Let's start again in the middle! Carole Stivers, Christopher Swiedler, and Jennifer Lynn Alvarez on how to get out of that middle mire.
Almost a year ago now, I said I’d take a little pause. It’s been on my mind that this is stretching out to be more than a little. And I wanted to come back to you, to this space between our six hundred heads. Because writing can be lonely. And the difficulty of thinking of yourself as a writer, if you’re not lucky enough to be among writers, is for many the first writer‘s block. Ah, but where to start? What kept me away so long? The middle.
I was in the middle of a novel. Some of you are already groaning in recognition. Why are middles so hard? All of a sudden, the end feels further away than it did when you began. With every scene you write, the resolution recedes before you. And all those scenes begin to lean in like funhouse mirrors. You have no idea what you wrote, and why you wrote it, and why you’re writing because you obviously can’t write!
That’s where I was. So I thought it would be interesting to share the advice I received from a trio of published authors about how to get out of that middle mire.
Jennifer Lynn Alvarez: I call the middle the "muddle". I think a lot of us know our beginnings and endings but the middle is just where "stuff happens." What stuff? The options can feel limitless. When I feel stuck, I ask myself "What's the worst thing that could happen next for this character?" The middle should be where we build tension and develop the characters' arcs. It shouldn't be a place where "stuff happens" to get us to the end. The muddle is where loyalties are tested, friendships are made, and where characters fail until they want to give up at the midpoint. Then they begin to change, to look at their circumstances in new ways, try new things, and begin to succeed toward their goal—perhaps with new allies and a fresh sense of purpose. They need to learn that what they want is not necessarily what they need. All this happens in the "muddle."
Carole Stivers: You're right about that "murky middle"! I often find it easy to write an amazing opening to a new story—if I can't, I have to assume that the story isn't worth telling! And I don't start writing until I have imagined an epic ending. But it's the "getting there," that relentless march from the opening to the close, that constitutes most of the real work of novel writing for me. To get through it, I must rely on story structure.
So I start with a beginning and an ending, and with a few imagined scenes of crisis/climax. I design a cast of characters who are driven by their own foibles and desires. I list out, mentally if not on paper, the obstacles that stand in the way of each character. Then I reason my way through, chapter by chapter, from the start to the finish. Quite often, the end shifts a bit as I write. That's the magic part, when my characters speak to me and I must listen.
But I have to keep reminding myself of the themes I had in mind when I started. Is my story still on track with those basic themes, or has it run off the rails to become something else entirely? Does the middle follow from the beginning, and lead naturally to the end? Does it contain the required points of crisis/climax, and an arc for each character? Does the story make sense, and is everything in my head actually on the page? I do a lot of this work during revision, when the first draft is already written out. That's my "process" -- at least to date!
Chris Swiedler gave me advice that was a salve to my sanity: Middles are hard. Whether you're a plotter or pantser, you usually have the clearest picture of the beginning and ending of your story idea. Beginnings are also easy because you can do anything you want—it doesn't have to be consistent because it's the beginning. And once you have the middle, the ending is easy because everything is heading in the right direction. Or to put it another way, the hard part about an ending is the middle part that gets you there.
As for tips, my favorite one is that my "contract with my writing self" says that going for a walk and thinking about whatever project I'm on is an acceptable substitute for butt-in-seat writing time. So when I get to a point where butt-in-seat doesn't seem to be working, I go for walks during my writing hours and noodle. Sometimes it takes weeks, but eventually I always figure out enough to get back to actual writing. It helps me a lot to set this rule because then I don't feel like I'm losing discipline or slacking off when I do these walks.
All these authors recently got through murky muddles. Jennifer’s latest book, Lies Like Wildfire, will be on shelves this September. Carole is still working on her second novel, but The Mother Code will be out in paperback in August. And Chris just launched his second novel, The Orpheus Plot, with the best book launch I’ve ever attended at the Chabot Space and Science Center last Sunday. And with their help, I got through the murky middle, too! I now have a complete draft of The Chinese Wife—or The Other Wife, I haven’t decided which one yet. If you have an opinion just based on the ring of it, send me your vote.
Opportunities
Okay! Courtesy of Winning Writers, here are a few competitions that I know will appeal to at least some of you, with an emphasis on as-yet-unpublished writers:
L. Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest Deadlines March 31, June 30, September 30, December 31. Free contest for emerging writers of short science fiction, fantasy, and horror awards quarterly prizes of $1,000 plus an annual $5,000 grand prize for one of the four winners. Send only one story per quarter, maximum 17,000 words. See website for eligibility rules. Entrants may not have professionally published a novel or short novel, or more than one novelette, or more than three short stories, in any medium.
Preservation Foundation Essay Contest for Unpublished Writers Deadlines April 30, June 30, August 31, October 31 (must be received by these dates). Free contest gives prizes up to $200 and web publication for essays, 1,000-10,000 words, by unpublished writers, defined as those whose creative writing (as opposed to writing for freelance or salaried jobs) has never produced revenues of over $500 in any single year. Submit up to two entries in each of four nonfiction categories via email.
Richard J. Margolis Award Deadline July 1 (must be received by this date). Free contest awards a $5,000 stipend and a month-long residency at the Blue Mountain Center, a writers' and artists' colony in the Adirondacks in Blue Mountain Lake, New York, to a promising new journalist or essayist whose work "combines warmth, humor, and wisdom and sheds light on issues of social justice". Send two or three nonfiction pieces (published or unpublished), up to 30 pages total, with a short biographical note including a description of your current and anticipated work. Note that at least one sample must be non-memoir material. Sponsor accepts entries via email or postal mail.
Helen Schaible Sonnet Contest Deadline July 15 (must be received by this date). Free contest gives publication and two top prizes of $50 apiece for the best sonnets (one Shakespearean or Petrarchan and one Modern). One poem per category per person. Email your previously unpublished entry to the contest chair's address listed on sponsor's website. Be sure to specify which sonnet type (Shakespearean, Petrarchan, or Modern) you're submitting on each entry.
Storytwigs Monthly Micro-Writing Competition Deadlines at the end of each month (must be received by this date). Neutral free contest gives monthly prizes up to $100 and web publication for flash prose on a selected theme. Send 1-3 stories or essays per competition period, each no more than 100 words.
And here is the competition that I will be submitting to in the next week: The CRAFT First Chapters Contest is open through June 30, 2021 to the first 5,000* words of unpublished book-length adult literary fiction!
Guest Judge Masie Cochran of Tin House will select three winning excerpts for publication, with $2,800 awarded. Additional awards include manuscript review by The Artful Editor to the grand-prize winner, and a query letter workshop with Ladderbird Literary Agency to the winner and two runners-up. You can submit here.
And last but not least, here is an appeal from one of our community, Michael David Lukas:
Hi All,
It's been nearly three years now, but I can still remember exactly what it felt like the day Haley was diagnosed with cancer.
I remember sitting across from her at Beauty's Bagels--what better to do when faced with catastrophe?--trying to make sense of the news. I remember that particular variety of numbing shock, the anger, the grief, and the lingering hope that it would all turn out to be a big mistake. But more than anything, I remember the loneliness. The very specific feeling of being on an island, separated from everyone else in my life--all of you--by a seemingly insurmountable gulf.
In the days and weeks that followed, we were overwhelmed by the enormity of your support, your love and meals and sweet texts. But that feeling of being on an island persisted, in part because we didn't know anyone who had faced this particular challenge, navigating a cancer diagnosis while parenting young children. We didn't have anyone to talk to about how Haley's chemotherapy schedule would affect Mona and Amira's bedtime routine or even how to explain why Mama was so tired, why some weeks she could lift them up but other weeks she couldn't. As much as we looked, we couldn't find the community or resources to support us.
Which is why, just a few months after her diagnosis, Haley and her newfound cancer buddy, Aimee Barnes, founded Bright Spot Network (formerly Operation Ohana). In the past two years, the organization has grown to include a range of programs supporting parents of young children attempting to navigate a cancer diagnosis and treatment. And just this past month, Haley took over as Executive Director (!), the organization's first full time employee.
You can find out more about the organization and its amazing programs (including support groups, a free books program, a small grants program, and more) at www.brightspotnetwork.org/.
If you're so inclined, here are some ways you can help support and celebrate Bright Spot's relaunch:
Watch their relaunch video
Spread the word by posting on social media or passing this email along to anyone you know who might be interested
Donate to help Bright Spot Network reach its goal of raising $100,000 in the next ten days
If you want to volunteer with Bright Spot or if you have ideas about other ways you might be involved, feel free to reach out to Haley at haley@brightspotnetwork.org.
Thank you so much for your support and friendship and sweet texts, in this and in everything.
Much love,
Michael
And happy writing from me. In writing as in dieting, watch out for that middle!
Shirin
p.s. My next picture book, Go to Bed, Ted! is due out in September. If you would like to write a review, please drop me a line for an ARC.
p.p.s. One single spot has opened up in our Cambria Writing Retreat, October 10-13. If you’re interested, let me know!
