If, like me, you are a Great British Bake Off fan, then you know there is nothing more dreaded in the Bake Off tent than when Paul Hollywood turns over a beautifully decorated pie to discover (gasp!)… a soggy bottom.
Turns out that writing has a similar threat - the dreaded “saggy middle.” I was in a WFWA webinar when I first heard the term, referring to the various pitfalls and plot holes that can beleaguer the middle pages of a book and lose the reader’s interest. Indeed, a soggy bottom and a saggy middle are both descriptions you never want to hear attached to your finished product. The middle is the filling of the pie, or where the real work of a book happens, and both pies and books should leave your consumers satisfied and full, while still craving more.
Mmmm….pie.
Currently, I find myself contemplating my own saggy middle. Not just physically from too many summer drive-through meals and iced coffees (although, yes) but after the exhilarating first few months of declaring myself a writer and the whirlwind grind of setting up what is essentially a small business, I find myself smack in the middle of my own story arc.
“How’s the writing going?” my lovely and well-meaning friends and family ask.
“Okay,”I demur, glossing over the larger truths which are that a) querying is a hurry-up-and-wait game of epic proportions, vital to the process but hardly sparkling conversation fodder, and b) I’ve spent most of my summer trying to work my way out of the corner I wrote myself into around page 90 of my current project.
So, I turned to the Great and Powerful Internet and asked for brains, heart and courage regarding ways to avoid a saggy middle. Following my research, I will be incorporating these strategies into my fourth quarter writing activities:
Tighten up the structure. Act 2 in a novel is where the “Fun and Games” section happens (think of the classic We Can Do It! montage). I’ve been reworking a tighter first half of Act 2, which will set Daisy up for some really tough choices when her “All is Lost” moment comes. For myself, I’m switching up my current writing schedule and assigning blocks of time to focus on different tasks - Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are all about word count and editing (I’m going to get through this writers block), Thursdays are for agent research and querying while Fridays are for business and marketing activities, including website updates, writing posts, research, and book reviews. Evenings and weekends are mine.
Introduce new characters. One of the things I’ve struggled with lately is how to write about a flower shop when I know nothing about flowers. With help from my support circle, I’m creating a new character to take on most of the flower arranging from my main character, freeing Daisy to do things I know more about, like making bad career choices and screwing up her love life. Personally, I recently joined a monthly critique group with five new writer friends and the experience has been a shot in the arm! Not only do I get valuable feedback on my own WIP, but reading other’s works offers new perspectives on ways to approach plot and character development. I’ll also be participating in September’s #savvyauthors challenge on IG, which focuses on writing process. I’m looking forward to connecting with other writers and picking up some new ideas. Make sure to follow along; it’s going to be fun!
Increase tension. In writing, it’s always more interesting to torture your main character, so I’m ramping up ways to make Daisy miserable (for example, I’ve given her a wicked pollen allergy, hehe). To increase tension in my own life, I’ll be participating in September’s #PitMad day (where writers pitch their mss on Twitter and, if an agents likes your tweet, you are invited to query them directly). I’ll also be throwing my hat in the ring for the related PitchWars, a mentoring program that, if you are chosen, culminates in an agent showcase.
So there you have it. My plan to shore up my saggy middle, both in my manuscript and in my writing life. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to bake.
August Wrap-up/Successes:
Writing: Added 5,000 new words to WELCOME TO BLOOMS
Accountability: Met with my WFWA mentor and my writing coach, had first Critique Partner session.
Marketing: Social account followers: 685 IG / 451 Twitter/ 69 Goodreads
Participated in the Instagram #wipfoxfun challenge
Took a webinar on social media and reader engagement
Books read in August: 5
DEATH AND DECEPTION: #1 of the LUCAS RATHBONE MYSTERIES by Saffron Amatti
STORIES I TELL MY FRIENDS by Rob Lowe
RABBIT CAKE by Annie Hartnett
NOWHERE GIRL by Cheryl Diamond
GOOD COMPANY by Cynthia d'Aprix Sweeney
2021 total: 50/60
Drop me a line and let me know how you are! What are you doing to combat saggy middles in your world? Got a good pie recipe I should know about?
Xoxo y’all!