On Saturday author and Sprouts Magazine Editor, Anita Nolan ran a workshop on improving your novel. The workshop ran about 4 and half hours, but I think we could have easily have spent the whole day working on our novels. Even if you have been successful in getting a few of your books published, it is important to continue to work on the craft of writing.
One of the things Anita gave us was some strategies to fix a sagging middle story. I thought they were really good and felt you could benefit from her advice. I would highly recommend attending the next workshop she gives (maybe February).
Here are the tips:
* Analyze the Stakes. What will happen to the character if he doesn’t get what he wants? If it’s not a serious loss, either physically or emotionally, readers won’t care. If that’s the case, up the stakes.
* Add a subplot, esp. one that occurs near the center of the story.
* Change a scene location to add tension.
* Add a problem/situation that makes the reader fear for a character
*Add another level of complication.
* Kill off a minor character (or perhaps kill a minor character’s goal)
* Add a character that will make the main character’s life more difficult. (possibly a love interest.)
* Foreshadow a future problem or the climactic scene.
* Add a flashback about some mystery in the main character’s past with implications for their current situation.
* Start “the ticking clock”—put a time constraint on solving a problem.
* Bring up an issue from the main character’s past that adds to their current problems.
* Reveal something the main character has kept hidden.
* Reveal something crucial to the main character or the reader.
You can visit Anita at www.anitanolan.com
Talk tomorrow,
Kathy
Thanks for the mention, Kathy!
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By: anitanolan on November 15, 2010
at 9:46 pm