On the Steeple Hill boards someone asked a question about the sagging middle and how to avoid having one in her book. One of the ways I try to keep the story moving along in the middle of the book is to resolve or deal with a major plot point about 1/2 to 2/3 the way through the book. I look at the plot of a book as a series of valleys and peaks (a short one should have two or three of them). I make sure to build toward one of the peaks through the middle.
An example of this would be in What the Heart Knows (Love Inspired, January 2004) the heroine finally discovers what is wrong with her son who ran away from home. She and the hero, a doctor who is helping her with her son, go after him and find him. This leads to her son’s diagnoses. From this point the heroine’s relationship with the hero changes and she must also learn to deal with her son’s illness. Or in When Dreams Come True (Love Inspired, March 2006), the hero finally discovers who is robbing the houses in his neighborhood.
So make sure you have something important tied up or dealt with through the middle so your book doesn’t sag. What book have you read where the middle has riveted you through it? Analyze it and see why.
Two bits of good news for me:
The Cinderella Plan was the Reader’s Choice for Best Inspirational on the eHarlequin web site.
A Mother for Cindy is a finalist in the Gayle Wilson’s Excellence Contest in the inspirational category.