{"id":21424,"date":"2019-04-26T01:00:16","date_gmt":"2019-04-26T08:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=21424"},"modified":"2019-04-23T18:45:11","modified_gmt":"2019-04-24T01:45:11","slug":"tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/","title":{"rendered":"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle by Tinthia Clemant"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Let\u2019s welcome back monthly columnist,\u00a0Tinthia\u00a0Clemant<\/strong><\/a> as she shares with us \u201cTighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle.\u201d Enjoy!<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not referring to the end result of inviting Ben and Jerry over every night of the week.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m referring to fixing your manuscript\u2019s middle sag.<\/p>\n

No readers wants a story that sags in the middle.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Writing Middles is Hard!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Many writers will be quick to state that the hardest part of writing a story is to write the middle.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I get it. Act II is the longest section of our story and, at times, seems endless.<\/p>\n

We all love writing hooks, that part of Act 1 where the party gets started, launching the main character on her, or his, journey. And Act III? It\u2019s a blast to write. The heroine gets to confront her nemesis, be it a real person or some inner demons. But Act II? Yawn.<\/p>\n

Even Action Movies Can\u2019t Escape Sagging Middles<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Think of the most recent action movie you\u2019ve seen. I\u2019ll use Marvel superhero movies in honor of\u00a0Avengers: Endgame<\/em> hitting theaters real soon. (Don’t worry; no spoilers, promise.)<\/p>\n

The opening scene in a Marvel superhero movie is often an amazing action sequence where we get to witness our hero(s) doing what they do best — kicking some CGI butt.<\/p>\n

In Act III we\u2019re treated to another CGI battle only on a grander scale, and in most cases, experience a happy ending, or at least a great post-credit scene. But the middle of a Marvel movie is where the story often slows down to a tedious crawl, i.e. Hawkeye\u2019s farm in\u00a0The Age of Ultron<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Act II in a Marvel movie is often where the exposition happens, boring stuff where characters we\u2019ve paid good money to watch fight stand around and talk. It\u2019s a great time to hit the bathroom, and get a refill on your popcorn.<\/p>\n

How can you avoid having a middle that sags?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If we revisit our plot line for the three-act structure we see that Act II moves in an upward motion toward the story\u2019s second turning point. This movement, called the Middle Build, is where you, as the author, get to increase the tension in your story.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

How do you know if your middle is sagging?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you find yourself writing mostly about your characters sitting around and talking, there\u2019s a good chance your middle is sagging.<\/p>\n

Saggy middles are filled with, dun-dun-dunnnnnn, exposition.<\/p>\n

Nothing says an authors lost her or his mojo for the story like talking heads.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not implying that characters engaged in conversation is necessarily boring.<\/p>\n

If we\u2019re writing a story about Mary and Charlie Beaker, Charlie telling Mary he\u2019s cheating on her with the neighbor is fine.<\/p>\n

But what if Mary discovers Charlie climbing through the neighbor\u2019s bedroom window?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a more exciting way to introduce the information.<\/p>\n

My favorite quote from the movie,\u00a0The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly<\/em><\/a>\u00a0says it all.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Fixing a Sagging Middle<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The easiest way to fix a sagging middle is to keep it from sagging in the first place. It\u2019s kind of like our own middles. Keeping a stomach toned is a helluva lot easier than losing a belly of fat.<\/p>\n

The same thing goes for your story.<\/p>\n

Keeping the conflicts and goals you\u2019ve established for your characters front and center will make a big difference in the strength of your middle.<\/p>\n

The first thing you can do to tighten your story\u2019s middle is to search through Act II<\/strong>, heck, search through your entire MS (manuscript), and replace lazy, flabby words with strong alternatives.<\/p>\n

Writing that Mary is mystified as she watches George has a lot more punch than calling her confused.<\/p>\n

\"http:\/\/www.everythingenglishblog.com\"<\/a>

http:\/\/www.everythingenglishblog.com<\/p><\/div>\n

Next, show instead of tell<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Telling tends to weaken scenes that need tightening.<\/p>\n

If I were to write that Mary, upon seeing Charlie\u2019s feet disappearing over the neighbor\u2019s windowsill, stood and stared with a look of disbelief on her face, that would be telling.<\/p>\n

Instead, I could write that Mary\u2019s breathing rate skyrocketed as she clenched her hands. Add that her fingernails break the skin of her palms and blood drips on the patio bricks as she swears to get revenge on her cheating husband\u2019s ass. Maybe insert a little hysterical laughter. Get the picture?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Too much telling can sag a middle. Show instead!<\/h2>\n

Another way to tighten your sagging middle is to take the scenes you\u2019ve written and place them on a plot line.<\/p>\n

Cut, cut, cut any scene that doesn\u2019t move the story forward. Even if you absolutely love the scene.<\/p>\n

If it stalls the story, get rid of it, or rewrite it. You don\u2019t have to kill all your darlings, just give them a radical makeover.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

My last suggestion to tighten your saggy middle is to throw some land mines in front of your characters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If Mary, after discovering Charlie sneaking into the neighbor\u2019s house, goes home and returns to her life, you don\u2019t have a very interesting story.<\/p>\n

But if Mary drives to the local hardware store and buys some rat poison, now things get interesting.<\/p>\n

But wait!<\/p>\n

What if a Chad, a local cop who\u2019s had a crush on Mary since high school, is in the store and notices the box of rat poison? Oh baby, the plot thickens.<\/p>\n

Raymond Chandler, the master of tight middles, said it best.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Guns, rat poison, emotional turmoil, they all work wonders at tightening a sagging middle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You\u2019re the author. Have some fun. Play around with different ideas that will challenge your characters. Before you know it, you\u2019ll have a six-pack middle your readers will love.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to learn your techniques for tightening your sagging middles. Until next time, blessed be.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Editor’s note:<\/strong><\/em> If you’d like to know more about story structure including the three-act structure, check out our course, “How to Choose Your Story\u2019s Structure: Learn the ins and outs of five powerful storytelling structures,” here: https:\/\/school.bethbarany.com\/p\/how-to-choose-your-story-structure<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/h2>\n

\"\"Author of\u00a0The Summer of Annah series<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>Tinthia Clemant<\/a> <\/strong>lives in a secluded spot on the Concord River in Massachusetts. Her companions include a black Labrador\/Coonhound named Harlee; Shadow, an elderly black cat who still rocks at catching mice that have wandered into the house; a few hundred wild Mallards; assorted turtles, songbirds, snakes; and hawks, two Great Blue herons, and an American bald eagle.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Besides writing, she enjoys baking, gardening, reading (of course), painting and photography, laughing, and movies (the more explosions the better). Tinthia is an ice cream aficionado<\/em> and insists that Ben and Jerry are the most perfect men ever created. She inherited my father\u2019s temper and her mother\u2019s view on life: It\u2019s meant to be lived, embraced, savored, inhaled, and not given back until every last drop of wonder is claimed.\u00a0\u00a0If you visit Tinthia, make sure you bring a bottle of bourbon and, of course, ice cream. Her favorite flavor is Chunky Monkey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle – I\u2019m not referring to the end result of inviting Ben and Jerry over every night of the week. I\u2019m referring to fixing your manuscript\u2019s middle sag.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":21425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[2590,3886,2195,1518,3718,3885],"class_list":["post-21424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-writing-tips","tag-manuscript","tag-plotline","tag-plotting","tag-story-structure","tag-tinthia-clemant","tag-writing-hooks"],"yoast_head":"\nTighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle by Tinthia Clemant · Writer's Fun Zone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle - I\u2019m not referring to the end result of inviting Ben and Jerry over every night of the week. I\u2019m referring to fixing your manuscript\u2019s middle sag.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle by Tinthia Clemant · Writer's Fun Zone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle - I\u2019m not referring to the end result of inviting Ben and Jerry over every night of the week. I\u2019m referring to fixing your manuscript\u2019s middle sag.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Writer's Fun Zone\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bethbarany\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-04-26T08:00:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Image-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"328\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"238\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Guest Contributor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Guest Contributor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/26\\\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/26\\\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Guest Contributor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da98818636d0a12baec6dd6b03db168\"},\"headline\":\"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle by Tinthia Clemant\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-26T08:00:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/26\\\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1215,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/26\\\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/Image-1.png\",\"keywords\":[\"manuscript\",\"plotline\",\"plotting\",\"story structure\",\"Tinthia Clemant\",\"writing hooks\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Writing Tips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/26\\\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/26\\\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/26\\\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\\\/\",\"name\":\"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle by Tinthia Clemant · Writer's Fun Zone\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/26\\\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/26\\\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/Image-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-04-26T08:00:16+00:00\",\"description\":\"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle - I\u2019m not referring to the end result of inviting Ben and Jerry over every night of the week. I\u2019m referring to fixing your manuscript\u2019s middle sag.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/26\\\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/26\\\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/26\\\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/Image-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/Image-1.png\",\"width\":328,\"height\":238},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/2019\\\/04\\\/26\\\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle by Tinthia Clemant\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Writer's Fun Zone\",\"description\":\"where we go to the edge to play and become better writers\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Beth Barany Productions\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/cropped-cropped-WFZ_BANNER_DRAFT_NEW_mock_1C_w_edits.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/cropped-cropped-WFZ_BANNER_DRAFT_NEW_mock_1C_w_edits.jpeg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":246,\"caption\":\"Beth Barany Productions\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/bethbarany\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/BethBarany\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/bethbarany\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/c\\\/BethBarany\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/bethbarany\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da98818636d0a12baec6dd6b03db168\",\"name\":\"Guest Contributor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f3a34f16e4191c23786121e3cb54e0dadf1dd00c7c8ec2686195240a1680e394?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f3a34f16e4191c23786121e3cb54e0dadf1dd00c7c8ec2686195240a1680e394?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/f3a34f16e4191c23786121e3cb54e0dadf1dd00c7c8ec2686195240a1680e394?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Guest Contributor\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/writersfunzone.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/guest-contributor\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle by Tinthia Clemant · Writer's Fun Zone","description":"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle - I\u2019m not referring to the end result of inviting Ben and Jerry over every night of the week. I\u2019m referring to fixing your manuscript\u2019s middle sag.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle by Tinthia Clemant · Writer's Fun Zone","og_description":"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle - I\u2019m not referring to the end result of inviting Ben and Jerry over every night of the week. I\u2019m referring to fixing your manuscript\u2019s middle sag.","og_url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/","og_site_name":"Writer's Fun Zone","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bethbarany\/","article_published_time":"2019-04-26T08:00:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":328,"height":238,"url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Image-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Guest Contributor","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Guest Contributor","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/"},"author":{"name":"Guest Contributor","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6da98818636d0a12baec6dd6b03db168"},"headline":"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle by Tinthia Clemant","datePublished":"2019-04-26T08:00:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/"},"wordCount":1215,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Image-1.png","keywords":["manuscript","plotline","plotting","story structure","Tinthia Clemant","writing hooks"],"articleSection":["Writing Tips"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/","url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/","name":"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle by Tinthia Clemant · Writer's Fun Zone","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Image-1.png","datePublished":"2019-04-26T08:00:16+00:00","description":"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle - I\u2019m not referring to the end result of inviting Ben and Jerry over every night of the week. I\u2019m referring to fixing your manuscript\u2019s middle sag.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Image-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/Image-1.png","width":328,"height":238},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/26\/tighten-up-your-storys-sagging-middle-by-tinthia-clemant\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Tighten Up Your Story\u2019s Sagging Middle by Tinthia Clemant"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/","name":"Writer's Fun Zone","description":"where we go to the edge to play and become better writers","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Beth Barany Productions","url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/cropped-cropped-WFZ_BANNER_DRAFT_NEW_mock_1C_w_edits.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/cropped-cropped-WFZ_BANNER_DRAFT_NEW_mock_1C_w_edits.jpeg","width":1024,"height":246,"caption":"Beth Barany Productions"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bethbarany\/","https:\/\/x.com\/BethBarany","http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bethbarany\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/BethBarany","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bethbarany\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/6da98818636d0a12baec6dd6b03db168","name":"Guest Contributor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3a34f16e4191c23786121e3cb54e0dadf1dd00c7c8ec2686195240a1680e394?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3a34f16e4191c23786121e3cb54e0dadf1dd00c7c8ec2686195240a1680e394?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3a34f16e4191c23786121e3cb54e0dadf1dd00c7c8ec2686195240a1680e394?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Guest Contributor"},"url":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/author\/guest-contributor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21424"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21439,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21424\/revisions\/21439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}