So I had the radio on the local NPR station when Hidden Brain came on. The topic of the episode was breaking out of a rut [https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/you-2-0-how-to-break-out-of-a-rut/]. It addressed the usual “midlife crisis” that many experience, but also included the problem many writers encounter: the Muddle in the Middle. You know, you have a great premise, a compelling opening, and perhaps a dynamic climactic scene. But what to do about all that stuff in the middle? Turns out it’s a real thing. The whole how-did-I-get-here-and-how-do-I-get-out is a natural part of human nature. So I guess we writers shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves when we bog down in the middle of a story or novel.
I have vague story idea (working title The Crystal Sword) with a huge gap in the middle. There is an origin story for the Protagonist and a climactic scene, but what happens between the two ideas is an ever-changing muddle. I have bits and pieces from other draft novels that I might use in this story instead. But I also have new ideas I might apply instead. Or maybe combine them somehow. The recent Strong Women Archetypes course at the library provided an approach to develop the characters of Crystal Sword. I’ve used various personality categorizing theories to help me flesh out characters, but hadn’t considered using archetypes. Class discussions about the earliest archetypal goddesses whose powers were reduced and attributed to various gods over time suggested one angle for my amorphous story idea. We’ll see. But I think I’m going to use character archetypes to create the four main characters of Crystal Sword. The Complete Writers Guide To Heroes & Heroines, Sixteen Master Archetypes (by Tami D. Cowden, Carol LaFever & Sue Viders) will be my go-to reference.
Beginning mid-September the library is offering “part two” of the spring course. This time the creative writing class will explore worldwide archetypes to inspire participants’ writing as well as personal heroic journeys. The course will analyze generational, gender based, and societal norms and prejudices, with an emphasis on the hero/shadow archetypes and how they differ for men and women. All genres of writing are welcome, as was the case in the previous course. We had memoirists, poets, nonfiction, and fiction writers — all of whom had wonderful pieces to share.. I’ve already signed up for this latest course and hope to see other returning participants.
Meanwhile, I continue to plug away on Draft VI of my Treasure Island novel. I keep looping back to edit, re-edit, re-re-edit before printing half a dozen pages at a time and moving forward. I’ve discovered some historical facts I need to correct, but will address those after I’ve worked through the entire novel.
Mary S. Potter 