How to Structure the Middle of a Novel | Writing Advice
Вставка
- Опубліковано 21 сер 2017
- When we talk about the middle of a novel, it often seems like we're talking about one continuous lump of time, but the middle of the novel actually has two distinct parts. Understanding and utilizing the differences between these two parts can improve the pacing and help demonstrate your character's growth.
QUERY WORKSHOP: ellenbrockediting.com/2017/08...
TWITTER: / ellenmbrock - Навчання та стиль
Finally, a youtube writing vlog from someone who actually knows what they are doing! Thank you for the amazing advice!
I'm very surprised that these videos don't get more views and more comments. You're such an amazing resource, and your videos cover an immense amount of the direly needed subject matter all novices crave. I should have been leaving comments on all of them, starting a long time ago when I stumbled upon this channel. Keep up the good work. I appreciate all your efforts.
I know, Ellen has always great advice and is very knowledgeable, however I often struggle with watching her videos because she speeks really fast (I'm not a native english speaker) and with a quite high pitched voice. I'm sure that if she slowed down a bit (I sometimes wach her videos at 0,75 speed and they are still kind of fast!) and took some voice lessons to find a bit deeper voice she would have alot more views. However, I'm not picky, I do wach her videos and often her advice helps me in my writing. So I am grateful.
Hard agree
Once I divided my work into 4 chunks instead of 3 it was much easier for me to outline my plot. Thanks for another great video.
I do this for screenwriting and it works beautifully.
This was so helpful! I've never understood why some middles work and others don't. Most of the attention seems to gravitate toward the inciting incident and climax, but the middle is so crucial. Thanks for helping me understand how to improve my own! :)
You slayed me with your true words, I suffer from an inability to write middles. I simmer and used arbitrary conflict. I can only think of beginnings and endings. I googled this video because I realized this.
AHHHH Back when I was rewriting my second draft for my manuscript I would have killed to see your recent videos asking about the novel's middle, AWESOME VIDEO :)
Hey guys! This is the second video specifically focused on writing the middle of the novel. Let me know if you have any questions about the middle for future videos.
If you need more information about the plot points, check out this playlist of my videos on novel structure: ua-cam.com/play/PL30t62w5RC2voj2y5buqhN1SRZ-297z57.html
What are some ways I can write a plot in 5 parts. 2 beginnings, a middle and 2 ends.
the middle will always haunt me. So, I'll definitely be looking forward for another part...
Thanks again Ms Brock, at times like this, it feels like you're the scaffolding for my novel construction. You're a star, and I hope that making these videos serves you as well as it serves the writers who have been lucky enough to find you.
Such a simple trick, yet it really clears the story up! Just thought of something right now!
I'm struggling to plot the middle of my story for Nanowrimo and his helped me SO much! THANK YOU!!!
Yay! I look forward to these videos so much! You have no idea how much they help me, thankyou so much Ellen. :)
I've been loving this novel bootcamp series! So many engaging and important tips for me. I don't really want to write a novel, but I do want to make movies, and I feel like a lot of the tools carry over between mediums of storytelling.
This is an outstanding instructional video, highly informative and practical.
Thanks, Ellen. I am starting my novel's middle. Just watching this, I'm getting ideas for what should happen next.
Thank you for an amazing video!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Energised and subscribed
1:45 - 1st Half of the Middle
Character is fish out of water. They don’t know how to respond to the new situation they’re in. They’re trying different tactics and failing. Succumbing to their character flaws and or their false beliefs.
2:30 - Midpoint
Character gets new information or has a realization that helps them go from reactive to proactive.
2:58 - 2nd Half of the Middle
A lot more success in this section. They’ll overcome some of their flaw and misbeliefs. Conquering their inner problems better.
3:25 - 1st & 2nd half Examples
Nowhere near the middle but it's good to know this stuff early.
Found this super helpful, thank you!
YAY! Its HERE!!! Thank you so much!
THANK YOU, I was really struggling trying to break my story into 3 acts and figure out what happened in each bc it didn't feel right, but I've always been taught to have 3 acts
That is BRILLIANT advice 😍😍😍
Do you think there is usually an event that separates part one from part two of the second act of your story.
I'm thinking that Rue dying and Katniss grieving over this loss was the turning point for her second half of the second act. After this moment she became more proactive and focused on what she was supposed to be doing.
Well, the Joseph Campbell Hero's Journey would classify that as "the Belly of the Beast" phase, when the protagonist is at their lowest in order to motivate them to rise up. Obviously there is going to be a point of transition between the "generally failing" half and the "generally succeeding" half, and I would think it would have to take the form of either the protagonist suffering a particularly devastating loss or the protagonist winning their first, desperate real victory. If the previous losses were due to a character flaw, then that flaw needs to be at least partially overcome for the victory phase to start. The "particularly devastating loss" moment has the power to motivate the protagonist in a way that the previous moments could not. (Would Katniss have pursued Rue's killer so aggressively without her death? I think not.)
The part of Churchill's speech about the battle of El Alamein popped into my head. You know the one - "This is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
I like the "Save the Cat" method of describing the two-part middle, where the first and second half of the middle almost mirror each other.
Why do her advices hit so different and real ???
Excellent!
As ever, great. Thank you.
Could you do a video on how to develop or display multiple protagonists? I think of the Percy Jackson Olympian series where a character view point is changed every chapter, but I am not certain if that's how I want to do it. Also, what's a good way to introduce these characters in a adventure story involving them finding each other? My idea for my story involves one of the main protagonists traveling around the world finding the other protagonists or allies that he needs to figure out his purpose or safe the world or whatever (not fully fleshed out in my head yet). Hope you get this! Great video as always. Take care!
Do you have advice for short story writing? Specifically, does a short story have the same plot structure as a novel? Love your videos! The new background is great!
This just made everything so much clearer. Thank you. Now I can continue with my NaNoWriMoing
Reactive becomes proactive, good advice.
Thank you for this!:)
Wow!
I've been looking at my novel as a 3-act structure. I guess it still can be, but the 2nd act will have a turning point in it.
Or... Next one I write will be 4 acts.
Hi Ellen, thanks for the video.
I was wondering how his applies to detective/mystery novels. I'm trying to wrap my head around how a detective goes from being reactive to proactive, when trying to solve the mystery after the first plot point sounds pretty proactive. Is it all about their commitment and willingness?
Are you coming back soon? I love your videos and I've watched them all... and I'd really like to see more!
I'm coming back in August with a new series! Thanks for your support!
omg yay!
Cool way to view the middle! That's where I am now (the muddle in the middle!) I've got several scenes in mind, but it's hard to get them in the correct order so they accomplish the multiple goals of I have for character development and plot finish lines, in a way that makes sense. It feels like a chess game, juggling several strategies at once and having to get the timing and connections just so! Tips for this? I'm trying to pin my novel to an actual year, so I have actual dates for things, even if not expressly stated. Some scenes link to common holidays or events (fall homecoming game, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.) - is this a good approach to organize, and even trigger events?
thanks!
I've been wanting to mold a story around a group of detectives who have to solve a series of cases in a relatively short amount of time. The ending idea being that all the cases are later revealed to be linked in some way. Is there a good story structure for a novel that might be episodic like this?
Bless you kcksmajsos this is gonna help me so much
So what's the mid-point? The thing that changes the context in the Hunger Games example. Is it the rule change from one victor to two?
In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, then, would the Mid-Point be about where he sees the news about Gringott's Bank, followed by the opening of the 2nd half be right after that with his learning he can fly without instruction? I'm still confused what to write in my middle. Can I have someone who's sick, but the effects turn out to be worse than they thought, which sort of modifies the goal. blah blah Still need to find a cure, just a different cure. ie., still stuck.
House of Leaves has pulled itself out from the shelf. Terrifying.
Not sure why I'm watching this one. I think it's because I'm feeling overwhelmed about this story being so huge that it seems it'll be a series rather than a single story. So my "middle" may be several books long which feels overwhelming. It's the first time I've had a story stick with me that ballooned on me this way. Just sitting down the last few days jotting down my thoughts on the story. Writing out some events to see where the event would go. Which event has enough to really become a major part and what fizzles with deep exploration. Just my thoughts on what all may be in the book are over 100 handwritten pages from only 3 days of asking myself about the scenario and getting to know it. Today I'd planned to take my 100 handwritten pages of bullet points and place them in order in a document on my computer. I have an idea of what storyline could carry the whole 1st book. Luckily my whole story idea is nothing but a worsening cycle of mystery and conflict and opens the door to unlimited conflict that leads to catastrophic inescapable doom...or does it? Lol my poor poor main character, she's in for some serious trouble!
I want to write a series in a setting that's sort of poorly-developed but I have an okay idea of what the first book should involve. I feel like this video gave me some a little bit more structure to the plot of the first book at least. I'm a little worried about the idea of jumping into a full book series set in a world I'm not entirely certain I have certain things pinned down other than a particular fantasy species and some bits of how they work and an idea of what state the world is in.
Under developed bits include how the magic works, whether different types of magic work in particularly different ways, and how or why an individual or group would focus primarily on one type of magic, which is pretty important to the plot of my overarching story as the species I'm quite certain I want to write about would play very heavily in how at least one particular type of magic works.
Maybe magic should work in the form of a witches brew... sort of thing. But that might strain the part about this species' special attributes with regards to being used for these magic purposes. Hrm. The planning continues.
"All these old e books today, that I never had, so much dialogue and the internet, how can anyone say it's difficult. Research is what it takes., and the right Concept."
What about a story with dual protagonists?
"SO? Where do I go to find some of your 'Past Novel Writings? Just a few none connecting pages?"
*holy shit youre right*
Can you talk about how to think like another person? I feel like it's such a mystery to think like someone who does or says or thinks things that I never would. I can understand other points of view, but for example, thinking like an extrovert when I'm more of an introvert. I just want to make sure my characters don't all have the same personality with just varying degrees of seriousness or silliness.
Take psychology & read more psychologically/ politically motivated novels.
Research, get a strong grasp on history, read autobiographies and biographies. Reddit is a good resource because there are tons of threads where people talk about themselves and how they see the world. When I search "reddit [topic of interest]", I often find helpful links. And as far as making sure characters have different personalities, draw from your experiences with other people. Analyze what goes into a personality, such as upbringing, beliefs, and goals. I recommend writing practice scenes that pit characters with opposite personalities against each other. Do they have the same goal but different ideas on how to pursue it? Do they agree on method but not on the goal? Do they hate each other? Why? Add little details about how they act and speak, such as giving them different accents based on where they're from and their position in society. If you really think about the characters as living people and not just masks, you'll start to hammer out unique personalities from broad stereotypes. I hope some of this helps. Good luck!
Agreed. I struggle with this too and I'd love to see a vid on the topic!
I love your videos and advice. But please, from a film student, center yourself!!!
Haha!
Or, she could turn a bit to her left, giving some "face room" on the right side.
Maybe a better background, too, with a key light...
Check out how she did it before:
ua-cam.com/video/ecjaWgKbZg4/v-deo.html
This made me realize my story doesn’t have a first plot point. 😬
What on earth have I stumbled onto.
The last book I read was the hobbit when I was like 13, then I found porn more engaging.
Thanks though. Whoever you are.
Off topic, but can someone tell me what's a generic character, whether or not they're good, and an example of one?
Oh, and great video, like always Ellen!👍
She has some good videos on characters.
Click on her name to go to her channel, then click on "videos" to see 'em all.
There are a few other good UA-cam writing coaches, too. Do a UA-cam search on "writing character" and see what comes up.
I don't get why this video has this few views
I think it is interesting to go to her videos tab and you can look back and see how she has gotten progressively hotter and hotter the longer her hair has gotten. But anyway, really good advice. Breaking it up into 4 chunks instead of 3 will make planning and outlining way easier.
Actually, I liked her shorter, almost pixie hairdo. She still uses it in her thumbnail.
I usually find your advice very useful but this one seems like forcing a framework on all novels. The two parts of middle the way you said it can be done. But also in the middle from the start the character can be active .He is trying, and failing and trying and things just heat up. They don't have to spend 25% of the book getting beaten by other elements before they decided to take action.