Plotting and planning

I am in the middle of the book. Ah, the dreaded middle, when all those brilliant ideas in the outline suddenly look like infomercials for grout cleaner; when your main character sits down on the floor, says he's tired, and refuses to move; when that clever plot twist sounds like a third-grader's knock knock joke.

Good times, good times.  You know what they say:  when you hit rock bottom, start digging.

Maybe they don't say that.

The book has been going quickly, but is still somewhere between half and two thirds done.  So I'm in the midst of a quick reevalution, trying to forget how far I am in the book.  It should be just as interesting here as when it started, if not more so. If the main character has satisfied some initial goals, he has certainly learned enough to establish new, more realistic goals. How about instead of getting that important question answered, he is met with resistance? If the the author didn't think of something initially that now shows up, isn't that more unexpected than if you'd known in the first place?

Through experience, I know that if these problems aren't solved quickly, momentum will be lost.  More news as it happens.