Muddling Through the Middle

The “boggy middle” has claimed many a writer, but with a little planning and forethought, writers can sail right through it. In this workshop, you'll discover why the middle is such a troublesome chunk of the novel, and how it’s really where all the fun happens in a story. You’ll also learn how to avoid getting sucked into the mire, what to do keep your pace moving, and some nifty plotting tricks to help you create stronger story arcs and conflicts.

Finding the Plot in Your Premise

What starts out as an exciting premise can sometimes leave us banging our heads against a wall by page fifty, wondering what went wrong. But a little effort before we start writing can mean the difference between stuck and soaring.In this workshop, you’ll learn techniques to test your premise or idea and see if it really does have what it takes to fill an entire novel. Learn basic plotting tips for both pantsers and outliners, and discover what you need to start that novel and keep yourself on track. No matter what your process is, you'll learn ways to determine if that premise has the legs to carry the novel in your head. With hands-on exercises, so bring your laptop or pages!

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy. When she's not writing fiction, she runs the popular writing site Fiction University, and has written multiple books on writing, including Understanding Show, Don't Tell (And Really Getting It), Plotting Your Novel: Ideas and Structure, and the Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft series.