When the Story Stalls in the Middle by Sandra Merville Hart

There are stories where the words tumble from an author’s imagination onto the page from chapter one to the ending. In my stories, I usually know how it starts and ends with only a hazy idea of how the characters get there. Yes, I’m a pantser.

For those who do not outline but allow the story to unfold with the telling, it may stall in the middle. A character bores you. Ideas dry up. If this happens, here are a few suggestions that have helped me.

If you've pushed yourself to your creative limits, you may simply need a break. Do something completely different for a day or two. Creating is hard work. Rest.

If the ideas don't return after a few days away, alter the story. Add a feisty new character or a trouble maker and see where it leads. Don’t try to control events while in this creative surge. Allow the characters to take the lead until your imagination soars again.

If you find yourself bored with the story, your reader probably will too—and so might the editor. If a character bores you, have them do something unexpected but not against his or her nature. Shake things up.

If you still have writer’s block, return to your research notes. For my historical novels, I often have over a hundred pages of single-spaced notes. Rereading these sparks new ideas when my story sputters to a stop. It also renews my enthusiasm for the writing. I want to bring that historical period alive for my readers and transport them to another time and place. Research is the key for remaining authentic to the time period. If your notes don’t inspire ideas, do more research.

It's also possible that you chose the wrong path for the story. I recently completed a romantic suspense novel. Since I write by the "seat of my pants," I didn't know the killer when I began the novel. When it came time to reveal the killer, I still didn't know. I finally selected someone and began writing. The story halted. No words came. I couldn't figure out what happened next.

When I selected a different killer, the story flowed to the end. Your story may be on the wrong path, too. Save your old version and then change the part of the story where it stalled.

Much of the action happens in the middle of the story. This is where your readers fall in love with your characters and don't want the novel to end. Give this section as much attention as the beginning and the end.

Your readers will love you for it.

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Award-winning and Amazon bestselling author Sandra Merville Hart loves to uncover little-known yet fascinating facts about our American history to include in her stories. Her debut Civil War Romance, A Stranger on My Land, was IRCA Finalist 2015. A Rebel in My House,

set during the historic Battle of Gettysburg, won the 2018 Silver Illumination Award and second place in 2018 FHL Readers’ Choice Award. A Musket in My Hands, where two sisters join the Confederate army with the men they love, releases November of 2018. Her novella, Surprised by Love in “From the Lake to the River” released in September of 2018. Trail’s End, in “Smitten Novella Collection: The Cowboys” releases in August of 2019. Find her on her blog, https://sandramervillehart.wordpress.com/.

Sandra Merville Hart’s third Civil War romance, A Musket in My Hands, follows two sisters as they disguise themselves as soldiers and join the men they love in the Confederate army—just in time for the war to grow progressively difficult for Southern soldiers. Tough marches lead them to the Battle of Franklin. How can anyone survive?

https://www.amazon.com/Musket-My-Hands-Civil-Romance/dp/1946016675

Three Tips to Finish That Book by Evelyn M. Hill

His Forgotten Fiancée is the first book I’ve ever published.

And I have a confession to make: there came a point, in the middle of the book, where I realized this was The Worst Book Ever Written. I came very close to walking away. If I hadn’t entered a contest (Love Inspired Historical’s Manuscript Matchmaker) and had an editor ask to see the story, I do not think I would have finished it, let alone submitted it and had the kind editor offer to buy it.

I’ve gone on to write a few more novels since then. My next historical western, The English Lieutenant’s Lady, is due out in February. I’ve also written a couple of contemporary romantic suspense novels as well as a romance set in Victorian England. And oddly enough, during the course of writing these stories I realized that each one was The Worst Book Ever Written.

That should be a statistical impossibility. Surely one must be worse than the others? Apparently, the little voice of doubt inside me doesn’t concern itself with statistics.

I’ve come to the conclusion that doubt is part of the process just as much as the initial excitement of starting a story. The little voice of doubt might well be right when it tells you the story could be better. But if it tells you to walk away from a story that’s over the halfway mark—don’t listen to it. Finish the book.
If I give up on a story before it’s even finished, I’m doing the editor’s job for her, rejecting the manuscript. That’s not necessary. Editors are good at their jobs. You don’t need to do their work for them. Besides, you might be wrong. They might love it.

Really. It’s okay to finish a manuscript and send it out.

Or at least just finish it.

These are some things I wish I’d known when I started writing:

• Write what excites you. If you write something because it’s popular and you think it’ll sell, you’ll end up with a book you don’t love. Writing is too much work to waste time on an idea that never grabbed you from the beginning.
• If you’re halfway through the book and you start to think it’s awful, keep going. Take notes on the Bright Shiny New Idea that’s hovering around, but push through with the original story.
• Try writing every day. There are two kinds of writers in the world: those for whom writing every day is the only way to go, and those who don’t find this helpful. The only way to be sure which group you’re in is to try it. I’ve seen too many writers who quit writing because they only wrote when they were inspired. The middle of the book is a desert when it comes to inspiration. Steady progress, even 500 words a day, can get you through the sagging middle.

What gets you through to The End when it seems you should never have started?

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According to family tradition, Evelyn M. Hill is descended from a long line of Texas horse thieves. (But when your family is not only Texan, but Irish, tall tales come with the territory.) This might explain why she devoted much of her childhood to writing stories about horses. Once she grew up, the stories naturally featured a tall, handsome cowboy as well.

She lives at the end of the Oregon Trail, where she gets to do all her historical research in person, and she loves to hear from readers!

Links:
website: evelynhillauthor.com
Facebook: Evelyn M. Hill, author
Amazon:
http://amzn.to/2kujfml