Most writers struggle with a messy middle or a saggy (slow) middle. Mine, however ...
... could best be described as a stale one. And I almost didn't realise 🤦♀️
Have you ever bitten into a sandwich or a slice of cake and found the middle (arguably the best and most satisfying part) to be utterly dry?
You smile politely at the person who made it because you don't want to hurt their feelings, but, internally, all you want to do is spit it straight into the bin.
Well, that's what I realised I've been doing to myself with Sanctuary on Severn.
Like many writers, I've spent lot of time pouring my energy into the beginning and ending of the novel while quietly assuming the middle was fine. After all, it has structure. It has conflict. It inroduces new characters. Things happen.
So I never really questioned it.
Oh, how I was humbled when the rose-tinted glasses finally fell off last week. Looking at it with fresh eyes, that's when I realised that, while the middle isn't bad, it is definitely stale.
The bones are there. The structure works and the ideas are solid. But it lacks life - emotion, atmosphere, and connection.
Thankfully, stale bread can be revived in the right circumstances.
So, after making a cup of tea and taking a deep breath, I sat down and ran a diagnostic on the middle of my novel to figure out what it was missing.
The answer wasn't one big change. It requires layers:
- Better and clearer character growth
- More effective set up and development of subplots
- Continuing the rewrite into a limited omniscient POV
- Introducing richer worldbuilding and stronger genre elements
I'm actually excited about it now.
Not because I found another problem (my novel has certainly kept me humble over the years 😂), but because I finally know why the middle isn't working and, more importantly, how to make it stronger.
For now, that's where my editing energy is going, alongside research, as I continue to make Sanctuary on Severn the best novel I can make it.
What has made you put a book down halfway through? Was it a slow middle? Uninteresting characters? Predictable twists? Something else entirely?
Let me know below - I'd love to hear your experiences 🙂
Keep your eyes peeled for more news on my writing here and on my Instagram!
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