August 23, 2019
[This guide was copied, as is, from Wattpad. At the time, I had no intention of posting it here. Please excuse any discrepancies.]
This section details the middle of the story, or any point after the beginning and before the climax/end. It goes over what could cause the middle to falter and how to go about fixing it. It does not discuss what exactly to add to a story.
So here you are a few chapters in. You have established the setting and main characters. The conflict has begun and some of the unknown elements have been foreshadowed. And your super fantastic ending dances around in your head. You just have to get through the middle. That dreadful area where the vast majority of your words are, and you cannot think of anything to put there. Why is this? Well, for most fictional works the low point tends to be the middle. Worse yet, many writers and bloggers will tell you to focus on the beginning and end instead. But the middle is just as important as the other two parts. It is most of your words, most of your character development, and most of your story.
THE MIDDLE OF WARRIORS NOVELS & FANFICS
Describing what makes a good middle can be highly subjective, as it is mostly dependant on what kind of story you are telling (and subsequently, what kind of story the reader chose to read). But there are some things to look for from a literary and technical standpoint.
Our specific example will use the entire The Prophecies Begin arc, as the individual books are simply too drawn out and numerous to explain easily. Going over the main events of the arc:
- Rusty becomes Firepaw after being accepted into ThunderClan and leaving his pet life behind [beginning].
- Tigerclaw kills Redtail and betrays ThunderClan, getting him expelled. Fireheart becomes ThunderClan's deputy [middle].
- Fireheart becomes Firestar and clan leader after Bluestar is killed defending the clan from dogs [middle].
- The clans unite against the threat of Tigerstar and Scourge after it was revealed he was trying to divide and conquer [middle].
- Tigerstar is swiftly killed by Scourge; Scourge himself is killed by Firestar after underestimating the power of StarClan [end].
These are the most important events that happened within The Prophecies Begin arc and they have a significant impact on the rest of the series, up to A Vision of Shadows.
There are a few things to keep in mind with this one versus the others. The absolute most important thing to take from that arc is it does not save everything fun and interesting for the end or the beginning. That is great. Many fictional works have problems spreading the good stuff throughout the story. Character deaths, border shifts, major battles and disputes, none of it is hoarded to the end. Of course there are significant events that happen during the climax, like Scourge's invasion and Tigerstar & Firestar's first deaths. But the middle is not a dredge of words like it is in most books… or even most of the other Warriors books.
Looking at another arc, Omen of the Stars, it has more in common with the fanfictions out there than the first arc. The worst thing that it does is subvert the main characters and plot line with subplots, secondary characters, and a mess of ultimately pointless events. This is bad. In previous sections, I always have noted that the main characters and plot should always have the most time dedicated to them. Omen of the Stars was built upon two other faulty arcs before it that simply added too much to keep the story established in The Prophecies Begin on track. Each moment you spend away from the story you have built means those secondary events better be significant in some way, or interesting at least. They are usually neither in fiction that skimps out on the middle. Much of what happened after the first arc did not help conclude Omen of the Stars.
Moving on to fanfiction, we have the same problems. The main difference is that fanfics never sprawl six-plus books at a time, and a vast majority are one-offs.
Many fanfics have problems with sidelining the main characters and conflict. Yes, they will probably still appear in every chapter, but what do they actually do in those chapters? If they solve another notch in their prophecy or have to recover from a significant injury that affects them the rest of the story, they are doing main character stuff. They are contributing to the plot and conflict. But what about all of those kit rescues, love triangles, and background character deaths you see? That tends to be a majority of the content in the middle. While this is not wrong, it often takes the place of the protagonist and plot instead of complementing it. Everything good is saved for the end or beginning. While the Erins had dozens of books to pad out, the majority of fanfic writers just have one. It makes our dragging middle section a little easier to solve than theirs.
It can be a huge deterrent to readers if they get ten or so chapters in and realize that the momentum the writer started with (i.e. and exciting 'hook' like all the writing blogs recommend) has already disappeared.
POLISHING YOUR MIDDLE CHAPTERS
So how do we go about fixing the middle of our fanfictions? The exact cause of this sag can be a number of things: writer's block, writing chapters weeks or months apart, the plot being too short to carry itself the desired length, or the author adding too many events and characters. There are ways to fix it, however. I cannot say they are simple, as the middle takes up most of your chapters, words, and events. Your character developing moments (if applicable) and other memorable plot points happen here as well. So I will not tell you to simply write a better story. That advice rarely helps.
Consistency can kill the momentum of a story, especially if it starts off exciting and is followed by an unreasonable amount of worldbuilding or something. To keep things consistent, keep an outline. Write down every major plot point you want in your story. I guarantee most of the ones you write first will be the end and the beginning. If you struggle to find something to fill the rest with, try rearranging these plot points and see if there are any that can happen in the middle of your story. Most fanfics just put character deaths or betrayals in this spot. Prevalent in Warriors, yes, but there are more than just those two tropes.
Keeping with consistency, do not forget the passage of time and maybe hold off on that time skip. If your protagonist starts the story a senior warrior, then fine. But if they start a kit and become a senior warrior shortly after, then there are large chunks of time you could be filling with potentially interesting events. Training sequences, wise words, foreshadowing, all could happen between that chapter-one-to-two-transition of kit to senior. Whole chapters can be added between similar jumps in time.
Consistency is pretty much a requirement when writing, but what if that is not your problem? Some fanfics have issues where their main cast of characters fades away in favor of sub-plots, secondary characters, and new introductions. If you have problems with your main character losing interest halfway through the story, reevaluate their role in it. What is it your main character does in regards to the plot? To the other characters, and to the setting (or to whatever is applicable)? This is one of the main problems the canon suffers from with the books in Power of Three and The New Prophecy. If this is the case, refer to your outline. Who was this character, and what was your intended role for them in your fanfic? If you do not have an outline or are writing as you go, look at what you have already written. You can scrap it or rewrite if unpublished, and if published you can build upon the character you have written rather than the one you intended. But an outline of some kind is highly recommended for keeping character roles in check.
The simplest thing to do is to write a summary of every chapter you have written after you write it. Every couple of chapters you add, you can read the summary of what you have already written and reevaluate your pacing, character growth and development, or add something interesting if previous chapters were calm or centered around exposition (ideally you would not have a chapter dedicated solely to exposition). And if you find that one chapter goes off course from your intention, you can either correct it or build upon it in the next one.
Most writers on the internet update their story as they go, forgoing outlines, writer's notes, and summaries. If that is you, then do not be afraid to take your story in a different direction than you intended. After all, you cannot rewrite a couple of chapters when you are about to get to the ending and expect your readers to reread them. You have dug your hole already, but it does not have to be a grave. Whatever your middle became without an outline or other prep work, go with it. You might be surprised at how nice it turns out towards the end, whether you intended it to be so or not.
IN CONCLUSION…
The middle of your fanfic does not have to be so jarring to write, but it certainly is not easy. Even the Erins struggle with the middle of Warriors. In fact, think of any or all the books you vaguely remember. How many of those events took place in the middle? Most of what you remember is the premise and how it ended, guaranteed. So this is not a problem localized to a fandom or to amateur writers on the internet. Outlines and planning help, sure. But they are not set in stone, and sometimes your intentions do not match what you have already written. Maybe it can be even more interesting than what you planned.
Remember, your readers will never get to the good stuff at the end if they never make it through the middle. Do not let it sag.
- Tyto
