but it’s most definitely not a middling middle.
Have a great week!
Lisa
Fiction is hard -- but a rewarding puzzle in the end~ are you a pantser (sounds like you are) or a plotter?