Chuck Wendig says writing the middle of a novel is the hardest part. He calls it the Mushy Middle. Others call it the Sagging Middle. Or even the Middle-of-the-Novel Mud.
Many writers know how to begin their story and how it will end, but what’s supposed to happen in the middle?
PRACTICE
Write a story or scene involving money.
Write for fifteen minutes. When your time is up, post your practice in the comments section, and if you post, please be sure to leave feedback for a few fellow practitioners.
Happy writing!
The stereotype goes that writers are introverts – lonely, secluded souls who spend their days exclusively with their words. As much as this holds true for many, it doesn’t cover the whole bunch. Whereas some need to travel away and shut themselves down in order to focus on the project at hand, others thrive in environments full of people, jotting down their thoughts in cafes and bars.
There is, however, a third category for the luckiest of all – those who strike a balance between these two extremes. They call them ambiverts.
By nature, human beings are creatures of habit. We stick to what we’re good at it and we like to do what we’ve always done.
Habit is defined as “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.’”And habits are hard for us to give up. That’s why it’s so difficult for us to make a major lifestyle change—it breaks us out of our comfort zone.
For writers, though, habit can be particularly detrimental.
Earlier this week, my dad asked me for feedback on a story he wrote. The story is about a father figure who turned out to be something of a con man. Memoir is often boring, but this story was amazing, stranger than fiction.
You could also tell the story was written by an amateur. My dad is a good storyteller, but telling a story to a few people at a party and writing professionally are two very different things.
What’s the difference between pro and amateur writing? How can you write a story as good as any professional writer?
