Every aspect of writing prose offers both challenges and joys. Beginnings: the challenge of deciding where in the story to begin, yet the joy of starting a new project. Endings: the challenge of wrapping up storylines, yet the joy of completing a huge undertaking.
Middles: the challenge of keeping characters moving and readers turning pages, while balancing the premise with new twists, while keeping track of all the facts and details already introduced, while keeping “the end” in mind. Yet the joy of… the joy of… the joy of…
Huh. Just what joy does writing the middle of a project offer?
Often, writers refer to this struggle as the “saggy middle.” But since that suggests other saggy middles (I’m eying my
