Mid-story blues

Well, the story might need a little jolt at that point.

But . . . you could also use it to show more about the characters. Are they brave, disgusted with the war, angry, do they work together or try to save their own skins, etc.?

Here is a link to a wonderful blog- Jim Butcher calls this the Great Swampy Middle. I find his advice very practical.

http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/

You really wouldn't want a story that goes in a straight line. If I were you, I'd leave the scene in for now and move on. Then when you finish and begin your second revision, decide if you still want to keep it.

I would agree with AlleyCat.

In my current WIP, I had a sword fight in the middle that I figured would be fun to write and I'd just cut it out later when I started revisions.

After I went back to it six months later, I liked the sword fight and the reasons behind it so much, I dropped one of my sub-plots and added in a whole new subplot to take advantage of the scene.

Remember, first drafts can wander, meander, chase rabbits, etc. That's why it's called a first draft.

Soccer Mom said:

Here is a link to a wonderful blog- Jim Butcher calls this the Great Swampy Middle. I find his advice very practical.

http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/

Click to expand...

Great article. I've bookmarked it for the next time I go through it.

Oh boy, do I remember that stage. Going to bed with that sick feeling in the middle of my stomach that I'd made a whole lot of noise about nothing and that I'd never finish it and it was a stupid story anyway . . .

And I'd get up in the morning, stare at the page, remind myself that everything I typed could be deleted, study my outline and my notes and slog through at least five hundred words, each sentence teeming with self doubt. I'd e-mail a sympathetic friend who was also writing a book, moan about it a bit, then report my word count. He'd write back and cheer me on and challenge me to stay with it. And, thus, I arrived at the end. Poor John, I'm afraid, probably served as a blog as much as he did a mentor.

In times like this, it really helps to have an outline or a time-line if nothing else, remind yourself that every event you're writing is leading some place important. And, yes, write action scenes in, you can cut them later.

You said you were revising now. So the question is, does it add to the plot or character development. If not, cut it out OR if you don't want to cut build it in.

Like someone said up thread can you make it show character flaws/virtues? What about building the no reason attack into the climax? Does the fighter-bomber get away or do they shoot it down? What happens to the pilot after?

Good luck cleaning up that middle. It is a part of this all I am NOT looking forward to...
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I'm just recovering from my blues. I gave up and started over.