The juicy middle

[choco]

For quite a few characters, I have an idea or two how to introduce them into my story. What's more, I already see how their stories are going to end. Sometimes, in a soft conclusion or a crazy climax. However, there's the juicy middle that I can't always think about clearly enough to connect the beginning and the end. I've written things, down, taken notes, played around with some ideas. What do you writers do in terms of having to get the middle working out? Is this where some of you use the ROS into play, even if it doesn't always play a major role in their whole story? I'm looking at some bloggers ROS files/posts and I'm trying to think of a way to get a write something about it in my head. I'm all for suggestions or have I pretty much done what all of you have done as well?

[jennifer]

Sometimes I just let whatever happens that needs to happen in order to get the characters to that point in the story. That probably doesn't make any sense, lol!
I guess what I mean is, I try not to stress about some of the finer details until I have too. I think majority of my ideas and plots come quite late to me when writing my story. I don't like to set my ideas or plots in stone, so to speak, because sometimes other things might happen that influence what I originally planned.

[lilymayrose]

I write organically, with no plan - so the middle happens without me even knowing it, and it only becomes the middle when I've reached the end.


That made sense in my head .

[MDPthatsme]

I too have a problem with the middle...the beginning and the end are all part of the "plan" and some specific scenes, but the middle is always a mysterious. I try to mix conflict until I have to tie it together with the end, but as always there are problems or I feel I'm rambling so to another rewrite, right? I guess the juicy middle is what kills my stories.

[hrootbeer]

When I used to try to write fiction (prior to Sims) I always got caught up in the middle. I never did finish anything substantial. I hate middles.

[simslia]

@lily it made sense to me on the page, not just in your head

@hroot: I also hate middles. I know how it begins and I know how it ends, but I think I fear getting too dramatic or losing readers or too detaily in the middle.. so I get blocked.

choco: what I did most recently to evolve a middle was write from a character's POV who wasn't even involved in teh story, just more of a spectator -- to get an idea of what the "middle" looked like from the outside. It really worked for me for this one scene and helped a lot.. just a thought