Story Structure: How the Midpoint Reversal Works in a Novel

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

The midpoint reversal is the glue that holds the first and second halves of the novel together.

Like many writers, I used to hate middles. My novels always bogged down halfway through, the plot hit a wall, or I realized it had gone so far off track I was writing a different novel. I can’t tell you how many times I just chucked the whole draft and started over.

Until I discovered the midpoint reversal, and it changed my writing life.

After that, middles weren’t a problem anymore, and plotting became a whole lot easier. I didn’t bog down or fizzle out, and I always knew where my plot was headed.

A strong midpoint reversal just flat out makes a novel easier to write.

The Easiest Way to Fix a Novel's Sagging Middle

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

A sagging middle is a problem a lot of writers face during a first draft, but there is one trick that will help get you through it. 

Raise your hand if you've ever had trouble with the middle of your novel.

-hand raises-

I can't tell you how many 150-page drafts languished on my hard drive when I was still trying to figure out how to write an entire novel. I'd start out fine, but then after my inciting event and my first major plot point it ground to a halt. Not every draft was bad, but most of them were, well, boring.

They dragged, they snoozed, they spent a lot of time repeating the same types of scenes or activities and I just stopped working on them, sure that the idea was terrible and I was an equally terrible writer.

Neither was true.