Why the Middle Always Feels Uncertain

Narrative Second Acts

Every writer knows the ‘slump’ of the middle. The excitement of the beginning has evaporated, and the resolution of the ending is still a distant, hazy shore. The middle is where stories go to die because the middle is where stories test our patience.

I spent the afternoon looking at my own stalled drafts. I realized that the reason the middle felt flat was because I was holding onto my characters’ secrets for too long. We often think that withholding information creates suspense, but in the middle of a story, it usually just creates stagnation.

If you feel your story is flagging, give a character knowledge they shouldn’t have yet. Break a promise. Burn a bridge. The middle isn’t a bridge between the beginning and the end; it is a series of escalating complications. It is where you find out who your characters truly are by putting them in situations they cannot think their way out of. Don’t play it safe in the middle. That is where the fire should be.

The Monroe Minute Give a character knowledge they shouldn’t yet have. See how it changes the stakes.

Until the next page,
Sloane S. Monroe

Sloane Shay Monroe

I don’t write to idealize love, but to explore it honestly, with emotional precision and depth.