Most of us have been there. You started the story, and wrote at a brisk pace. Things moved along. You have an end goal and possible climactic scene in mind, and know how the Big Bad will be defeated once the protagonists get there.

It’s just, well, like driving east to west from Oklahoma City, OK, to Albuquerque, NM. There are a lot of miles, and they all look the same, aside from the small city in the middle. It’s one thing when a family member starts to ask, “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” It’s another thing when a reader demands to know what the next [insert number of pages] are supposed to do before the good stuff starts again. You have a problem, dear writer.

What doesn’t work? Nonstop action. Both you and the MC will get tired, as well readers. For some kinds of short story, yes, but you still need a lull between gusts, so to speak. Even tight-paced thriller novels take breaks now and then, usually for the main character (MC) to recover from something, or for an info dump and equipment check.

So, what to do with your muddled middle. Well, you might need to step back and consider the small problems you might have on hand and the rising action pattern. You have the start. You have the end, the battle, or confrontation, or baking contest for the prize that will save the protagonist’s business, or to find and defuse the bomb under the Vatican [good luck with that. It’s a maze down there!] What steps does the protagonist need to take to get there?

In my case, problem number one for the MC passes, but leads to adventure Number one. Done and dusted, the MC sees justice done, and all is well, the wrong is righted. Everyone goes home to a big party and settles down for the moment to enjoy the rewards of their labor. Except … something’s not right, something that relates to problem number one and adventure number one. How this gets solved leads to two confrontations, and the final dramatic action. We will not discuss how long it has taken me to find out that middle problem, and work through what comes after and links the initial events to the climax (which needs to be reworked slightly, but that’s coming.)

So, the midpoint of the book is the party, when the MC gets his reward, and shows off and earns more reward. He gets the girl, and settles in for a bit of being as lazy as he can be. Time for some description of his job, what he does to avoid the wants-to-be-villain, and fun stuff like that. It is also a good moment to add a few minor notes to the quiet theme in the background, hinting that trouble’s not over just yet.

Next is a good time to raise the stakes, show what might happen if the MC doesn’t get ready to meet the next challenge. Tension builds, and decisions have to be made, preparations done, then toss the MC back into the action once more.

Think of a lowercase w and capital W— wWW. Each rise and fall leads to a higher rise and fall as the story passes, the cost and risks increase, and the character has to work harder and harder to get to her goal. She made it to the first round of the baking contest, only to find that her chief rival has bought all the cake flour in town, so the protagonist has to adapt her recipes at the last minute. Or someone has stolen or sabotaged her piping bags and tips so that she can’t do the ornate decorations on the contest cake. Somehow she struggles, finds a solution, and wins. Now for the next level of difficulty!

The middle is both a bit of a lull, and a good place to build tension. If you truly hit a wall, write other scenes. That’s what I ended up doing, writing several thousand words of first and second climax, dramatic ending, and then sitting back and saying, “OK, but how do I get here, and what will it take to push the MC to actually do something like this? He’s comfortable, and if things get this bad, he can leave and find a new patron/employer/boss/paycheck. Why should he want to do this?”* Once I sorted that out, I could map out hte middle of the book and start writing.

Oddly enough, I’m also hand-writing several scenes as I do the middle. These are different from what I’m “officially” writing, but will be incorporated into the tale as I get to them. The muse is being obstreperous on this one.

Middles don’t come easily to me. I tend to get to a certain point in every book and wail, “I’ll never get there! I don’t know where to go, or how to get there, and it’s boring, and no one will like it, waaaaaahhhhh.” And then I kick myself in the rump and put said rump in chair and get back to work, and behold, story emerges.

*Have I mentioned that this guy is making me work? I don’t like working.