A lot of writers find writing the middle of their story to be the most challenging part of the writing process.

This makes sense. Unlike the beginning and end, which have very clear objectives, the middle of your story can be a lot more open – which means that some writers tend to get a lost and confused about what needs to happen.

In order to talk about the middle of your story, though, it helps to have some basic awareness of story strcuture. The most typical story structure is in three parts: beginning, middle, and end. You’ll often hear this referred to as Three Act Structure (which means that your story’s middle can also be called Act Two).

The Three Act Structure is so universal because it works, and once you start paying attention, you’ll notice that all sorts of things happen in threes. This includes the stories we tell each other, even just casually, about something that happened to us. There are usually three parts: the setup, the buildup, and the conclusion or payoff. Act One, Act Two, Act Three. Beginning, middle, end.

Beginnings, or Act One, tend to be the easiest: we start by setting the scene. Where are we? Who’s there? What’s going on?

Endings, or Act Three, are pretty straightforward too: How does everything wrap up? Who wins, and who loses?

Middles, or Act Two, though, are usually the longest part of the story. It’s also where most of the important action takes place. The beginning is there to set up what leads to the middle, and the end is there to explain how everything concludes. But what needs to happen in this all-important middle?

Here are 5 things to keep in mind about writing a good middle:

1. Make sure the tension continues to rise. If your middle ever feels stagnant, there’s not enough conflict or tension. Ask yourself what other obstacles you can throw in your character’s way.
2. This is where the subplots happen. Subplots are little stories within the main story, often connected to the story’s overall theme. You can expand your story’s middle by developing one or more subplots.
3. Don’t rush it. You may know where the story is going, but a good drafting technique is to stretch things out as long as possible before reaching the climax or conclusion. You can always cut any scenes that you realise later don’t serve much purpose.
4. Every scene has to count. If it’s not developing the main plot, it should be developing a subplot. If it’s not doing either of those things, it should be revealing important character or worldbuilding information. Readers will be able to tell when you’re just padding things out, so make sure every scene has a story objective
5. Don’t worry if the middle of your story feels underdeveloped in the first or even second draft. You will be able to work on it in subsequent drafts. It’s much more important to finish the draft than it is to get the middle perfect.

And if you’d like to learn even more about how to write the middle of your story, check out my 10-minute video below: