Skip to main content

Workshop 15 Saggy, Baggy Middle?

Operation Agent Ink Preview!

Thursday is our big day and it's full of awesomeness, with agents answering your questions and giving gifts away. What could be better?

So, because Thursday will be full of lots of goodies, I've decided to give a little preview to the workshop. I don't want everyone feeling crammed into the afternoon, but hopefully you all will enjoy the day and getting to know the agents participating in the Pitch Opportunity!

Oh, and out new agent will be here on Thursday, so I'll be posting who she is and what she has on her wish list!!

So, on to the workshop!

Here is a checklist to ask yourself as you approach the middle of your novel:

Do character relationships change? Do they deepen, get more emotionally involved or love/hate more?

Have you given your readers even more reasons to care about the characters and plot line?

Is there a sense of urgency present? Are the stakes pushed up even more? Is there a pending death, whether physical, psychological or professional, or even emotional?

Have you given your characters a STRONG reason NOT to walk away? Have you written a immobilizing setting, relationship, or just good standing morals?

and last, but certainly not least...

 Have you increased the conflict and the tension?


How do you fix a boring middle? That's just what the next workshop will cover. For now, think about these questions on the checklist. Hopefully, this will get some creative juices flowing!!

See you later:)

Comments

  1. prerna pickettDecember 11, 2012 at 5:27 PM

    thanks, definitely considering these questions as I go through my manuscript.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ink in the BookDecember 11, 2012 at 10:07 PM

      I know! I keep a running list of questions like these posted on my board at my writing desk. It helps keep me focused:)

      Delete
  2. Aldrea AlienDecember 12, 2012 at 1:40 AM

    Hmm, I'm looking at these questions after my first editing run and all my mind comes up with for each one is: yes.

    Now I'm wondering if that's really the case or if I'm fooling myself ...

    I so need to get my CPs to look over it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. T.J.December 12, 2012 at 4:21 AM

    Yup! In fact, my poor lil MC is going to do a complete 180 - from constant reaction to the situation in hopes the bad guys will leave her alone - to going on the hunt. Not easy when they are gods :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. VikLitDecember 12, 2012 at 12:48 PM

    Thanks for these questions!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousDecember 12, 2012 at 3:06 PM

    I did not do some of these things well in my middle. Bah-- must do a lot of rewriting.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownDecember 13, 2012 at 12:42 AM

    Excellent questions to improve the story-line and deepen conflict. Im bookmarking the workshop for future and present use. :)

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Writer In Motion CP feedback

Hey beautiful guys and dolls! Here it is! My CP feedback edited story. Had a hard time with this, but I hope it makes sense. I've got a post I'm working on I plan to put up after Thanksgiving. Here ya go. Enjoy... Every morning I wake to carnival day.  Today, though, I have my key. If I don’t use it before midnight, my way of escape will gone. It’s a silver key with a twisted metal handle, a sapphire stone half moon and engraved stars. There’s a tiny inscription on the moon, but it’s so small, I’ve never been able to read it.I’ve always kept mine in my jewelry box, but today, I string it on a ribbon and tie it around my neck. My two best friends will be wearing theirs, too, and I wonder how they will escape this carnival of dreams. “What’s it for?” Cress asks as we stand in line for the swings. I run my fingertips over the entire silver surface. “I don’t know. It belonged to my grandmother,” I say. “Whatever.” She shrugs her shoulder in a dismissive way. “Have
3 comments
Read more

Insecure Writers Group

Today, my feelings are mixed. On one hand, I've faced more rejection and that's not easy to write about or admit to the world. But I am not crying in my "milk" (no beer, folks:) I want to, but what good would it do??? I received a detailed critique from a "Best First Line" contest. The critique was the best I have ever received and seriously opened my eyes to "how" to improve my writing. Nice! Speaking of critiques, I am still looking for a critique partner. If anyone is looking back, please let me know and we can swap info. I'm sending off a YA query letter and first pages to 3 agents this week. Wish me luck. This will be the first time I have directly contacted and agent with a query. Yes, I'm nervous, so I'm saying again, WISH ME LUCK!!!
69 comments
Read more

Workshop 13

First, sorry about the wonky formatting. I tried, but couldn't fix it... Passive voice. Do you know what passive voice is and why you shouldn't use much passive voice in your writing? It's fairly easy to define, but much harder to avoid in you writing. Passive Voice: It can be defined as using the object of a sentence as the subject, combined with a the "be" form and past participle. Example: The snowman                               has been melted                          by the sun. Poor snowman! Frosty just can't take the heat! But, seriously, here's the breakdown.   The snowman is the wrongly placed subject. has been melted uses the "be" form verb has been and adds the past participle melted . by the sun is a prepositional phrase, with sun as the object of the preposition. We can remove the "be" form helping verbs, change the subject and remove the prepositional phrase, and TA-DA! no more passive voice
23 comments
Read more