tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post5671847153875799502..comments2024-03-16T07:27:27.752+00:00Comments on Novel Points of View: Dealing with the sagging middle of a novelRae Cowiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10213969901991611348noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-24681004887432065802012-09-27T19:07:43.701+01:002012-09-27T19:07:43.701+01:00Thanks Gilli - I shall look forward to the birthda...Thanks Gilli - I shall look forward to the birthday party when I get to it. It does sound better than a corpse.Gwen Kirkwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17201272628774727921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-25159144401928977962012-09-25T16:02:20.590+01:002012-09-25T16:02:20.590+01:00Very well put, Gwen. I've heard it said that i...Very well put, Gwen. I've heard it said that if you don't know what happens next, introduce a corpse, or have someone pull a gun! But that only works for a specific genre. I usually suffer from a lack of direction at the beginning of a book more than the middle, but that's not to say it won't happen. I've just checked what happened in the middle of TORN. I had a double birthday, threw a party and introduced some new characters!Gilli Allanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13234069151918319605noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-15329467591729893332012-09-24T14:57:57.797+01:002012-09-24T14:57:57.797+01:00Thank you Gill.Thank you Gill.Gwen Kirkwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17201272628774727921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-70322023789084994072012-09-24T08:38:39.495+01:002012-09-24T08:38:39.495+01:00Not contrived at all but very useful and sensible ...Not contrived at all but very useful and sensible - as ever, Gwen. Thanks for this, and the interesting suggestions from others.Gill Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03139563775181908912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-36580719990625128102012-09-23T18:11:25.452+01:002012-09-23T18:11:25.452+01:00Well Linda and Michelle I may need to try these so...Well Linda and Michelle I may need to try these solutions sometime. Isn't it good to hear the same problems can affect other people, even if it is no consolation at the time.Gwen Kirkwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17201272628774727921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-64604615168005536642012-09-23T18:08:34.968+01:002012-09-23T18:08:34.968+01:00I think this is a good policy for a lot of novels ...I think this is a good policy for a lot of novels and some editors eg Maggie Seed seem to look for it. One of these days I shall try it out. Thanks for reminding me.Gwen Kirkwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17201272628774727921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-24740201712255660952012-09-23T18:06:38.920+01:002012-09-23T18:06:38.920+01:00I don't know who recommended shooting Mary but...I don't know who recommended shooting Mary but I suppose so long as it stays in the WIP...Gwen Kirkwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17201272628774727921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-67643125251569017532012-09-23T11:54:38.804+01:002012-09-23T11:54:38.804+01:00In my latest work in progress when everything stop...In my latest work in progress when everything stopped, him'n'her (as they are affectionately called) were stuck below deck on an historic trawler. So decided a bit of soggy might solve the problem so I chucked her overboard. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16475673950861168697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-62404876055885956662012-09-23T11:19:31.302+01:002012-09-23T11:19:31.302+01:00Most of us get a saggy something. My friend Carole...Most of us get a saggy something. My friend Carole Llewellyn (she writes for Hale)gave us all at our writing group her take on the solution. As she knows the ending of her book, she opens a chapter further on in the timeline she's set herself. She finds, then, that she can go back to the saggy bit where what she now writes is like flashback. I tried it and it worked for me.<br />Linda Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10948518126405880012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-10570659622784273292012-09-23T11:15:26.652+01:002012-09-23T11:15:26.652+01:00You are not alone in your fear of the saggy middle...You are not alone in your fear of the saggy middle - maybe because it's where we are trying to reconcile our start and our ending with one another. I'm a fan of the 'fake happy ending', where everything seems to be working out nicely and then BOOM, everything is thrown back up into the air again, a bit like starting the book over again. Or killing someone...Jane Loveringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15393411255730345765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-84597386565123479742012-09-22T22:59:33.264+01:002012-09-22T22:59:33.264+01:00Really enjoyed this post, Gwen. I must remember wh...Really enjoyed this post, Gwen. I must remember what you said about it taking three times as long to type the page as it does to read it. I hadn't thought about it before but it will be useful to remember when it feels like everything is going too slowly. <br />Wasn't there a writer who said when things seemed to slow down or dip in the middle you should shoot someone? In the WIP, I mean! Mary Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14688996930245857265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-63594728735127588512012-09-22T11:48:59.845+01:002012-09-22T11:48:59.845+01:00Thank you for looking in Joan. I am never sure whe...Thank you for looking in Joan. I am never sure whether I have solved a problem or made another.Gwen Kirkwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17201272628774727921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-43632238641819901022012-09-22T11:23:37.497+01:002012-09-22T11:23:37.497+01:00Gwen, you're not alone. I think many of us exp...Gwen, you're not alone. I think many of us experience the muddle in the middle. Yes, a rape could be a touch drastic, but you seem to have found a way to resolve the problem.Joan Fleminghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09629276914643471249noreply@blogger.com