The Problem of the Middle

Figure out how to start and how to end and you’re left with the middle. This is a problem in anything one writes. The reader is full of drive and energy to read the book at the beginning. But how to keep his or her interest? And your interest. If you get bored, the reader will pick it up right away. You have to do something to liven things up. Enter a new character or Introduce a new story line. Writing a mystery, one should have a main mystery, then little mysteries along the way. Well the middle is a good time to introduce little ones to keep the reader interested.

If you remember the Godfather series, Godfather II introduces the De Niro sequence which livens a sagging narrative. It’s my favorite part. They used the bloody horsehead in the bed to get your attention. That scene could not have happened but it sure set a metaphorical tone. Then there was Godfather III that was made then hardly ever heard from again. So Puzzo/Scorsese didn’t solve the problem of the ending. I understand that they totally redid III but I never saw it.

Another long work which I bailed on was Steven King’s 7-volume Dark Tower saga. It’s the only Steven King which I’ve ever really read any part of. I saw Dead Zone and Misery and the Fog and some others on TV. The Green Mile I watch every time I can. But horror is not my genre. He is a fantastic writer though. I really loved the first Dark Tower volume. The way he blended genres was magical. The bloom was off the rose in the second volume, and I never made it through the third. Each volume was longer and I never felt I was getting to the end.

So you need to do something to freshen up the relationship with your readers, which may get a little stale and they’ll quit.

Next time: Narrative Drive