Halfway Goals

[theWallflower]

OK, so you're halfway through a novel. Are there any common goals that you as a writer want to have accomplished by this point in terms of plot, character, etc.?

 

[zachariah]

I'm half way through mine, and my goal was for it to be finished by now.

Other goals...I'd hope the reader is now totally familiar with my main character(s) and is immersed in a world which they find completely convincing. I hope they are following the plot and are staying up late to get to the end.

 

[Yjar]

I am about 40% through mine, I would say.


Very nervous at the moment about the dialogue and grammar, so I am going over it this week. I hope I don't cry too much while doing it.

 

[kmtolan]

I'm nearing the halfway mark and the only goal I have is that my first draft word count exceed 70k at the end. Previous experience says that I will end up near my target 100-120k word count by the final draft when the first draft hits this number.

Kerry

 

[theWallflower]

It sounds like people are confused by my question. I'm talking in terms of critique - what should a writer have accomplished with his/her story by a halfway point?

 

[shevdon]

That somewhat depends on the nature and structure of your story.

If you are following a three act structure then your introduction should be complete. You should have established your location/time, identified your protagonist and antagonist, given your protagonist his or her quest or goal and established motivation. At the same time your antagonist and their motivations should be apparent and in conflict with the protagonist. We should have some ideas of how the story might turn out, though not necessarily the correct ones.

In the middle act, you can be developing the characters, upping the tension, raising the stakes and twisting the plot. This is where you might reveal that things are not as they seemed. This is where your characters can show their metal and get filled out as people. You could also be developing sub-plots and setting sign-posts for the climax. This is a good place for romantic development.

As you reach the end of the middle act, you should have a clear conflict between protagonist and antagonist and a reason for them to come together in direct conflict for the climax. At this point the protagonist wants the quest to succeed and the antagonist has a way to prevent them.

This is a bit of a text-book answer, but without some context it is difficult to be more specific.

Hope that helps.

Mike

 

[MrBF1V3]

Point of order! How do you know when you're half way through?

In the first draft I have an idea of where I'm going, so maybe half way through is where I'm looking for a good twist to throw into the mix--which of course has to be totally logical and unexpected. (Not easy.) But a finished first draft is only the first step. I'll do, if you put them all together, close to a dozen editing passes. So maybe I'm half way when I've finished the third draft, more or less. Usually by that time I'm polishing the dialogue and making sure I have good description. In the next drafts I'll work on timing and make sure I'm consistent with the characters.

I don't know if this answers your question or not.

B5

 

[kmtolan]

It sounds like people are confused by my question. I'm talking in terms of critique - what should a writer have accomplished with his/her story by a halfway point?

If you did a full chapter outline prior to starting, odds are good that you would not be asking this question.

Okay, off my soap box (grin). Everyone has their best personal techniques, and a chapter outline has yet to fail me.

I'll be blunt - there's no way in hell to answer this question in my opinion because I have no clue about your story arc. Obviously your characters have been well established and should be hip-deep in your primary story arc. Beyond that, it's anybody's guess. I'm not a real big fan of "just write" as I personally feel it damages the potential for a good series of plots and sub-plots. Of course, that's just me. Still, if you're asking this question, I'd call it a warning flag that you're wandering out in that vast land of ideas without much of a compass.

Kerry

 

[hippokrene]

That somewhat depends on the nature and structure of your story.

If you are following a three act structure then your introduction should be complete. You should have established your location/time, identified your protagonist and antagonist, given your protagonist his or her quest or goal and established motivation. At the same time your antagonist and their motivations should be apparent and in conflict with the protagonist. We should have some ideas of how the story might turn out, though not necessarily the correct ones.

In the middle act, you can be developing the characters, upping the tension, raising the stakes and twisting the plot. This is where you might reveal that things are not as they seemed. This is where your characters can show their metal and get filled out as people. You could also be developing sub-plots and setting sign-posts for the climax. This is a good place for romantic development.

As you reach the end of the middle act, you should have a clear conflict between protagonist and antagonist and a reason for them to come together in direct conflict for the climax. At this point the protagonist wants the quest to succeed and the antagonist has a way to prevent them.

This is a bit of a text-book answer, but without some context it is difficult to be more specific.

Hope that helps.

Mike

The thing is, I'd say that all of this should happen by the first quarter of your book.

The middle of the middle is something of a dead zone in terms of 'what should have happened by now?' Jim Butcher says that he likes to have a major event right in the middle of his stories, and have the middle to the end of the middle be dealing with the fall out of that major event. Then the beginning of the middle is taking up the main event again.

That way he doesn't get weighed down or disinterested while writing the middle.

Point of order! How do you know when you're half way through?

When the light at the end of the tunnel is as dim as the light at the beginning.

If you did a full chapter outline prior to starting, odds are good that you would not be asking this question.

Okay, off my soap box (grin).

If that were a soap box, the saying would never have entered the English language.

 

[Laer Carroll]

This depends on how you go about writing. If you are very organized and plan everything out ahead of time most the answers here are good. And you need not read any further.

But some very good and successful writers do it other ways. Stephen King starts with a situation that fascinates him and discovers his story as he writes. Knowing the ending, he says in On Writing, would take all the fun out of writing. The halfway point in the story may be just the start of a year-long project.

Some mystery writers write from the end to the front, starting with the climax and resolution. Then knowing who done it they can confidently write the middle. And only when everything else is done do they bother to write the beginning.

Sorry to be contrarian, but the real world is too complex for all but the most general of answers.

Laer Carroll