Which Part of a Novel is the Toughest to Write? (The Saggy Middle)

With my latest novel, I reworked my opening countless times, I was trepidacious about writing the ending, but it was the "sagging middle" that was the worst.

"Sagging middle" or "saggy middle" is a common phrase because we've all faced it, and I'm not sure why that is. I wrote my novel without giving a damn about word count. I never kept track of the number of words I'd written; I never once checked. I'd already decided that the story would be whatever the story was. As a self-publisher, word count norms don't matter to me. Too short, though, could pose a problem, since unlike my previous six works, I was determined to a full, fat novel; not a novella. This was going to be my last published work, after all.

So, I had as much room as I wanted; room to explore. I think my problem wasn't that I didn't know what to write in the middle, but that certain loose ends in the main character's life needed to be tied up, and that necessary housework just wasn't interesting, hard as I tried to make it so. When the book's (one) professional review made note of this "sag", I wasn't surprised:

"While the plot occasionally meanders, particularly during Leah’s time in Nashville, in some ways this actually serves to reinforce the protagonist’s sense of displacement and uncertainty. The pacing picks up considerably in the final third of the book..."

I do appreciate that she was nice about it, though.

Too, I knew where I wanted the story to go next, but I felt it needed some transitional scenes. "Abrupt" isn't really my style. I don't know if outliners experience a sagging middle; it seems to me that they'd have all that worked out beforehand, but I can't even imagine being an outliner, so I have no clue.

I should add that my only main struggle was with the first half of the middle, and it didn't go on for an unnecessarily long stretch. Really, if I'm looking at the story as a whole, things pick up pretty quickly after that. Still, I knew at the time I was writing the sagging (read: boring) parts, they were dragging the story down, even if only temporarily. And I really tried to fix it. My MC's dilemma was that she needed to get the money back that her ex-manager had stolen from her. (SPOILER ALERT: She doesn't succeed.) My rational mind told me that she couldn't just let it go; that wouldn't be realistic. So I detailed all her attempts and tried to make them interesting. In hindsight, those did drag the story down; stopped its momentum. 

Whether you're an outliner or a discovery writer like me, you likely have or will run smack into the saggy middle. Luckily, there's plenty of advice to be had:

Fiction University: The Easiest Way to Fix a Novel's Sagging Middle 

Fiction University: Planning Your Novel's Middle

Jericho Writers: 4 Tips to Overcome the Saggy Middle 

How to Fix a Sagging Middle (I like this one, because it provides examples)

There are tons more.

Would I go back and change or delete those saggy scenes? No. If you're a current audiophile or remember the days of playing LP's, those records would eventually develop imperfections ~ pops, wobbles, hiccups. I remember those fondly. Sometimes when I stream a particular song on Spotify, my mind goes to, "Oh, here's where the pop comes in", yet strangely it doesn't. 😮

Likewise, if I ever re-read my novel, I'll be waiting for those scenes. "Oh, here come the saggy ones!" Since I'm one of the book's only readers, I can allow myself the reminiscences of when I was writing them. The other two people will just have to deal.

But if you plan to get lots of eyes on your book, you probably don't want to take my advice. Peruse the articles above or search out your own. If nothing else, your reading will probably spark some new ideas.