Forum: Author Hangout

I think a lot of writers experience the mushy middle.

Once the conflict of the original premise has been resolved, authors often let their characters drift without advancing the story until they decide to wrap things up.

Tackling the mushy middle can be extremely difficult if an author has written 'darling' scenes and is reluctant to kill them.

AJ

It just sounds like your characters are coming to life—which is usually a good thing—and taking things in directions your outline didn't anticipate.

For me, having the characters act independently (i.e. not strictly following my planned outline) is not just 'good', it's essential. It shows that the characters are actually living, breathing beings, but more importantly, once you've documented who they are, they'll object, walk out and stage a strike (i.e. writer's block) whenever your 'planned events' don't fit the character, keeping you—the author—on the straight and narrow.

But, considering the mushy middle, I've always avoided that by keeping the story's short description, which lists the essential story conflict, and the book's 'theme' (i.e. how the readers should internalize the story) beside me as I write, so that anytime the story starts to get away from me, a quick review will determine whether the new additions enhance or detract from the primary story conflicts. Often, when something does turn mushy, it's because I didn't include the story's theme, which lends weight to the character's actions, making it not just about what they're doing, but about how the reader is expected to respond to it.

Subplots that develop the characters are fine, and can often help the overall pacing, but if it distracts from the main conflict, it gets cut then and there (though I also follow the same rule during the revision phase, if it turns out those subplots don't actually amount to anything).

As for 'mushy' anything, if something doesn't seem to be panning out (usually mid-chapter where the action or dialogue just isn't progressing), that's when I'll decide that I'm on the wrong track and will stop, figure out where the current chapter went off-track, and start again, trying to find a more natural 'mini-conflict' (chapter conflict, that is) that fits the involved characters better, so they're not so uncommitted to the current scene. Generally, if the story isn't flowing, it's your characters tapping you shouldn't and saying 'this just ain't working, buddy!'

"Golf and sex are the only two things you can enjoy without being good at." Maybe it should be golf, sex, and writing.

Seeing as how writing is essentially a popularity contest (i.e. "More people like (buy) my writing than they do yours."), then that certainly affects the outcome. Those who chose the most popular genres will generally receive the greatest successes. In other words, if you want to be successful/popular, then hang out at the most popular kids's table!

Since I don't outline, what helps me is, when an idea for a future chapter comes into my head, I summarize it at the end of my manuscript. When I write the chapter with that idea, I delete the summary. Sometimes I never go forward with the idea and just delete it.

As you already know, our techniques are similar, but rather than writing (and then deleting) each chapter's summary, I construct a story timeline and preserve it, mostly so that I, and my editors, can use it to ensure there are no time conflicts or inconsistencies in the story. However, I'm not always timely in documenting the events of each chapter, often waiting until the chapters are a little closer to being edited.

But we're again consistent with how we deal with foreshadowing, as it's easier to adapt if you write the complete first draft before you start posting, and actually know what's going to happen where in the story. For the most part, as far as I can tell, there's simply less foreshadowing in the traditional 'post it as you write it' SOL stories. There's some, but they're generally centered around the currently unfolding events, rather than preparing readers for future events so they'll understand everything's thinking when it happens.

but rather than writing (and then deleting) each chapter's summary, I construct a story timeline

I didn't mean I wrote a future chapter summary. I write what I think is going to happen in the story. It can span chapters. I deleted it in my WIP since I'm past that part, but for example I might have written:

"He goes to college on the GI Bill. Majors in Journalism and Italian. After college…"

That turned out to be many, many chapters. So I'm thinking ahead of where the story will go. It usually goes there, but sometimes it doesn't.

I didn't mean I wrote a future chapter summary. I write what I think is going to happen in the story. It can span chapters. I deleted it in my WIP since I'm past that part, but for example I might have written:

Thanks, I hadn't gotten that, obviously. In my case, I've always kept the entire story plot in my mind—even while having troubles with my concentration the past couple of years. Like you, I won't know specifically what occurs in each chapter, but once I get into it, I keep the ongoing Timeline document for the details, but I still keep it all in my noggin. I'm not sure why, but it just seems easier to think in terms of the full story, rather than committing it to paper. If it's in my head, then I've got a definite timeframe in which I have to write the story (i.e. before I forget everything!).

My other problem with plotting out chapters, isn't having to add additional chapters—though that occurs—instead it's when my planned chapters aren't as detailed as I'd anticipated, and I end up having to combine the existing chapters. I've done a LOT of that in my last two books, especially.

I still keep it all in my noggin.

I've always had a lousy memory. As I get older it gets worse. I have to write things down to remember them.

I've always had a lousy memory. As I get older it gets worse. I have to write things down to remember them.

I've never figured my memory out. Important things, like birthdates, anniversaries or even names of my own friends and family I can't recall, but I'll recall the most obtuse details from the news (mostly science) and details of TV shows from 20 years ago. Thus the memory I need for daily life is out of my reach, yet as an author, I can recall all sorts of obscure detail whenever I need a story reference. Plots for novels I've read, they disappear within a couple of weeks of reading the bloody books! So, clearly it's not what I consider to be important, or what I need to recall, instead my brain somehow priorities obscurity, considering items I use everyday to be immaterial.

To this day, I can't recall the names or identify my sister, ex-wife and kids unless I recall a photo of them, as I also have NO visual memory at all (which explains I have no memories from before I was 8 or 10!

So, for all you that's sure I have a screw loose, you're definitely correct.

It's part of the Asperger Syndrome spectrum, I know exactly what you are talking about. In general damn smart people but we often don't remember things we don't consider relevant on a subconscious level, even if they are socially relevant. I have to keep a list with names and birth dates in a spreadsheet so I can look up how old they get when Thunderbird signals an upcoming birth date.

Thanks for that reinforcement/confirmation, but it only explains the non-social aspect. But WTF is up with the remembering ever single detail of 20 to 30 year old TV shows? Even I don't give a damn about TV, and I only turn it out to 'cancel' out the distraction when someone else is watching in another room (then, with two competing signals, it essentially because a wash of background noice just like all the conversations in coffee shops).

My fascination with details certainly accounts for my fascination with science (rather than simply doom scrolling the news), but again, that doesn't apply to old Friends reruns. Hell, with each of the recently colorized Dick Van Dyke shows, I knew within the first opening minutes how the episodes played out.

The science and social details play out as a handy reference in stories, but the ancient TV shows? What the damn good is it as I NEVER mention TV shows in my stories!

At the time you must have thought it significant to remember and it got stored in your memory.

I seriously doubt that I ever considered such pablum to be in any way significant. However, a better premise, is that while I can avoid paying attention, actively not listening probably leaves my mind more prone to pay attention to it subliminally, in a way it doesn't when I'm reading an excellent novel. There, I'm paying too much attention for the subconscious to do much of anything.

In the end, if I didn't have to live with other human beings (in the same house, that is), I'd NEVER own a TV at all, but as long as I do, I cope with it as best I can.

Back when remembering phone numbers was still a thing I devised intricate algorithms to describe them

Actually, remembering numbers is fairly easy. Try researching 'memorization hacks'. Basically, they replace the various letters with the basic consonants and then forming words/phrases, which you then associate with the person on the receiving end. I learned all those various tricks when I was young, but unlike useless TV programs, I hardly remember any of it now (I recall the techniques, not the specifics).

I have algorithm to compute birthday of everyone in my family too. It's surprisingly recursive.

That's no surprise. It's been repeatedly demonstrated that, out of 25 random people, two will have the exact same birthday. It doesn't seem logical, but it's a consistent figure.

Or storing stories around the the garden (although that obviously has risk of data loss).

Personally, I always spread my stories over campfires. They may not last any longer, but that's probably why I eventually became an author, the ability to share thoughts/memories/stories.

and non-randomness of birthday distribution reduces that figure

Surely that depends on the type of non-randomness.

AJ

WTF is up with the remembering ever single detail of 20 to 30 year old TV shows?

Depends. How much about every single episode of Star Trek, The Original Series - which is now over FIFTY years old - would you like me to tell you about?

I just can't go that route.

That's what buffers are for. I found out the hard way that having 15 chapters completely written and ready to go if you're going to post a story as you're writing it is the way to go. That's one thing I do like about electronic publishing versus dead tree. You're not waiting two years between books.

That's one thing I do like about electronic publishing versus dead tree. You're not waiting two years between books.

That's not electronics vs. paper, instead that's the Publisher's demands. You've got to check all their boxes and then they've got to line up all the people, etc. In my case, I've been able to keep to a largely 2 books per year schedule for the last 12 years. I'll put out more in some years, less in others, but it typically takes me 6 to 8 months per novel (roughly 20some chapters and anywhere from 50,000 to 280,000 (for my first several books) per chapter).

If you're not relying on others, and don't have to jump through multiple hoops before proceeding, it's not difficult cranking out books relatively rapidly.

But in my case, I keep a similar 7 - 10 chapter buffer when I start feeding chapters to my editors, to ensure I don't leave them hanging. Unfortunately, it never works, as I take a LONG time doing my final edit/revisions!

I just can't go that route. I want to think it through - which really means to write it out - and make sure I've got something I'm good with first.

Everyone keeps talking about 'pansers' and 'plotters' (mostly because the writing media keeps repeating it, IMHO), but I personally think there's a bigger distinction between those who write out the entire first draft before doubling back and revising, as opposed to those write write, revise and edit each chapter as they go, never going back to revise once they've moved on, at least on SOL.