Tag Archives: middles

Losing interest

February 24, 2013 – 6:24 am

Sooner or later, every writer hits a point where they lose interest in continuing to write a story that isn’t finished yet. This isn’t the same as getting stuck; when a writer is stuck, they want to continue and intend to continue, but can’t seem to do so for one of a variety of reasons. [...]

By pcwrede | Posted in Writing | Also tagged , | Comments (8)

Middles

February 17, 2013 – 6:27 am

Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an ending. That seems like a pretty obvious statement, until you start looking at all the different ways of analyzing stories: the three-act structure, the four-act structure, the five-act structure, the four-acts-plus-teaser structure, linear, nonlinear, parallel running scenes, reverse parallel scenes…the list goes on and on, and [...]

By pcwrede | Posted in Writing | Also tagged , | Comments (6)

Too many, too much

December 4, 2011 – 6:24 am

There’s a problem I’ve noticed cropping up more and more often lately, in the way some authors first develop and then over-develop their plots and subplots, allowing both them and their characters to proliferate beyond the ability of mere mortals to keep track of them all, until the whole edifice starts crumbling under its own [...]

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Obstacles in the Middle

November 20, 2011 – 6:56 am

Last post, Libby said: I’ve been having trouble with that point in a story from the lead-up to the climax to the aftermath… once I hit the part where all the stuff I’ve been alluding to has to APPEAR, things tend to go over too smoothly and much too quickly, and I think it’s ultimately [...]

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Not according to plan

March 19, 2010 – 9:57 am

So I’m working along, facing my third deadline extension, way behind on everything, with lots of vital-or-at-least-urgent non-writing stuff going on. I FINALLY get past the exceedingly sticky argument scene I’ve been poking at for the last two months, and on into the next bit of wandering-around-the-settlements. I’ve done the go-to-dinner-and-whine thing several times, and [...]

By pcwrede | Posted in Writing | Also tagged , , , | Comments (9)