Some tips that helped me through the "Saggy Middle" of my book: 1. Instigate conflict. Part of the reason the middle drags is because you've finished all the set-up, and now characters are going through the motions till act three. You feel bored because there's nothing particularly compelling happening. Where are all the antagonists? Is there a way to get them in the same room with your main characters? Get them in proximity/contact with each other. How does A react to seeing B? Start some drama. See what happens. You'll surprise yourself and find yourself itching to write those scenes and those juicy interactions. 2. Let your characters start being proactive - Maybe your characters are just constantly reacting to things being done to them, instead of making any plans or initiative of their own. It gets repetitive. Let the events stem from them being proactive, trying to strike first, based on their fear/motivation. Your character will instantly feel more compelling and interesting to write. 3. Start a Chapter in a fresh Word document - This just has a psychological effect of not making you feel weighed down by what you wrote before. It almost tricks your brain to get some of the high of a new WIP. 4. Set new scenes in interesting locations - Maybe instead of characters talking in a regular room, characters are in an aquarium, or at a waterfall, or a magic diner. What happens in the background? Your brain will be itching to generate things to populate the new setting. Great for fuelling more writing.
I very much have the problem of struggling to stick with a project. When it comes to story writing, I'll get all these ideas in my head, but connecting the dots and fleshing out the story are prominent obstacles. I'll begin writing, and I just want to get from point A to point Z. Having to think about points B through Y that will get me from A to Z is overwhelming and a bit boring. When wanting to write articles or blog posts, I have an idea of what I want, but when I attempt to write, I also find that either I get bored quickly or don't have enough information to get to the end goal.
"Can't Stick to a Project" has always been a matter of NOT having a great concept to start with, for me. Once you realize you have a great core, it's much easier to build it out. Great ideas aren't that common, but when you have them, you can create a lot of material from them. Personally, I think great ideas stem from a combination of a few things. It's when your unique view of the world, and your "artistic side", intersect with subjects that you spend a lot of time with. Or, formulaically, how you view things, plus how you want to change things, plus a setting/genre that you personally enjoy. That combination makes writing on a story, or series, for YEARS fairly easy--even if you take a couple months off, here and there. World building should be fun. Playing with characters inside of that world should be motivating, if you enjoy writing. And once you have a lot of material (world + characters + interactions), you have to weave it together. I also found NaNoWriMo helpful in learning how to "Endurance Run" my ideas--to take the brain-dump of story ideas and turn them into words on the page.
Here in the Philippines, Wattpad has become a very useful medium in getting discovered by publishers and getting published. Before Wattpad, it's either traditional (direct submission to houses; we don't have the agenting system here) or self-pub. I'm currently following (and has become friends with) numerous local authors who found success on the platform. But still, you have to put the work of advertising and marketing yourself as the author and the work. Not to mention that it's still a numbers' game (more reads and follows means higher probability of getting picked up by a publisher). But there are some houses here that opens manual submission of stories from Wattpad. (The author having a story on Wattpad then submitting that particular story to houses vs. Waiting for the author to be seen and noticed by the house.) Such industry is thriving here in the 🇵🇭
Some tips that helped me through the "Saggy Middle" of my book:
1. Instigate conflict. Part of the reason the middle drags is because you've finished all the set-up, and now characters are going through the motions till act three. You feel bored because there's nothing particularly compelling happening.
Where are all the antagonists? Is there a way to get them in the same room with your main characters? Get them in proximity/contact with each other. How does A react to seeing B? Start some drama. See what happens. You'll surprise yourself and find yourself itching to write those scenes and those juicy interactions.
2. Let your characters start being proactive - Maybe your characters are just constantly reacting to things being done to them, instead of making any plans or initiative of their own. It gets repetitive. Let the events stem from them being proactive, trying to strike first, based on their fear/motivation. Your character will instantly feel more compelling and interesting to write.
3. Start a Chapter in a fresh Word document - This just has a psychological effect of not making you feel weighed down by what you wrote before. It almost tricks your brain to get some of the high of a new WIP.
4. Set new scenes in interesting locations - Maybe instead of characters talking in a regular room, characters are in an aquarium, or at a waterfall, or a magic diner. What happens in the background? Your brain will be itching to generate things to populate the new setting. Great for fuelling more writing.
I very much have the problem of struggling to stick with a project. When it comes to story writing, I'll get all these ideas in my head, but connecting the dots and fleshing out the story are prominent obstacles. I'll begin writing, and I just want to get from point A to point Z. Having to think about points B through Y that will get me from A to Z is overwhelming and a bit boring.
When wanting to write articles or blog posts, I have an idea of what I want, but when I attempt to write, I also find that either I get bored quickly or don't have enough information to get to the end goal.
Big same
"Can't Stick to a Project" has always been a matter of NOT having a great concept to start with, for me. Once you realize you have a great core, it's much easier to build it out. Great ideas aren't that common, but when you have them, you can create a lot of material from them. Personally, I think great ideas stem from a combination of a few things. It's when your unique view of the world, and your "artistic side", intersect with subjects that you spend a lot of time with. Or, formulaically, how you view things, plus how you want to change things, plus a setting/genre that you personally enjoy. That combination makes writing on a story, or series, for YEARS fairly easy--even if you take a couple months off, here and there. World building should be fun. Playing with characters inside of that world should be motivating, if you enjoy writing. And once you have a lot of material (world + characters + interactions), you have to weave it together. I also found NaNoWriMo helpful in learning how to "Endurance Run" my ideas--to take the brain-dump of story ideas and turn them into words on the page.
Here in the Philippines, Wattpad has become a very useful medium in getting discovered by publishers and getting published.
Before Wattpad, it's either traditional (direct submission to houses; we don't have the agenting system here) or self-pub.
I'm currently following (and has become friends with) numerous local authors who found success on the platform.
But still, you have to put the work of advertising and marketing yourself as the author and the work. Not to mention that it's still a numbers' game (more reads and follows means higher probability of getting picked up by a publisher). But there are some houses here that opens manual submission of stories from Wattpad. (The author having a story on Wattpad then submitting that particular story to houses vs. Waiting for the author to be seen and noticed by the house.)
Such industry is thriving here in the 🇵🇭
change the image
the old one got more color = more view
simple yet real
keep it real
A good example of a short story that traces the lives of two characters across many years is "Recitatif" by Toni Morrison.
Has her voice always been this strained? I hope she's okay...
I think this is like 30th video she shot that day lol