Help, I'm Stuck in the Middle of My Story! Now What?

Developing the middle of a story when you don't know what to write is like getting stuck in quicksand; you're sinking fast and don't know what to do. If this describes where you are now, then you are in good company. 

Anyone who has written an article, an essay, a short story, or a novel knows first-hand what you are going through now.

The middle part of a novel is where writers give up their hope of completing their manuscript because they are not sure how to move the story along and further develop the characters. However, do not give up. Although there are several paths you can take. The following tips may help you to move forward: 

1. Reveal secrets, increase the tension

The middle part of a story is a good place to flesh out the characters of your story by exposing their secrets. Revealing secrets gives your characters a backstory, which allows the reader to see them from a different perspective. 

Let's say for example that you're writing a legal thriller and one of your characters is a successful criminal attorney with a sterling character. One day, this character gets involved in a complicated case and the opposing side reveals that the attorney actually earned his law degree in prison while serving time for an assault and wants to use this information to threaten the attorney and derail a particular case. As a writer, this gives you the opportunity to tell the attorney's life story and how the revelation of his past will affect his life and the lives of those who are connected with him.  

Besides criminal backgrounds, your characters can have other secrets such as extramarital affairs or a terminal illness. If you're writing science fiction or a horror story, you can reveal that some of your characters are zombies or werewolves. 

Exposing deep, dark secrets from the past helps to make one-dimensional characters come to life. It also helps to build tension in the relationships between the characters and their friends, family, or co-workers.

2. Create fallout

What happens after your characters' secrets are revealed? Do they lose their jobs, their marriages, or their lives?  Or do they become zombies? This is where you can really delve into your characters' emotions. Are they angry, embarrassed, or hurt that their secret has been revealed? Do they fear for their lives? What about people in their inner circle? How do they react?  Are their suspicions confirmed? 

Exploring this angle of emotions should create lively dialogue and the possibility of breakups of relationships or in some cases, reunions. Of course, you can resolve the fallout (or not) at the end of your story. 

3. Don't forget the details 

As you're revealing secrets and creating fallout, maximize the events with details and action. Does your character run away? If so, where and how? Is your character hospitalized? If so, describe the emergency room scene. Remember, details, details, details. 

There are many more ways to get "unstuck" if you're in the middle of your story. Once you try a few of these ideas, your story will continue to flow all the way to the end.

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