Things to add if your story feels boring / Christian writing advice

I have hated writing the middle of some of my books. They just seem to drag on and on with nothing super interesting to get me through; and if I’m finding it boring to write, it’s likely going to be even more boring to read. We need to enjoy the middles of our books so that our readers will too (and so that we don’t spend hours of our life typing away with zero joy).

So, why is the book feeling boring?

My biggest reason for boring middles is that I am a pantser, and although I usually have a rough idea of the beginning and end, the middle is often left untouched in my mind. It is an unknown, and turns into a sort of desert that I have to get through, instead of an important part of the story. It’s almost as if my brain thinks, “Right, I need to get to that cool bit at the end, so how can I make all the plot points that have to happen happen, and get there as soon as possible?” Not the best way to go about the middle (and often most action packed) part of the book. The story in between my thought out parts is almost an afterthought, and not special at all. So how can we change this?

What about adding something exciting to those bits that feel lacking? What about amping up the tension, and getting your readers on the edge of their seats?

Here is my list of things you could add to add interest to your story today. This could be amazing resource for the planning stage, drafting stage, or you could edit these elements in.

1: A secret is revealed

What is the most shocking secret your characters could have hidden? Who is the most unlikely character to have such a secret? Secrets are a great way of surprising readers and keeping them guessing. It shows that they don’t have it all figured out, and that your characters have more for them to discover. It can add tension between your characters (especially if the secret is something that comes between them!). A betrayal could also be included in this category. Who will break your readers heart by betraying their friends and joining the dark side?

2: Someone’s past shows up

Nothing better than that mysterious backstory coming back to show its face. You could write this in way of a person turning up from your character’s past, or it could be a number of other things such as: a letter, a piece of jewelry, a will from someone passing – you could brainstorm a number of things. Make sure that the piece of this character’s past will make a difference to the story, not just be a random side tangent. Find a way to tie it in with your character’s fear. How will this piece of information, or person push them into choices they don’t want to make?

3: A romance is discovered

This could be a beginning of something romantic, or a discovery of something that’s current, or revealing that there’s history between two characters – that no one knew about! If it is between your main characters, it’s likely that this will be something you’ve already thought about going into the book. But perhaps you haven’t thought of side characters, or the pasts of side characters.

I added this as a subplot in my unpublished book “The Cloud Boy”. I created some unseen history between two of the side characters, and gave hints through the middle of the book. It added some interest and humor, to some scenes that would’ve been less intriguing otherwise.

Think about how this discovered romance will serve your book. Obviously it doesn’t make a book better to have everyone in love with everyone. But some carefully selected pairs could add that bit of something. It’s also the sort of thing you can sprinkle lightly through different scenes, and doesn’t need a whole chapter or paragraphs to explain. It can be a slow unveiling, if you’d like.

4: A disaster occurs

Big or small scale, this could add some action into your book, and put the characters into a situation where they are forced to show their true colours and grow. The disaster could be anything from a fire burning down someone’s house or business, to the water freezing in the pipes and everyone being stuck with no water for a day, someone dying, or someone getting injured (which complicates your characters’ mission). D

on’t think too massive and dramatic unless it actually suits the story. Too much drama and the reader gets numb to it. Make it personal to your characters, make it matter.

5: Somebody gets stuck somewhere

Nothing like something going wrong and your characters getting stuck somewhere. This could not only be used to add some humor or tension, but also to form the relationships between your characters into something deeper. No time to bond quite like being stuck together.

On a boat, with the engine broken down. In a house, with the snow shutting them in. In prison with plenty to argue about. The places you could get your characters stuck is endless, the reasons also.

This could be a great way to grow a romantic relationship, make enemies hate each other even more, or reconcile broken friendships. You could make the scenes hilarious, sad, tense, or beautiful. Who knows what might happen when your characters are stuck together.

Think through these ideas with your story in mind. Perhaps you want to add several, or just one. Make sure it is special and unique to your story with what setting and idea you choose. Think about which situation your character would hate the most. That might just be the one for you.

Let us know any other ideas you have for how to spice up the middle of your book (or any boring part for that matter). I’ll be thinking about which of these five to use in my book, “Swimming With Lupins” that I am editing.