Writers in the Storm

by Dr. Diana Stout

I always considered myself a self-starter as a writer but found writing difficult to pursue regularly as a new writer. Inspiration always came after reading writing magazines, how-to books, attending conferences, and monthly meetings. But, back at my desk, that aspiration to write more didn’t occur. It was difficult writing day after day with no other writers to talk to frequently and regularly.

Along came the internet and chat rooms! The problem was I was spending more time in chat rooms than I was in writing.

Once I met two other nearby writers, we formed a critique group, where we met every three weeks, exchanging the new pages we’d written in between those meetings. In essence, we had self-imposed deadlines. Accountability.

Having been a weekly newspaper columnist and later a traditionally published author with deadlines, I realized the deadlines forced me to write, and that inspiration occurred after the writing started.

Then, I moved across the country. Finding accountability again in real time wasn’t easy. I joined writing groups and tried different accountability partners and critique groups, but they weren’t working well. I couldn’t find the fit I needed.

And then, because of Covid, Zoom moved into my life in a huge way. Meetings occurred online. We began having write-ins online.

Side Note: Zoom write-ins involve check-in designated times, and in between those times, our screens go dark, and we’re muted while we each write.

Today, I have an accountability partner and an accountability Zoom group, both of which assist me in being productive on a regular basis.

What Accountability Looks Like

Accountability is having support, where your successes are applauded, no matter how big or small, and even when you’re non-productive. We’re able to laugh at our common rabbit-hole excursions.

Accountability isn’t someone looking over your shoulder, or being critical or disapproving if don’t meet your goal(s).

Could Accountability Work for You?

Have you ever wished you could spend more time with other writers, or take part in more events that were writing focused?

If so, an accountability partner or an accountability group could work for you.

Testimonials from my writing group are that:

• we’re writing more.
• we are finishing more projects in less time.
• we’re cheering each other’s success, even if it’s only writing a couple hundred words, starting a blog, or creating some promo postings that day.
• we are supportive and sympathetic when the writing doesn’t go well.

If have a current accountability group or partner but are frustrated, it’s possible that your specific needs aren’t being met or that your expectations of that person or group doesn’t match yours.

Types of Accountability Groups

In creating an accountability group, you can make it anything you want. What kind of group do you need to help you write more?

• Simple accountability where you’re reporting your daily word count or hours spent writing to each other?
• Alpha reading critique group, where you’re getting help with developmental issues?
• Beta reading critique group, where errors are sought and caught?
• Brainstorming group, where you help each other plot out your stories?
• Shared writing time together either online or in person?

What Are the Qualities of a Good Accountability Partner?

Two qualities are necessary for an accountability partner—you included: honesty and the ability to receive criticism well.

Someone who receives criticism and makes it personal will not be a good fit for anyone they partner with. A major clue they don’t take criticism well is when they say someone provided harsh feedback. And yet, other writers will praise the feedback they receive from that same person. For that one writer, it’s harsh because they weren’t being told what they wanted to hear; they can’t believe they have more work to do. True harsh feedback is being told you’ll never be a writer.

Being told what’s wrong and why it doesn’t work is criticism you want to receive! Even better is when suggestions are provided on how to fix the problem. That kind of criticism is gold!

Talking honestly about what isn’t working in your writing (or theirs) is the only way either of you will improve. Feedback is about the writing, not you personally. More than anything else, you want partners who will tell you the truth and not sugar-coat (play down) any writing that still needs work.

Thus, honesty and not making it personal are strong foundational pillars of a good accountability relationship.

Other Qualities You Want to Have as an Accountability Partner

Be open to all feedback. Never defend or argue your position. Ask if you can explain what you were trying to do and listen to the suggestions offered. You don’t have to agree with everything said, but at least be open to hearing it. We can only go by what’s on the page, not by what was intended.

Be supportive. Saying You can do it! can go a long way to helping your partner.

Be able to laugh at your mistakes, your rabbit-holes, your failures.

What To Do If the Accountability Relationship Isn’t Working

When you suspect or discover a partner isn’t being 100% honest or dislikes your feedback and is making it personal, this partnership probably won’t be a good fit for you. It’s time to exit the relationship.

But, should the partner show an interest in wanting to improve and will be honest going forward, then it may be worth taking the time to grow the relationship to where you can improve together.

How to Find an Accountability Partner

Once you know what type of accountability partner you want, I liken that search to finding a marriage partner. You have to date. In other words, go through a test period to determine if a potential partner’s accountability is compatible. That you’ll be a good fit.

If you belong to a writing group, that is your ideal dating pool. Approach individuals within the group, rather than making a general announcement. Do the same in social media writing groups unless you’re not allowed to message privately. Be sure to state what type of partner you’re looking for: a brainstorming partner, a reporting partner, an alpha reader, a beta reader, and so forth.

Before you ask, you can vet writers by checking their profiles, websites, and read some samples of their published work. Another way to evaluate a good fit is to ask for a writing sample—about 10 pages. Give them 10 of yours and ask for their feedback.

Once You Find Your Accountability Partner

• Decide how often you’ll communicate.
• Determine how you’ll be accountable to each other.
• Ascertain whether you’ll share writing, how many pages, and how often.
• Determine where your communications will take place.
• Share your goals.

How to Start a Write-In Group

If you’re interested in wanting to commit to specific writing times with other writers, first determine how much time you’re willing to devote to the group each week or each month. Then, determine how and where, and on what platform you’ll host it, or if you’ll meet in person.

My goal in starting a Zoom write-in group was to include like-minded individuals who were actively writing regularly. The number of people who participate in my daily write-in varies from day-to-day, season-to-season.

Take Action!

Do you think having an accountability partner or being in an accountability group could help your situation?

About Dr. Diana

An award-winning writer in multiple genres as a screenwriter and author, Dr. Diana attributes her ability to publish 19 books, edit one anthology, and take part in another during an eight-year period to her write-in group and accountability partner.

At work on a psychological paranormal thriller and a grammar/punctuation resource guide as the third book in her Finding Your Fire series, she hopes to be publishing these two books by the end of the year.

Earlier this year she spent 3 weeks developing an extensive outline for the thriller, which allowed her in July to write a fast first draft of 45,000 in 4 weeks by following her own advice in her recent resource-guide publication of CPE: Character, Plot, & Emotionand its companion, the CPE Workbook. Michael Hauge, author of Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds and Storytelling Made Easy, states that “Diana brilliantly reveals and edifies the uniquely powerful principles of plot and character.”

To learn more about Diana, visit her Sharpened Pencils Productions website.

Top Image by Tung Lam from Pixabay

by Sandy Vaile

A “saggy middle” is a common problem that is responsible for millions of unfinished and unpublishable manuscripts around the world. Don’t let yours be one of them.

When we start writing a novel we’re excited by all the possibilities of where our fascinating characters might take our intriguing concept. We dive in head first, typing furiously, limitless ideas swirling around our minds.

And then we hit the midpoint …

What is a story’s “saggy middle”?

A story sags when it loses focus anywhere between the midpoint and the climax because:

• There is such a lot going on that we can’t see how to tie all of the plot threads together; or
• Ideas dry up and we’re not sure how to get the characters to the final crisis; or
• The story seems to wander aimlessly and readers lose interest; or
• The midpoint crisis doesn’t have dire consequences; or
• Initial excitement for this story fades and the climax still seems a long way off.  

Any of these can result in the writing process coming to a grinding halt, enthusiasm wanes and the project is abandoned or comes to a weak finish.

But there are four simple strategies to avoid a saggy middle.

1. Find the story’s throughline.
2. Create a roadmap for where you’re headed.
3. Exploit existing conflicts.
4. Ensure characters have agency.

What the Midpoint Should Achieve  

“Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.” Kurt Vonnegut

This is especially true in the middle of a novel, where we risk getting side-tracked by interesting tangents and throwing in a bunch of random conflicts so we don’t lose the reader’s interest.

The truth is, writing the middle of the book is difficult because it’s where the meaty bits of the story are.

The middle is where the MC:

• Despairs that all is lost and they can’t possibly achieve their goal.
• Doesn’t want to keep struggling because the situation seems hopeless.

It’s a real emotional turning point, where they have a revelation about how their beliefs, values and/or approach has been wrong. They make a new plan to achieve their goal and go from reacting to events, to proactively problem solving.

Despite realising what continuing on this journey might cost them (and the stakes should be high) they determinedly recommit to achieving their goal.

#1 Find the Throughline

I believe the most important thing to get right is articulating the story’s throughline, because it clarifies what is truly important to the Main Character’s (MC’s) journey through this book, and naturally strips away all the bits that don’t need to be there to drive the MC to that end.

Picture the throughline as a thread that joins the beginning and end of the story, i.e.:

• Who the MC is at the beginning of the story; and
• Who they will be at the end of the story after they have overcome all kinds of difficulties and learnt what will actually make them happy or emotionally whole.

Who the MC is deep inside determines their external goal (what they want) and actions (how they will go about getting it), and these motivations stem from:

• What they believe will make them happy or emotionally whole; and
• Backstory events that formed the beliefs that are relevant to what they want in this story.

For example in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, the throughline is Harry discovering the truth about who and what Sirius Black really is and the crime he was imprisoned for.

Staying focused on this throughline makes everything in the story cohesive and driven towards the one clear objective.

#2 Create a Roadmap

Uncertainty about the direction of the plot often results in a meandering narrative and slow pacing. Creating a roadmap gives you tangible targets to aim for and alleviates that lost feeling.

Fleshing out the scenes that will carry the MC from the midpoint crisis to climax, provides stepping stones to move the characters through the story, ensuring they take purposeful actions that are aligned to the throughline.

The large mid-section of a book sets-up everything we need for the climax and ensures the MC overcoming it feels like a true accomplishment.

Keeping in mind what the midpoint should achieve (above in What the Midpoint Should Achieve), include these things:

• Set-up the midpoint crisis, showing how difficult the situation is and what’s at stake if they fail.
• Throw a spanner into the spokes of the MC’s bicycle (so as to speak) with a shocking event or revelation that makes it seem like there is no way for them to reach their goal, e.g.:
  • Deliver their worst nightmare.
  • Take away their safety net.
  • Reveal a secret that could ruin them.
  • Make them so miserable they want to give up.
  • Have them learn something shocking about the antagonist.
• Ideally you want to make the MC’s emotional goal clash with their external goal to create a dilemma that will result in undesirable outcomes no matter which way they go.

For example –

If they tell the truth they will lose their job, but if they lie they will have to live with the risk of being found out later anyway.

• The resulting self-reflection shifts the MC’s perspective. They question their beliefs and approach to the situation, and then realise how they need to change (their beliefs or tactics) in order to succeed.
• Make a new-improved plan to achieve their goal and remind readers what’s at stake if they fail to achieve it. This is a good time to reveal more about the superiority of the antagonist’s skills and/or resources.
• Have the MC gather allies and supplies, or learn skills that will help them in the climax.

And if all else fails, write the ending first. Seriously, knowing what the MC’s life will look like after they have overcome the antagonist and achieved their goal, will trigger ideas for situations that will lead up to this.

#3 Exploit Conflicts and Increase Stakes

Exploiting conflict is a powerful strategy for keeping a novel’s middle tense and engaging. It drives the plot and ensures the story doesn’t lose steam before it gets to the end.

Ensuring there is something significant at stake if the MC fails to achieve their goals, will realistically push them to take desperate measures, as well as keeping readers on the edge of their seats waiting to see how the conflicts will be resolved.

When characters are put into difficult situations, it forces them to make tough decisions, adapt to new situations and grow in unexpected ways.

Conflicts can take various forms:

• External struggles against an antagonist.
• Challenging environments and situations.
• Emotional turmoil within themselves.

Developing a strong character arc, enables you to leverage the MC’s inner fears and false beliefs as a catalyst to force them into uncomfortable situations that highlight their shortcomings. Through their actions we learn about their strengths, flaws and desires, revealing their true natures.

Whenever possible, play conflicts off one another to create heightened levels of tension, and then increase what’s at stake if the MC fails, therefore making the situation desperate.

For example, if a detective is trying to solve a murder, you could use these conflicts:

• An external threat with the murderer hunting the detective. Increase the stakes by add a deadline.
• Personal conflict with a family member who becomes a suspect. Increase the stakes by having them kidnapped by the killer.
• A professional conflict with two detectives vying for a promotion and everything hinges on this case. Increase the stakes by having the killer make it look like the detective is involved.
• Leverage the detective’s childhood trauma of being raped, by making this a child abuse murder.

By leaning into a variety of conflicts, you create a complex and layered story that will captivate readers.

#4 Ensure Characters Have Agency

Ensuring characters have agency simply means having the MC make their own decisions and actively pursue their goals, so they can affect outcomes. It’s particularly important they develop more agency from the midpoint of the story because they are no longer just reacting to events or letting other characters take the lead. Now they shift to being proactive.

A proactive MC is essential for maintaining story momentum and avoiding a saggy middle.

When the MC actively pursues their goals and problem solves to overcome obstacles it:

• Draws readers along with them, eager to see how the story will unfold.
• Makes it easier for you to figure out what should happen next because there will be a cause and effect cycle, e.g. if they want X they have to do A, B, and C to get it.
• Inherently conflicts with the antagonist’s goals, keeping tension high.
• Reveals more of who the character is because they will approach problems differently to other characters, based on their desires, beliefs and fears. The way they approach a problem needs to be aligned with the book’s end goal, their motivations and what stage of changing their false belief they are at. In other words, it needs to be realistic within the scope of the story.

This constant drive to get what they want, ensures the plot is always progressing, which creates momentum in the story.

Using these four strategies will prevent you writing aimlessly towards a distant ending and getting stuck at the dreaded saggy middle, because it provides a meaningful and tangible direction for the story. The result is a cohesive plot with plenty of momentum that makes for a compelling read.

Are you stuck in a rut of writing novels you never finish, never submit or aren’t sure how to fix?

Join Sandy’s supportive Facebook community for Female Contemporary Fiction Authors who want to plan and finish novels traditional publishers can’t resist!

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About Sandy

Sandy Vaile is an internationally published author with decades of experience in the fiction industry, who empowers female contemporary fiction writers to plan and finish novels traditional publishers can’t resist, through fiction coaching, courses and developmental editing.

Sandy writes romantic suspense for Simon & Schuster US and, in her spare time, is a motorbike-riding daredevil with a sense of adventure. She is lucky enough to live in the McLaren Vale wine region, so there are plenty of excuses for cheese platters and bubbles.

www.fearlessprose.com

Top Image by Tep Ro from Pixabay

by Sarah “Sally” Hamer

All of our characters want something, right? Joan Wilder wants to save her sister in Romancing the Stone. Paul Muad’dib Atreides wants to avenge his father in Dune 2. Sully wants to be First Monster on the Scream Floor in Monsters, Inc. Jane Eyre wants to find a place to be happy. Katniss Everdeen of The Hunger Games wants to save her sister from the crazy world they live in.

I can go on forever.

Almost every story ever told has at least one character who has a specific, definable, understandable goal.

• So, how does the reader know what that goal is?
• How do we as story-tellers express that?
• Does the character actually state it? Yes.
• Does someone else tell the protagonist what it is they want? Yes.
• Can a story work if that goal is never clearly expressed? Yes.

It depends on the story and the person telling it.

One of my favorite movies is Little Shop of Horrors. Well, let me rephrase. I love the 1986 movie with Ellen Greene and Rick Moranis, with music by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (HATE the theatrical ending. If you know, you know).

For what it’s worth, Menken has nineteen Academy Award nominations (he’s won eight which puts him in 3^rd place for the most won by one person), and is also one of the nineteen people who have achieved EGOT status for winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award. Ashman was right in there with him until his death. If you’ve hummed a Little Mermaid, Aladdin, or Beauty and the Beast song, you’ve listened to their music. They also wrote the songs for the movie.

The “I Want” statement defined.

Menken made an NPR YouTube video in 2022 during the Covid shutdown and, during the show, explained the “I want” statement. When he and Ashman wrote the music for a show, they had to figure out the main character’s goal. Then, they created a song around it.

In Little Shop, Audrey tells Seymour that she wants “Somewhere That’s Green.” She was raised in the slums of New York City, believes that she is worthless and unlovable, hates her life, and, as her “I want” statement, desires a tract house with an enormous, 12-inch TV screen, somewhere besides the Skid Row where she always lived. Menken’s song moved the story along beautifully, which is his great talent, and, with that one song showed Audrey’s dream in a way that probably nothing else could have.

This moment is where your character steps up and says, “This is what I dream of.”

Alan Menken

The thing about the “I want” statement is that, it’s probably when the character is the most honest in the entire story.

Romancing the Stone

While Joan Wilder’s main goal is to save her sister from the bad guys, it shifts in the middle of the story. She has the treasure map, which is the ransom for her sister, in her possession. But, instead of just turning it over, she decides to find the “stone” of the title. She still plans to save her sister but she’s not going to make it easy for the bad guys.

With Jack’s help – he becomes the hero of the piece – she finds the stone and now has real negotiating power. She also steps out of her comfort zone and, for the first time, we see her for the strong woman she really is. And the treasure is her new self-confidence.

The Hunger Games

Katniss Everdeen’s “I want” statement is to keep her sister and mom safe. She immediately volunteers as tribute when Prim’s name is called, and then spends the rest of the series doing things that she believes will achieve her overarching goal. There isn’t a particular revelation in any of the three books/movies, where her “I want” shifts – it’s always about Prim – but she does things that go against her own moral values to stay alive so she can keep her promise. Her vow to save Prim overrides even her own personal safety. And the audience is very aware of it.

Monsters, Inc

Sully’s “I want” is very clear. He’s in a race to be the top Screamer. But underlying all that is the knowledge that his very world is dependent on the electricity the frightened children’s screams create. So, eventually, he has to choose between the good of the one as opposed to the good of the many. What a unbelievably hard choice! And what a wonderful solution they come up with. Regardless, its’s a beautiful story about how enemies can come together to make a better world.

What is your character’s “I want” statement? What do you, as the writer, want that character to have? Is it the same all the way through the story? Does the character say it out loud, or does the audience have to listen to actions very carefully?

My recommendation is always to watch as many movies and read as many books as you can, and try to determine that “I want” statement. It’s one of the best ways to learn how to apply it to your own stories.

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About Sally

Sarah (Sally) Hamer, B.S., MLA, is a lover of books, a teacher of writers, and a believer in a good story. Most of all, she is eternally fascinated by people and how they 'tick'. She’s passionate about helping people tell their own stories, whether through fiction or through memoir. Writing in many genres - mystery, science fiction, fantasy, romance, medieval history, non-fiction – she has won awards at both local and national levels, including two Golden Heart finals.

A teacher of memoir, beginning and advanced creative fiction writing, and screenwriting at Louisiana State University in Shreveport for over twenty years, she also teaches online for Margie Lawson at www.margielawson.com and hosts symposiums at www.mindpotential.org. Find her at info@mindpotential.org.

Top Image by Ria Sopala from Pixabay