A very common challenge novel writers face is the sagging middle. The story starts with a bang, then flows along, and along, and then ends with a bang too, but that middle part can get boring. The events seem to stumble and flounder and lose focus. This sagging middle can even be the death of the book because readers lose interest and set it aside before the action ticks up again.
How can you keep the story clipping along so the reader stays engaged and the story doesn’t flounder?
The key is the Mid-Point Decision. This scene includes a hugely important choice the main character makes that sends them in a new direction.
When your protagonist launched out of the Earth Shaking Event, they had firm resolve and a clear path, but after lots of work, they still aren’t where they want to be. Maybe they’d been on the wrong path all along, or maybe things changed that helped them realize a shift is needed. Regardless, at the Mid-Point Decision a new choice is made. A new direction chosen. A new idea tried. This new shift may not feel ‘earth-shaking’, but it is a clear act of agency that refreshes goals and perspectives and gives your protagonist a new burst of focus.
And that keeps the middle from sagging.
Time to Reflect
The Mid-Point Decision lands right in the middle of your story. In some books, I’ve found this scene at exactly the middle page. (I love it when I find that!) Your protagonist has spent the first half of the book having their earth shaken from underneath them, making an important decision to act, and then setting out on this new path. They tried to solve their problems, tried to fix what was broken, and tried to make things right. But it hasn’t worked. Anything they’ve tried has failed, or at the very least not been as successful as hoped. They feel frustrated, or lost, or confused.
At the very middle of your story, your main character has a moment of reflection, or analysis, or acceptance and realizes that their plan formed at the Earth Shaking Event isn’t working and something has to give. A new direction needs to be tried. A new understanding needs to be embraced. A new goal needs to be set. This decision is made, and they launch once again onto a hopeful, new path.
Of course, this new path won’t solve their problems either. Usually, this direction tends to make things even worse, but at the Mid-Point Decision, your main character doesn’t know what is coming. They’re just moving forward.
I created this video to talk in more detail about the Mid-Point Decision and the elements that need to be included in this scene. I also give some examples from great middle grade fiction. Here’s the video Elements of the Mid-Point.
Agency is Key
After your reader has journeyed with your protagonist through their first attempts at solving their problems, they’ve seen lots of failures. Things haven’t improved, and the plan just isn’t working to its full potential. What is to be done? To keep the story flowing well, your main character needs to shift direction once again. But it has to be a deliberate choice, an analyzed change, a regrouped decision. And then they dive into the fray once again with new resolve and a new perspective.
I’ve created this worksheet to help you analyze your second turning point scene – the Mid-Point Decision. Print it out and see what you can do to strengthen this vital scene.
PDF Analyzing the Mid-Point Decision
Craft your mid-point scene to include a vital decision on the part of your protagonist. This use of studied agency will re-engage your reader with the goals of the story and re-connect them to the main character.
This re-engagement and reconnection will keep the story middle from sagging.