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In honor of NaNoWriMo, this month Fable and the Verbivore are talking about beginnings, middles, and endings.

Today, we're talking about the midpoint of a story. Middles can be hard to write - keeping the story momentum moving forward and maintaining reader attention as you build to your ending can be a challenge.

In our conversation, we talk about possible ways to think about this middle section and some ideas for how to keep the story growing and changing - and how to avoid it falling into a slump or dragging. We touch on several ways to change up the tempo of the story and include some examples of midpoints from books and film. Here are a few:

The False Victory - A momentary victory that is achieved at great cost. Example: The Hunger Games

The False Defeat - An attempt to reach the goal that fails spectacularly, but lessons are learned which help identify an alternate path. Example: The Martian

A Major Event Happens - A game, ball, celebration, battle, or [insert other major event here] occurs, which promises to be important. It does end up being significant, but often in unexpected ways and spins the story off in a new direction. Example: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

A Shift in Context - An assumed truth is revealed to be wrong or the antagonist shifts from the person we thought to someone else. Example: Coraline

Character Midpoint Collision - The conflict between who a character has been and who they’re attempting to become comes to a head. They take a leap forward, try out their strength, and discover a new skill or strategy. Example: Collateral

We hope you enjoy this episode! Keep reading, writing, and putting your voice out there!

Into the woods,

Fable & The Verbivore