Writing the Middle
There are a variety of ways to think about the middle of a story. They are not a prescription; no-one should feel obligated to use these techniques. At most they should be understood as suggestions based on some common ways that writers have approached the story’s middle and the problem of maintaining audience interest until the conclusion.
At the most macro level, the middle is the second act of a three act play. At the most micro level it is a series of MRUs (motivation-reaction units). One way of thinking about the middle of a story that I have found helpful has been to think in terms of sequences. At its simplest a sequence is a series of scenes (or sometimes a single scene) that accomplish a story or plot purpose. It is a very flexible label that can be used to describe everything that happens between a setup and a payoff, the beginning and end of a single try-fail cycle, the introduction and conclusion of a character arc, etc. Sequences always end in a significant change. Sometimes this involves an internal character change (such as passive to active) or an external change to circumstances (wealth to riches, home owner to aftermath-of-an-earthquake survivor, or similar).
Setup and payoff
Setup is a special form of foreshadowing (foreshadowing, more broadly, being discussed elsewhere). It aims to show or reveal the building blocks necessary to give the reader a revelation of deeper meaning later in the story.
To set up is to prepare the ground, to place the props, to provoke the questions that will receive their answers and demonstrate their purpose later on.
We set up our plot points, hinting at and revealing obstacles and objects early, etc. to give our stories credibility, so that the reader doesn’t feel like our plot points are contrived when introduced later. Events should never feel like coincidences; they should always have precursors and causes that were put in place earlier in the narrative. Our setups exist to create curiosity and anticipation in the reader and justify the story choices we have made.
To demonstrate a change in a character or establish the credibility of an important plot-untangling skill that a character will use, we have to setup their ability to use the skill or demonstrate the pre-existing character that must be altered/changed.
Problems can be setup ahead of time to increase the tension and suspense that the audience experience. If we already know that the road on which our protagonist is recklessly driving to escape the antagonist has been washed out, our concern and investment in the outcome is heightened.
Jokes, likewise, have a setup and payoff. The setup, repetition/exposition, and punchline/twist, topper, and second topper (see my article on humour).
Thematic elements and symbols can be planted early and often to emphasise the unity of a story (reminding us of the underlying theme or message).
We perform a setup by planting characters, unexplained absences and presences, symbols, objects, snatches of dialog, reactions, mood, locations, warnings and clues.
It is important that these planted items have a discrete meaning of their own within the story. When the audience encounters a setup, it should not seem arbitrary, but signify something appropriate to that moment in the story. It should also be memorable enough to be easily recalled when the payoff occurs. When the payoff comes, it should provide a new way to see the original event. For example, the shyness of Rebecca when introduced is, re-interpreted, in the light of the payoff, as an attempt to avoid being recognized by someone who could reveal she is an imposter.
Sometimes a setup raises a question that, when payed off, reveals its meaning in hindsight. Questions raised in the mind of the audience need to always be paid off with an answer, preferably and surprising one.
One of the tricks to maintaining interest is to plant setups steadily throughout the story. All setups must be paid off, but the time of the payoff varies. Delay too long and the audience will tire of waiting or be overwhelmed by the number of threads waiting to be resolved. Payoff too early and the setup will lack value and be easily dismissed by the audience. Keep the payoffs coming at regular intervals and interest will be maintained.
Payoffs resolve the setup. There are a variety of ways that a setup can be paid off. Firstly, the action of a character can resolve a setup; they discover or uncover something through research and action that pays off the setup. The character gains an insight that resolves a setup; they think something through and arrive at a realization that pays off the setup. The character receives a revelation that pays off the setup; here a character is provided with information from an external party that produces the payoff. Jokes have a payoff in the form of a punchline – a final line that surprises the reader and makes them laugh. And, of course, the humble twist (discussed in a separate article) provides another form of payoff in the face of a setup – one that depends on misdirection in order to surprise the reader.
The Try-Fail cycle
The middle of a story is made up of a series of obstacles and disasters encountered by the protagonist. Typically this is expressed in a series of try-fail cycles of varying importance that move the story forward. The character has a problem or goal, attempts (tries) to solve or achieve it, and encounters a difficulty/failure that gets them to rethink their strategy and begin the process anew. Generally, a story wants at least three try-fail attempts in the middle that lead up to the reversal before the story climax. Each must have increasingly important and significant stakes and each will contain a series of increasingly difficult obstacles within it. The first try-fail cycle occurs in the lead up to the story’s point of no return (the point at which the character is forced to commit fully to the pursuit of their goal). The next occurs in the lead up to a redirection of some sort (where the character discovers the goal they have been pursuing is in some way mistaken and requires modification). The third occurs in the lead up to the reversal at the end of the second act (that results in everything going wrong for the character and forces them into a crisis).
There is an initial and final try-fail cycle that belong specifically to the beginning and end of the story. The first results in the failure of the character to overcome a significant character flaw that establishes the character’s change arc within the story. The final occurs at the story climax and differs in that the character tries, almost fails, and finally overcomes the major obstacle of the story (contributing to a satisfying ending).
Objectives, obstacles, tactics
Behaviors are always a matter of wants/goals, obstacles and tactics. The protagonist wants a particular thing, but something stands in the way, and he/she is prepared to pursue that thing by employing a variety of tactics. The wants and the tactics speak to the protagonist’s character. Based on their emotions and temperament they will employ some methods to achieve their ends and not others. As their trusted and tried strategies fail they are forced to employ new tactics, tactics that force them to embrace change, engage in struggle, and discover just how much their objectives mean to them.
The middle of the story is where character is demonstrated by forcing the protagonist through the series of try-fail cycles discussed above. Each failure requires the character to abandon their typical approach to problem solving (the path of least resistance) in favor of new strategies and methods that create the opportunity for growth. To properly test the character, the obstacles they encounter must withstand easy solutions and grow in difficulty and stakes.
Major and minor cycles
Each act in a typical three act play contains its own major try fail cycle. But each act can be broken down to contain a series of sequences that replicate the try-fail cycle format. And every scene is a try-fail cycle in its own right (only of minor significance).
Audience fatigue and alternating the beats
Where a protagonist encounters continuous success or failure, one event after another, the effect on the audience will be one of boredom and fatigue. The recommended antidote for this is to alternate successes and failures. The emotional charge at the end of each attempt to overcome a conflict or obstacle should be upbeat (optimistic) or downbeat (pessimistic) depending on what has come before it. Failure to successfully negotiate an obstacle does not necessarily imply a down beat. The failure could result in a breakthrough, insight, or discovery of a clue, etc. that ends the scene with a positive emotional charge. Likewise a success can result in a discovery of tragedy or loss that switches the emotional charge in a negative direction.
Pinch points and Plot points
In the construction of novels and plays, editors often refer to pinch-points and plot points. Pinch points occur where the protagonists are spurred to action by outside antagonistic forces. Effectively a pinch point forces a character to react to an event or situation that is external and results in a significant turn in the plot. A turn is a significant change in direction (a major change in the character’s goals, understanding of the problem, or tactics for achieving those goals).
Plot points occur where the protagonists initiate action as a result of internal desires that result in a similar turn.
Generally, a plot point occurs at the 25% and 75% point in the story. A pinch point typically occurs halfway between the first plot point and the midpoint of the story, and halfway between the midpoint and the second plot point.
In each case the antagonistic forces on display need to be demonstrated as being both stronger and more intimidating than what came before and should result in an emotionally significant change of direction for the story (in terms of goal, strategy, or impact).
Passive to active characterization
In general, the characters in a story spend the first half of the middle of the narrative responding to the events around them. In the second half they establish agency and begin initiating action that puts the antagonist on the back foot and forces the obstacles placed in their way to be increased in scope and number. The midpoint, or point of no return, where the character signals their commitment to solving the problem that they face (either because all other options have been exhausted or because they have finally made an irrevocable decision) indicates the transformation from passive responder to active initiator within the character of the protagonist.
Increasing the stakes by broadening and deepening
It is a commonplace of writing that the middle of the story should be used to build the action to a meaningful climax. Two common ways to increase the investment of the characters and audience is to raise the stakes by placing increasingly challenging obstacles in the protagonist’s path. By broadening the potential impact of the obstacle (increasing the number of people, etc. that it might effect) we increase the challenge presented to the character. A terrorist organization intends to stage a kidnapping… that they wish to cover with a bombing that will kill hundreds of innocent people… that could kick off a global war. By deepening the impact of the obstacle (increasing the effect on the protagonist) we increase the challenge presented to the character. A character attends the doctor because they are finding their work difficult as a result of fatigue… and discover they have a potentially lethal cancer… that will result in severe mental decline and a loss of self.
In each case, by broadening the impact of events on the world, or by deepening the impact of events on the protagonist, the stakes are raised and interest is increased.
We don’t need to restrict ourselves to one or the other approach. The writer can increase the stakes by deepening and broadening the impact of events at the same time in the same story.
Introducing a B-plot
Another useful technique to aid us in writing the middle of the story is to introduce and resolve a B-plot. A B-plot is a separate secondary story or sub-plot that intersects with the first. At it’s most cliched, it is the introduction of a love interest and romance to the plot. But lots of other options are possible. Regardless of what goal the B-plot establishes, the key to a successful B-plot is the introduction of a new set of interesting obstacles and problems to provide variety to the story’s overall trajectory.
Changing objectives in the second act
All of the suggestions regarding writing the middle of a story so far have been concerned primarily with maintaining the interest of the audience. This is for the very good reason that the middle of the story is the part in which the story in greatest danger of dragging and becoming boring. We can usually construct an interesting beginning, and the ending can be planned to include a great climax, but the middle, being a succession of problems and resolutions, can easily become dull.
One technique for addressing this is to introduce a redirection to the plot. The protagonist is pursuing a specific goal that they think is essential to the success of their quest, but an event occurs that demonstrates they have been mistaken – the antagonist turns out to be an ally while an ally turns out to be the real villain, the goal sought turns out to be something that must be sacrificed. The redirection, as its name implies, causes the protagonist to modify or change their goal and begin pursuing something new. This can inject some much needed interest to an otherwise lagging story arc.
Setting up the climax (establishing the stakes)
The end of the middle is established by a major reversal, an event, or cluster of events, so devastating that it appears to the protagonists that all hope of success in achieving their goal has been lost. Throughout the middle of the story the obstacles have been mounting, growing more and more insurmountable, until at last, the entire enterprise seems doomed, and worse still, the likely outcome will be orders of magnitude worse than if the protagonist had left well-enough alone in the first place.
If we can arrive at such a point while weaving sufficient interest into the story through variations in plot, character arc, dramatic beats, depth and breadth of impact, etc., then we will have constructed a middle that will keep the audience glued to the story until we are ready to bring home our conclusion.
Copyright Philip Craig Robotham © 2022
