A writer revising the rough draft of a novel stalls in the middle. Here he finds some quirky, secondary characters. One character has the potential to become a “romance plot” suitor. He also discovers a couple of magical and mystical settings. Several subplots of enchantment are revealed. Various minor characters populate the middle and… not much excitement. Appraising the long, dull corridor spanning the entire Middle, the writer despairs. He wants help in amping up the tension and excitement. He’s looking for help how to turn a lackluster middle into page-turning excitement.
Secondary Characters and Setting
Each secondary character and setting, subplot and minor character holds the potential for tension and excitement. This is especially true when what the secondary character wants is in direct conflict with what the protagonist wants.
To find these opportunities in the middle of your story requires taking stepping away from the words. Dig deeper into the other characters individually. Discover their importance to the overall meaning of the story beyond helping the protagonist get to where she needs to go. Devise goals and aspirations that interfere with the protagonist’s goals and aspirations. This means you need to get to know these other characters as well as you know your protagonist.
Antagonists Rule the Middle
Secondary and minor cardboard characters serve you while writing the protagonist’s storyline. Now, in the revision, it’s their time to shine. Antagonists rule the middle. They are there to teach the protagonist what she needs to know in order to prevail at the climax at the end. This learning is not easy. The middle is necessarily fraught with dangerous and often unkind challenges.
Character Profile
Fill out a Character Profile for each character. Create goals that are in direct opposition to what the protagonist wants. Allow secondary characters to mirror traits of the protagonist’s, flaws she is oblivious of. Negative and self-sabotaging traits are usually hidden in the shadows. To succeed in the end, she’ll need to confront her flaws and overcome them.
(For more: Plot Whisperer and Writing Blockbuster Plots books for writers and PlotWriMo: Revise Your Novel in a Month video series.)
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