Saggy Middle, anyone?

 

I think I’ve reached that place that writers call a saggy middle. I understand it is a perennial problem. My characters have done so well, and fought all obstacles, but now – where do they go from here?

Stakes (in story telling at least) are those things that keep a reader reading. Without them, then the story sags and loses momentum.

A story starts with a challenge to a characters' ideas and plans. They are forced into new directions. But the character needs ever new challenges. Words like Then - but - therefore - but - then - but - therefore - but..."come to mind.

If you have more than one strand or thread, then they need to interweave in an interesting way. Each time you switch from one strand to another, the reader loses emotional involvement in one thread, and needs to pick up rather quickly on another. This can slow reading to a crawl. What? Who is this? What happened to the other person? Find a place where a breather is sort of welcome but also promises Things are going to get Hairy when you turn the Page.

The big turning point needs to have things change for ever. In Pride and Prejudice Mr Darcy's first proposal to Elizabeth is such a turning point: she is offered a splendid marriage which will help both her and her sisters and she turns it down. Why?

Elizabeth finds herself at the crux or the midpoint, where the theme, present in the story right from the beginning, is tested. She made her decision and may well rue it. The very end of the story is where it is finally resolved.

To trope or not to trope

 I learned a few things yesterday.

 The word Trope began to collide with me at every corner.

As an English Lit student, I equated it with Theme.

The dictionary takes it further - "a metaphorical or ironic use of a word." I hunted further still and discovered that a trope establishes a predictable character, setting or scenario in fiction, such as :

Orphan, best friend, kidnapped, road trip, secret identity, secret baby, politics, protector, violence, lost heir – all tropes. 

There are many more. You might think, like me, that they are nothing more than stereotypes and clichés, so I read on and found I was wrong. It seems the way the trope is used makes it far more than a cliché or stereotype.

I got onto this by listening to one of the many videos teaching people how to sell more books. I knew about sub-genres like the Ingenue, the Secret Baby, the Arranged Marriage from using the Amazon website.  I also recall trying to please Harlequin a decade ago  (I never did please them!) - they used the terms such as the Billionaire Oil Sheik and Marriage of Convenience back then. 

Perhaps they invented the tropes! It is food for thought, and as I hesitate on beginning a new book, I am at a very good place to put the ideas into practice.