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An investigative podcast hosted by world-renowned literary critic and publishing insider Bethanne Patrick. Book bans are on the rise across America. With the rise of social media, book publishers are losing their power as the industry gatekeepers. More and more celebrities and influencers are publishing books with ghostwriters. Writing communities are splintering because members are at cross purposes about their mission. Missing Pages is an investigative podcast about the book publishing ind ...
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You don’t need more filler. You need better progressive complications.
Your inciting incident hooks your readers and promises them a story they’ll love.
And then comes the middle.
The messy middle. The quiet doldrums of your story, where plot momentum goes to die.
Where your characters wander, your conflict blurs, and you start to wonder if any of it is working.
So what do you do? Add some “stuff that happens” and hope it holds your readers’ interest? Toss in a random subplot? Describe your character’s breakfast in extreme detail?
Nope. This is the space of the progressive complications.
And in this episode, I’m showing you exactly how to revise them.
Because the middle of your story isn’t filler or unnecessary fluff. It’s 60% of the story, and it has an essential job to do.
- What progressive complications really are (and what they’re not)
- How they build momentum and escalate conflict
- The 8 qualities I’m looking for when I edit progressive complications
- How to know if your scenes are working—or just taking up space
- And more!
And to make it even easier, I’ve created a cheat sheet to help you revise your progressive complications. Print it out, keep it handy, and use it every time you edit a scene.
If you’ve ever gotten stuck in the middle of your manuscript wondering how to move forward—this episode is for you.
Let’s take your messy middle and make it unputdownable.
Links mentioned in the episode:
- Get the Inciting Incident Revision Cheat Sheet: alicesudlow.com/87
- Work with me: alicesudlow.com/contact
- Ep. 42: The 6 Essential Elements of Every Novel, Act, and Scene
- A clip from S1E4 of Younger
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Grab your free ticket at alicesudlow.com/plot.
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