21.13: Does The Middle Have To Be Soggy?

21.13: Does The Middle Have To Be Soggy?

From Writing Excuses by Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler

March 29, 2026 · 25 min · Season 21 · Episode 13

About this episode

The episode discusses the concept of the 'soggy middle' in storytelling and offers strategies to maintain momentum in narratives.

Today, we’re taking on the idea of the “soggy middle” and why stories start to lose momentum—often because characters lack clear action, obstacles feel thin, or scenes repeat without meaningful change. We break down how stalled plots, predictable outcomes, and disconnected side quests can make the middle drag, and offer tools to fix it: focusing on what characters are actually doing, using “same but different” to keep repetition engaging, letting major events happen sooner so you can explore their consequences, and ensuring every subplot or detour creates real change in the character or world. Homework: Grab a book or short story. Read the first page, a page from the exact middle, and the final page. Track which story threads introduced at the beginning are still active in the middle, and how they evolve by the end. Locus Magazine Annual Fundraiser (ends April 14th, 2026) Join us in supporting Locus Magazine– explore the campaign and fantastic rewards for donors online at locusmag.com/igg26. Final WXR Cruise! Our final WXR cruise sets sail for Alaska in September 2026—get your tickets here! Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Erin Roberts, DongWon Song, and Mary Robinette…

People in this episode

Hosts: Erin Roberts, DongWon Song, Mary Robinette Kowal

Topics covered

  • soggy middle
  • story momentum
  • character action
  • plot development
  • subplots
  • writing techniques

Keywords

  • soggy middle
  • storytelling
  • plot
  • character development
  • writing advice
  • narrative structure

Sponsors

MasterClass

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Locus Magazine, Qui

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