Stuck…in the Middle

Dear Maggie,

What’s the hardest part of the book to write?

Stuck in St. Paul

Dear Stuck,

Last week I was invited to a visit a couple of middle school classes to talk about my career as an author, and one of the students asked me this very question! As I’ve now written seven full-length manuscripts and numerous short stories, I can say without a doubt that the middle of the novel is the hardest part for me to write.

Starting a new story is exciting! It’s exhilarating. It’s fun. My creative juices flow, and my fingers skip over the keyboard. In the beginning, the ideas are fresh and the process invigorating. The ending is great too. By the end, hopefully, I’ve woven the threads of my story into a cohesive tapestry, given my characters resolution and my readers satisfaction. By the time I get to the final few chapters, it’s a race to the finish line, and I dream about popping that bottle of champagne in celebration.

But the middle…

With every single project, this is the place I panic. The middle is where my writing stalls out, it feels stale, and I think I’ve lost the plot entirely. I can count on my self-doubt to kick in. The voice in my head wonders why I thought this idea was any good in the first place, everything feels like it’s coming unraveled, and the ending I’d planned suddenly seems stupid.

Experience has shown me that I will get to the other side. The best thing I can do for myself in the sticky middle is to back out of the story for a bit and go back to my notebook. I’ll think through some of the sub-plots and add more detail and life to the second half of the story. Sometimes, I’ll call a writer friend and we’ll hash things out over a glass (or bottle) of wine. Occasionally, I’ll let the story rest for a few days. These tricks of the trade help me sort things out in my mind and get back on track!

Do you have a question for me? Send it to maggie@msmaggieclare.com, and I’ll answer it here on the blog.

In other news…

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