starting in the middle

I read an interesting book today called Writing Your Book from the Middle, by James Scott Bell.

Two things really stuck out for me.

I tend to know my themes, characters, beginnings, and endings really well. But I can get mired in the middle. So starting with the middle is a fascinating idea for me, especially since I’m calling this blog The Middle.

The Middle, meaning all the stuff between the beginning and the end. While beginnings can be exciting and endings can be great or tragic, most of life is in the middle, and it’s amorphous and hard to define.

Hence, why my blog is trying to define it.

And hence why I was interested in such a book.

The concept is that there is a midpoint moment of the book—not a scene, a moment—where the character’s old self dies. It’s in the middle, and the character is not looking back anymore.

My concept of the middle is broader than that. All parts that aren’t the beginning or ending.

But what if the middle is that decisive? What if it is a defining point where mores of the old self die?

I don’t have an answer, but I do like the question.

The other thing that stuck out for me in the book is that joy is often the distinguishing feature between good and great books—the joy of the author in writing it. The joy of putting words on the page or screen.

I feel that joy all the time, and I love the validation. Good old advice from my writing coach, Kristy—if you’re struggling writing a scene, maybe it’s boring and you don’t need it anyway.

Here’s to joy—and decisive moments—even if they’re in the middle.