When You’re Stuck in the Middle of Your Story, Here’s How to Dig out

Ever watch a golf tournament when a player hits the ball into a sand trap, or worse, in a deep ravine or thick weeds? The player then has to figure out how to dig the ball out with his club so it lands back onto the fairway.

I understand exactly how that player feels. I’ve been editing my tennis-themed sports romance (for the fourth or fifth time), and I keep getting stuck in the same middle chapters. Each time I edit them, I feel like I’m making the story worse. I wonder if they make any sense or even if they fit properly in the story any more. Part of it is my perfectionist nature, my need to get things “just right.” It’s my version of a writer’s sand trap, and now I’m trying to figure out how to dig myself out of it.

In fiction, publishing experts often talk about the muddling or sagging middle, that dark and dreary place that writers occasionally get lost in. My initial instinct is to rework and revise the scenes to find the “magic” of the story again—and it’s just not happening the way I see it in my head. So now I’m muddling through the middle chapters. And it always seems to be the same chapters, the same scenes that don’t seem to work the way I envision.

Perhaps you’ve had similar experiences with your own writing where you go over the same terrain over and over with nothing to show for your efforts. Even if you haven’t gone through this dark and lonely place in your writing, you might one day.

So I thought I would share with you some of the tactics I’ve tried to dig out of this rut. I’m hoping one of them will eventually work for me—and for you as well. Here are my tips for getting yourself “out of the weeds.”

• Write the same scene from a different point of view. You could try writing it from another character’s perspective or switch from third person to first person. For example, in my romance novel, I alternate between the female and male characters. I’ve rewritten the scene from both perspectives to see which one works best. Writing from a different point of view can sometimes open you up to a new way of writing that scene that you hadn’t considered.
  
  
• Skip over the scene and work on the next one. This is especially useful if you’ve already written the first draft. Since I was working on a completed draft, I had other chapters I could edit. This made it easier for me to skip the one I was struggling with and move ahead in the story. Working on those subsequent scenes might help you see where there are plotting or character arc issues.
  
  
• Go to the end of the manuscript and work on the final chapters. Work backward from the last chapter until you get back to the middle scenes. This tactic worked for a few chapters until I got stuck and overwhelmed again, so I went back to editing the middle chapter. Again, by working on a later chapter, you might see something in the plot or character that needs to be fixed.
  
  
• Work on something else entirely different. Sometimes switching gears and working on a different project can clear your mind of the problem. It can help you relax and get your creative mojo back. When you’re ready to tackle the weeds again, you can go back with a clearer mindset and more confidence. Sometimes taking a step back allows you to see the problem in a new light.
  
  
• Abandon the project altogether. I have not reached this point yet, but the thought has crossed my mind that the story, as written, is simply not working and it might be better to stuff it back in a desk drawer and forget about it. But I don’t want to quit on this story. I’ve spent too much time on it, nearly three years, and I still believe in it. I also want to feel that sense of accomplishment when I get to The End. That said, abandoning a story after getting stuck in the middle is an option too, but not one I would recommend.
  

These are the tactics I’ve tried, with mixed results, but there are other alternatives you can try.

• Interview your protagonists or have a discussion with them. This exercise entails putting on a journalist’s hat and interviewing your main characters. Ask them what is bothering them, where they’re headed in the story, etc. Get inside their head for a moment. Caroline Leavitt of the Center for Fiction blog says she uses this approach every time she gets stuck in her story. You might not be able to use all of what the characters tell you, but you might find a nugget or two that may be useful.  They might even provide some solutions you hadn’t considered.
  
  
• Print out the sections that you’re stuck with and read them out loud. Make notes about what isn’t working. Or print them out in a different font, Leavitt suggests. Sometimes seeing the scene in a different font can open up new ideas you didn’t see before.
  
  
• Focus on the supporting characters. According to NY Book Editors blog, sometimes we focus so much on our lead characters that we forget about the minor ones that might have a significant detail to contribute or an undeveloped backstory that can re-shape your plot.
  
  
• Refer to your outline. Or if you never created an outline for your novel, take the time to do it before you progress much further in your editing. The outline can give you an idea of where your plot points should be hitting, and if you are hitting them in the right time and place.
  

Getting stuck in the middle of your story, whether writing the first draft or editing it for the fourth time, can be frustrating. But it’s a normal part of the creative process. There are ways to dig out of those ruts. You might have to experiment with a few of these review methods before you find one that works for you.