: Re: How to write from the middle? My biggest problem as a writer is that I always get inspired and then start writing from the middle, in particular scenes or moments which I think will be crucial.

@Annie587

Vote Up Vote Down

I think most writers start out at least having in mind what the conclusion or climax of the story will be, and then have to figure out how to get there. It's hard to imagine how you'd write a story if you really started at the beginning and had no idea where this was going. I recall reading an article by the well-known science fiction writer Isaac Asimov once where he said that he usually starts out with a general idea, then comes up with an ending, then a beginning, and then last he writes the middle.

But look at it this way: You write the climax first, so you know where you're going. Now you have to figure out how to get there. To at least some extent, this should be obvious. Like, if you know you want the story to end with the detective revealing that the killer was Miss Scarlet in the library with the candlestick, then it follows that you have to start out with the discovery that there has been a murder and a character named Miss Scarlet. You'll have to create clues that Miss Scarlet was the killer, and let the detective find them. You'll also have to create red herrings that lead to someone else. Etc. That is, if you know where you started from and where you're going, that pretty much determines at least the broad outlines of what has to happen in the middle.

If your problem is that the path just gets dull, well, if I had some simple formula for how to write an interesting story, I'd be a rich and famous writer myself. The closest to a formula I can think of is: If it's boring, add some complexity. If the path from A to B is just too obvious, then add some detours. If it's too obvious that the hero will get the girl in the end, then introduce some complications so that the reader starts to think that maybe he won't, or at least that there are some difficulties to be overcome along the way. Think about how to make your characters more interesting. Introduce some character flaws, and then provide a way for the character to overcome them. Etc.

(0)

Login to post a comment!