Act II - or how to deal with a saggy middle

Hi there,

Welcome to this masterclass for paid members of

Wild Writing with Sanjida

on Act II - or how to deal with a saggy middle.

Sometimes, around the middle of a novel, the pace can sag, the tension becomes a little flaccid and the reader’s mind starts to wander. She wonders what’s for dinner. He puts the book down. Worse. He doesn’t pick it up again.

No one wants sag!

We want a book that we simply can’t put down.

So here’s how you keep your story going so that your readers are desperate to keep turning the pages.

In this masterclass I’m going to give you:

• a reminder of the five core elements of plot, covered in the previous masterclass,

then I’ll explain:

• why Act II, or the middle of your novel, can sometimes lose tension and start to sag.

But what you really want to know is- how do I keep the tension and pace going?

I’m going to show you:

• three ways to fix it.

We’re also going to:

• discuss whether you should plot in advance or not by looking at what some other bestselling authors do,

• we’ll look at how to reverse engineer Chekhov’s gun. Key to helping you with your plot tangles!

• followed by a writing exercise to help.

If that all sounds interesting and, I hope, useful, do please consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Also, I’m planning an Ask Me Anything session in July (paid members can vote for the best date and send questions in advance if they can’t attend) - Doodle poll link ⬇️

In the last masterclass on How to Plot, we discussed the five core aspects of plot. These are: the inciting incident, progressive complications, a crisis, climax and resolution.

The trouble is, the inciting incident happens at the start and the crisis, climax and resolution at the end.

So effectively the middle section, essentially Act II—which goes from a quarter of the way into the book to the last quarter or third—can lack pace.

For a refresh, please have a look at the masterclass on How to Plot:

How to Plot

So what can we do to keep the pace and tension going?

I have three suggestions to keep the pace and tension going: