I actually love to write the middle. I watch those videos in the hope that understanding the middle helps me to figure out the beginning and the end, which are the parts I dread the most.
@@sarahsander785 I have a video on writing the beginning of your story and am working on another that covers writing endings. Beginnings and ends are also beasts in-and-of themselves!
Shift character or shift plot: I've used a four part plot framework where the mid-point is a plot twist/shift to expand from a reactive plot to a proactive plot. Between each scene there ought to fit either a "therefore" or a "however". Avoid the "and then". Types of plot shifts: Betrayal Introduction Reunion of disparate viewpoints Revelation or mystery Most of these are character based.
The middle is, in my experience, usually the problem with longer stories like epic novels and some such. Writing something shorter with a focused narrative makes it easier. And it's also a problem for beginners who can't get the "word count goals" out of their heads. Like if they want to write an 80k word novel but they only manage a 40k word novella they will start artificially inflating their story in order to get to that goal regardless of how that will effect the quality of the story. I'm definitely guilty of this but have since learned to not write better books but write better stories. Great video, by the way
One of the best channel about writing. As a screenwriter, this is very useful for me. It's cool that you talk about writing using video games as an example. You and Brandon McNulty are the only writing coaches who talk about video games for educational purposes. It's very important for me because video games inspired me to become a screenwriter, especially Life Is Strange 1. Would you like to make a video about this topic: What can video games teach writers?
@@alexfromrussia4393 life is strange is a great game! Video games are great places to learn about storytelling, and yes, I do intend to have more games as examples for future videos. I’ll consider your suggestion, and I appreciate the idea!
@@wrestlingwithwords Life is strange has a lot of cheesy dialogues despite of being a great game. I think you can get a lot of materials for your video in case you want to cover it.
Im writing a novella, not a novel, and while the middle is DEF still the hardest part, I think it’s a little less of a problem since the narrative is more streamlined and simple. 🤔
To be honest this is quite interesting I haven’t got to the middle, just started the first chapter today because I finally finished the prologue in my light novel, it’s about human that can literally transform into cat, and well she already discovered she’s born with magic in the first chapter, it’s very similar to Harry Potter but with Warrior Cats twist lol 😂😅
My struggle with the middle is putting too much in it. Currently, I'm making decisions about what belongs in book two or three of my trilogy rather than book one. Too many reveals are too much for a reader to handle in 100k words.
@@5Gburn this is where revisions come into play. Get that story on the page and then go back with the intention of cutting something (the slowest parts… the wondering parts… sub plots…). Be critical!
8:08 "But after he is killed around the middle portion of this story, Paul emerges as our new protagonist." Waaaait... the same is basically true of the New Testament of the Bible. Was this intentional on Herbert's part?
@@storydevice I don’t think this was intentional, or, at least, I don’t think I’ve heard that this was a source of information. However, it is an interesting parallel!
it's important to know what your story is. for instance, in no country for old men the story is two words: 'sheriff retires'. the middle part is the who, what, where, why, when that leads to the sheriff retiring. all sorts of stuff could happen that leads to this; as a storyteller it's your job to justify the primary change/realization that your story is about.
@@_xBrokenxDreamsx_ you are right! This is really important to understand. Knowing what the “log-line” is helps focus your story and when you feel like you’re meandering, referencing back to that sometimes helps with getting back on track. Thank you for the comment and for watching!
My issue with the "middle" isn't the action part, but having character development occure with it. Put simply I find external easy. But, internal to bexa challenge. Agreed about the but and therefore approch. I heard that before from other authors too. One event happen wich results in X, Y, than Z. Adding onto that I always think, "Okay, than how can I make things worse?" Or if I give the characters a win, "How can I turn it on it's head or still not make it the victory they thought it was?" Until the climax and resolution of course. But, even then . . . 😈
@@Dragonmoon1598 the fact that you’re aware of these things and actively trying to facilitate change means you’re on the correct path! The internal change can occur upon points of reflection (which is part of that cause and effect principle). I’d hate to plug another one of my videos, but one way that really creates change is the video I published before this one: “What is the most important part of a story”. That might help you with what you’re asking. Also, thank you for your comment and for watching!
@@wrestlingwithwords To be fair I'm trying to build it into a key plot point in term of theme (civil war) and flow. The early chapters setup up the whys, and the stories conclusion is a direct consequence of the MC going out of his way to fix something that wasn't easy to fix!
@@MrDracoSpirit very cool! Yeah a broken relationship and betrayal could definitely be symbolic of a broke nation and a decided state. I like it a lot!
Hey I got a really good idea and looking to build a team on this idea and pitch it to Netflix I want to ask if you can help me create something awesome
I found today's message a bit confusing. I think pacing should be discussed separately; here it just muddies the waters. I do agree with the concept of misleading the reader, of setting a goal as the climax, when it is not the end of the story. Thus, the initial goal is to reach Rivendell, when the need or highest goal is to destroy the Ring. Tolkien mentions the need to destroy the Ring, but the focus is on reaching safety in Rivendell. Then the goal is safety in numbers, until Gandalf dies and Boromir succumbs. And then the next goal is revealed, reaching Mt Doom, where Frodo succumbs to the Dark Side, leaving no apparent means to the Ring's destruction. All of these are well foreshadowed, for example, in Galadriel resisting the temptation offered by the Ring. The question of pacing and soggy middles distracted from this message, which is the main topic discussed. The title seems to point more towards pacing than planning (creating subsequent goals), but very little was discussed about pacing. I think the message would have been clearer if the directions were first given by asking how the author can sabotage the story by making the stated goal fail. A story can have one goal or a series of them. It is best to have an overriding goal in the case of a series. You could have fun setting up specific goals and allowing viewers to think of their own obstacles, like character A wants to get the attention of character B. What could go wrong? Character A is not who they thought they were. Character A prefers something else, like silence. Character B does something silly. Etc. The second part should discuss how to set the focus on an intermediate goal, while foreshadowing the overriding goal or need. How do you make the subsequent goal a surprise without making it a deus ex machina. That is one way to add tension and excitement. Perry Mason often adds new information. Drake is trailing a suspect and that leads to an unexpected accomplice, or more likely an unexpected and unshakable alibi for the main suspect. The goal seems ever more impossible to reach, whereas in Book 3 of the LoTR, the goal seems very difficult but ever more achievable, until Frodo puts on the Ring. But what both authors do is make the goals clear to the reader. And what literary fiction does is to bury/hide those goals, and esp. the needs. The classics that are taught in English classes are boring and hard to figure out because the important information is not spelled out. With Perry Mason, that sense of satisfaction is palpable because the goal is very, very clear, i.e., clearing the victim of all charges. With Tolkien, readers rejoice with the Ring's destruction and the end of the war, and then often wonder why the scouring of the Shire was tacked on because the growth of the hobbits to 'adulthood' is not spelled out. With Moby Dick, they rejoice that they reached the last page and look for a summary to tell them what they slept through because the few incidents in the story appear to have little to do with the character arc, which is why the student is reading the book. How much a 15-year-old can understand that character arc is a serious question; they just don't have sufficient perspective. I know I didn't. I missed it in the LoTR at that age.
@@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve while this isn’t exactly pacing, pacing is a big part of the middle of your story. Using LotR was more of a general look at when each thing happens and how the reader/viewer seems Frodo’s journey. Thank you for the comment and for watching!
@@wrestlingwithwords Pacing is a big part of the entire story from the first to last sentence. Pacing comes in two forms: events and language, but the former depends in large part on the latter. And I am seeing very little about the latter anywhere. I have realised that I need to go in a different direction to advance. I ordered a mike from Poland and I am going to do analysis videos. What name would you suggest for an analysis of a passage to see how the language and rhetorical elements contribute to the story? Text and textual analyses seem to focus on how many verbs and adverbs a passage contains. A literary analysis focuses on character arcs and the big picture. A style analysis seems closer, but I seem to be broader in scope than that since I want to look at sentence structure, for example, and how sentence structure and elements contribute to the story. Any suggestions?
@@buddybuddybooks I am not sure what you mean. I am guessing you are asking what passages I am considering analysing. I was going to start with my own text so that viewers understand where I am coming from. Use the opening page from James by Everett for the second. Use a generic text from a recogonised publisher, without giving the title and author as I am not interested in embarrassing people, so that anyone who wanted me to comment on their work would be properly cautious and then see where the winds took me, either viewer suggestions or whatever looks interesting.
@@buddybuddybooksProsody in particular, I'd think. A certain rhythm in the prose may lend itself more to a faster or slower pace. For example, rapid-fire dialogue versus dialogue interspersed with dialogue tags, action beats, and narrative. The style of course matters, too.
Why are you stretching your plot thinner? What premises are you holding onto that thinks the "middle" of the story exists at all? I sit to write a novel, I see the intended series of events that happen to the principle characters, how they will change because of those events and how, when the events are finished, and the changes have happened, the end occurs. There's no middle "third," because in my mind the story is not divided into huge large performative acts, but in the manner that life is... intrinsic, relevant moments that HAVE to be there to get the characters to the next relevant moment, step by step. If the story has fifty steps, if it has twenty, if it has 200, it doesn't matter. The process is the same. The length of the book is irrelevant, because satisfying a publisher, in this era when I publish and sell my own books, I only need to please the reader. Your entire premise of story telling is faulty.
@@taoalexis I believe I understand what you’re saying and what your issue is with, but I am not suggesting what you think I am. I am all for untraditional structure and stories. However, (most) readers (usually) are not. I know we blame this on publishers but they do have reader expectations in mind (their goal is to sell after all). Structure does matter and it is good to understand the “rules” so that if you break them you do it with intention and on purpose. I love that you shared your thoughts and are passionate about this. And also, thank you for the comment. I am not trying to tell you how to write your story, only trying to offer suggestions and further points to consider.
If your book has 20 steps, the middle is at 10 steps. If it has 200, the middle is 100. You can say you don't think of having a middle act, but the fact of the matter is, you still will. Whatever is not in the realm of the call to action and inciting incident or the climax or falling action, is the middle. Whatever the character is doing to get from point A to point B is the middle of the story.
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I actually love to write the middle. I watch those videos in the hope that understanding the middle helps me to figure out the beginning and the end, which are the parts I dread the most.
@@sarahsander785 I have a video on writing the beginning of your story and am working on another that covers writing endings. Beginnings and ends are also beasts in-and-of themselves!
I can think up pretty good beginnings, have some idea on how it ends but the middle is a trek through a wasteland
@@Jim_the_Hermit I feel you there! Keep on tracking though! Don’t stop moving my friend…
@@wrestlingwithwordstry to pick the end first, then write to the end
My novel middle is literally about a trek through a wasteland 😂
Shift character or shift plot:
I've used a four part plot framework where the mid-point is a plot twist/shift to expand from a reactive plot to a proactive plot.
Between each scene there ought to fit either a "therefore" or a "however". Avoid the "and then".
Types of plot shifts:
Betrayal
Introduction
Reunion of disparate viewpoints
Revelation or mystery
Most of these are character based.
12:40 "Solved too early" Ha! My characters yank the wheel from me and then floor it. Kind of why I'm here
But and therefore is such good advice. I’ll for sure keep that in mind! Also, the Third Day-hidden gem!
@@cash1833 couldn’t agree more!
The middle is, in my experience, usually the problem with longer stories like epic novels and some such. Writing something shorter with a focused narrative makes it easier.
And it's also a problem for beginners who can't get the "word count goals" out of their heads. Like if they want to write an 80k word novel but they only manage a 40k word novella they will start artificially inflating their story in order to get to that goal regardless of how that will effect the quality of the story. I'm definitely guilty of this but have since learned to not write better books but write better stories.
Great video, by the way
@@simplewrites great points and well said! Thank you for the comments and for watching. I appreciate you!
This was really helpful! I’ve never really struggled with the middle but I like some of the ideas you gave.
@@WriterNumber3950 that’s good to hear! Thank you for watching!
One of the best channel about writing. As a screenwriter, this is very useful for me. It's cool that you talk about writing using video games as an example. You and Brandon McNulty are the only writing coaches who talk about video games for educational purposes. It's very important for me because video games inspired me to become a screenwriter, especially Life Is Strange 1. Would you like to make a video about this topic: What can video games teach writers?
@@alexfromrussia4393 life is strange is a great game! Video games are great places to learn about storytelling, and yes, I do intend to have more games as examples for future videos. I’ll consider your suggestion, and I appreciate the idea!
@@wrestlingwithwords Life is strange has a lot of cheesy dialogues despite of being a great game. I think you can get a lot of materials for your video in case you want to cover it.
Im writing a novella, not a novel, and while the middle is DEF still the hardest part, I think it’s a little less of a problem since the narrative is more streamlined and simple. 🤔
For sure! I don’t usually run into the “slow” or “sticky” middle when I’m working on shower projects. They can be tricky but just in different ways.
I appreciate your advice. Thank you. Happy New Year.
@@kenward1310 same to you! Thank you for your comment and for watching :)
And thank you for the talk
To be honest this is quite interesting I haven’t got to the middle, just started the first chapter today because I finally finished the prologue in my light novel, it’s about human that can literally transform into cat, and well she already discovered she’s born with magic in the first chapter, it’s very similar to Harry Potter but with Warrior Cats twist lol 😂😅
My struggle with the middle is putting too much in it. Currently, I'm making decisions about what belongs in book two or three of my trilogy rather than book one. Too many reveals are too much for a reader to handle in 100k words.
@@5Gburn this is where revisions come into play. Get that story on the page and then go back with the intention of cutting something (the slowest parts… the wondering parts… sub plots…). Be critical!
This channel is a safe haven from the slop that plagues UA-cam
@@StakeFromJateFarm thank you for watching! I’m glad they are helpful to you!
8:08 "But after he is killed around the middle portion of this story, Paul emerges as our new protagonist." Waaaait... the same is basically true of the New Testament of the Bible. Was this intentional on Herbert's part?
@@storydevice I don’t think this was intentional, or, at least, I don’t think I’ve heard that this was a source of information. However, it is an interesting parallel!
it's important to know what your story is. for instance, in no country for old men the story is two words: 'sheriff retires'. the middle part is the who, what, where, why, when that leads to the sheriff retiring. all sorts of stuff could happen that leads to this; as a storyteller it's your job to justify the primary change/realization that your story is about.
@@_xBrokenxDreamsx_ you are right! This is really important to understand. Knowing what the “log-line” is helps focus your story and when you feel like you’re meandering, referencing back to that sometimes helps with getting back on track. Thank you for the comment and for watching!
My issue with the "middle" isn't the action part, but having character development occure with it. Put simply I find external easy. But, internal to bexa challenge. Agreed about the but and therefore approch. I heard that before from other authors too. One event happen wich results in X, Y, than Z. Adding onto that I always think, "Okay, than how can I make things worse?" Or if I give the characters a win, "How can I turn it on it's head or still not make it the victory they thought it was?" Until the climax and resolution of course. But, even then . . . 😈
@@Dragonmoon1598 the fact that you’re aware of these things and actively trying to facilitate change means you’re on the correct path! The internal change can occur upon points of reflection (which is part of that cause and effect principle).
I’d hate to plug another one of my videos, but one way that really creates change is the video I published before this one: “What is the most important part of a story”. That might help you with what you’re asking.
Also, thank you for your comment and for watching!
@wrestlingwithwords I'll take a look at it, thanks. Never feel bad about self-promoting. It goes hand in hand with social media.😁
@@Dragonmoon1598 good point!
I'm just throwing in the good old 'your girlfriend thinks your a trator' plot point in the middle myself!
@@MrDracoSpirit classic! (But actually I do love/hate that haha)
@@wrestlingwithwords To be fair I'm trying to build it into a key plot point in term of theme (civil war) and flow. The early chapters setup up the whys, and the stories conclusion is a direct consequence of the MC going out of his way to fix something that wasn't easy to fix!
@@MrDracoSpirit very cool! Yeah a broken relationship and betrayal could definitely be symbolic of a broke nation and a decided state. I like it a lot!
Hey I got a really good idea and looking to build a team on this idea and pitch it to Netflix I want to ask if you can help me create something awesome
wait, really...? For me, writing the 1st part is kinda the hardest... Hmm
@@MrQuantitySquare then I have a video for you-try checking out my other video on writing the beginning of your story ;)! You might find it helpful!
I found today's message a bit confusing. I think pacing should be discussed separately; here it just muddies the waters.
I do agree with the concept of misleading the reader, of setting a goal as the climax, when it is not the end of the story. Thus, the initial goal is to reach Rivendell, when the need or highest goal is to destroy the Ring. Tolkien mentions the need to destroy the Ring, but the focus is on reaching safety in Rivendell. Then the goal is safety in numbers, until Gandalf dies and Boromir succumbs. And then the next goal is revealed, reaching Mt Doom, where Frodo succumbs to the Dark Side, leaving no apparent means to the Ring's destruction. All of these are well foreshadowed, for example, in Galadriel resisting the temptation offered by the Ring.
The question of pacing and soggy middles distracted from this message, which is the main topic discussed. The title seems to point more towards pacing than planning (creating subsequent goals), but very little was discussed about pacing.
I think the message would have been clearer if the directions were first given by asking how the author can sabotage the story by making the stated goal fail. A story can have one goal or a series of them. It is best to have an overriding goal in the case of a series. You could have fun setting up specific goals and allowing viewers to think of their own obstacles, like character A wants to get the attention of character B. What could go wrong? Character A is not who they thought they were. Character A prefers something else, like silence. Character B does something silly. Etc.
The second part should discuss how to set the focus on an intermediate goal, while foreshadowing the overriding goal or need. How do you make the subsequent goal a surprise without making it a deus ex machina.
That is one way to add tension and excitement. Perry Mason often adds new information. Drake is trailing a suspect and that leads to an unexpected accomplice, or more likely an unexpected and unshakable alibi for the main suspect. The goal seems ever more impossible to reach, whereas in Book 3 of the LoTR, the goal seems very difficult but ever more achievable, until Frodo puts on the Ring.
But what both authors do is make the goals clear to the reader. And what literary fiction does is to bury/hide those goals, and esp. the needs. The classics that are taught in English classes are boring and hard to figure out because the important information is not spelled out. With Perry Mason, that sense of satisfaction is palpable because the goal is very, very clear, i.e., clearing the victim of all charges. With Tolkien, readers rejoice with the Ring's destruction and the end of the war, and then often wonder why the scouring of the Shire was tacked on because the growth of the hobbits to 'adulthood' is not spelled out. With Moby Dick, they rejoice that they reached the last page and look for a summary to tell them what they slept through because the few incidents in the story appear to have little to do with the character arc, which is why the student is reading the book. How much a 15-year-old can understand that character arc is a serious question; they just don't have sufficient perspective. I know I didn't. I missed it in the LoTR at that age.
@@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve while this isn’t exactly pacing, pacing is a big part of the middle of your story. Using LotR was more of a general look at when each thing happens and how the reader/viewer seems Frodo’s journey.
Thank you for the comment and for watching!
@@wrestlingwithwords Pacing is a big part of the entire story from the first to last sentence.
Pacing comes in two forms: events and language, but the former depends in large part on the latter. And I am seeing very little about the latter anywhere.
I have realised that I need to go in a different direction to advance. I ordered a mike from Poland and I am going to do analysis videos. What name would you suggest for an analysis of a passage to see how the language and rhetorical elements contribute to the story? Text and textual analyses seem to focus on how many verbs and adverbs a passage contains. A literary analysis focuses on character arcs and the big picture. A style analysis seems closer, but I seem to be broader in scope than that since I want to look at sentence structure, for example, and how sentence structure and elements contribute to the story. Any suggestions?
@@aSnailCyclopsNamedSteve The prose?
@@buddybuddybooks I am not sure what you mean. I am guessing you are asking what passages I am considering analysing. I was going to start with my own text so that viewers understand where I am coming from. Use the opening page from James by Everett for the second. Use a generic text from a recogonised publisher, without giving the title and author as I am not interested in embarrassing people, so that anyone who wanted me to comment on their work would be properly cautious and then see where the winds took me, either viewer suggestions or whatever looks interesting.
@@buddybuddybooksProsody in particular, I'd think. A certain rhythm in the prose may lend itself more to a faster or slower pace. For example, rapid-fire dialogue versus dialogue interspersed with dialogue tags, action beats, and narrative. The style of course matters, too.
who makes a tent with two poles?
@@wrimore not an effective tent but a good analogy!
Actually most two person tents use two poles 😂. They bend and make an arch cross. Then hooks are used to connect the tarp and tent on the pole.
@ well, there ya go! Two poles = good tent!… but not good for our analogy! 😠
Idiots
He is describing a pup tent. Very simple, effective tent
Saggy middle, surely
Saggy or soggy can be applied!
Why are you stretching your plot thinner? What premises are you holding onto that thinks the "middle" of the story exists at all? I sit to write a novel, I see the intended series of events that happen to the principle characters, how they will change because of those events and how, when the events are finished, and the changes have happened, the end occurs. There's no middle "third," because in my mind the story is not divided into huge large performative acts, but in the manner that life is... intrinsic, relevant moments that HAVE to be there to get the characters to the next relevant moment, step by step. If the story has fifty steps, if it has twenty, if it has 200, it doesn't matter. The process is the same. The length of the book is irrelevant, because satisfying a publisher, in this era when I publish and sell my own books, I only need to please the reader.
Your entire premise of story telling is faulty.
@@taoalexis I believe I understand what you’re saying and what your issue is with, but I am not suggesting what you think I am. I am all for untraditional structure and stories. However, (most) readers (usually) are not.
I know we blame this on publishers but they do have reader expectations in mind (their goal is to sell after all). Structure does matter and it is good to understand the “rules” so that if you break them you do it with intention and on purpose.
I love that you shared your thoughts and are passionate about this. And also, thank you for the comment. I am not trying to tell you how to write your story, only trying to offer suggestions and further points to consider.
If your book has 20 steps, the middle is at 10 steps. If it has 200, the middle is 100.
You can say you don't think of having a middle act, but the fact of the matter is, you still will. Whatever is not in the realm of the call to action and inciting incident or the climax or falling action, is the middle.
Whatever the character is doing to get from point A to point B is the middle of the story.
@@upg5147 well said. And readers expect this structural and narrative progression!
Jesus Christ loves you all✝️❤️🕊️