The Elusive Missing Middle by Sharon Heagy

 

Beginning, middle and end. It’s what all good stories are supposed to have, right? Everyone has a story, a life, with a beginning, middle and end. In fact, the stories of our life are like nesting dolls – multiple stories, multiple beginnings, middles and ends. Because of the multifaceted stories of our life, we are often faced with multiple places where we get ‘stuck’.  Just like Robert Frost’s poem ‘The Road Not Taken’, we are often faced with at least two roads and until we make a choice we are stuck. We often have little information about what lies ahead but if we plan to move forward, we will have to make a choice or we will end up plunking ourselves down in the muck and mire between the roads, knee deep in the quicksand of indecision and sinking until we can no longer move ahead. 

The same may be said of the Writer’s life. Many projects get ‘stuck’ somewhere in the middle. After taking off like a thoroughbred through the starting gate we end up like an ox slogging a cart with a broken axle through the mud. But what to do? We feel we can’t go ahead and we in no way want to go back. (Although this does help from time to time.)

Sometimes this means we need a break. A change of focus. Stare out the window, do a few menial chores, write a few pieces from prompts, just to get your head in a different place. Often while we are not thinking directly of the problem, the answer to that very problem comes to our mind in a moment of the ‘aha’ variety.

Change your venue. Go to a coffee shop, go for a drive go outside. I was intrigued after reading an article about mental health and physical health and the connection between being outside and healing for both. But it makes sense. What better place to connect with God than in His creation? 

How about going to the end and working backwards. I have a sister who always reads the end of the book before the beginning. It frustrates me no end while it really shouldn’t as it is not ruining my reading of said book, but I feel it is ruining hers. Who am I to judge? I guess I figure it spoils the way it was created to be read. But if we can take our beginning and have a sense of where we want to end up, we could go to the end and work our way backwards until the middle becomes clear. 

We could also just keep plugging away at the middle, writing even if it makes no sense at all until it does become clear.

But above all pray. If we are instruments of the Lord, then He will be faithful to give us a middle. 

O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago…

Isaiah 25:1a

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24

            

And no matter what, don’t quit. I have a poem upon my wall attributed to Edgar Albert Guest titled ‘Don’t Quit.’ There is also another version that is a little different by John Greenleaf Whittier, but I share the Guest version here.

Don’t Quit
Edgar Albert Guest

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out; Don’t give up though the pace seems slow- You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down, How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit-
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

   May God bless you in the middle and pop you out the other side. You can do this with His help. Just keep on writing, one word at a time.