You guys.
IT’S TIME TO TACKLE THE DREADED SAGGING MIDDLE! 😂
Welcome back to Day 24 of Preptober 2026! 🎃✍️
Yesterday, we outlined Act I of our novels. Today, we’re taking everything we’ve learned about our story’s middle and turning it into individual chapters!
And don’t worry.
We’re keeping things SIMPLE!
1. Start With Your Major Act II Story Beats
Remember when we mapped out the middle of our novels on Day 19?
Today, we’re focusing on three important elements:
- Escalating Obstacles: The challenges standing between your protagonist and their goal.
- The Midpoint: A major revelation, victory, defeat, or turning point that changes the direction of your story.
- The Act II Turning Point: A major setback or decision that pushes your protagonist toward the final act.
Think of these moments as the foundation of your Act II outline.
Now we need to connect them!
2. Make Things Progressively Worse! 😂
Here’s the secret to avoiding a sagging middle:
Your protagonist’s problems should become increasingly difficult to solve.
And ideally, their decisions should create consequences that lead to even BIGGER problems!
For example, imagine you’re writing a mystery novel.
Chapter 13: Your protagonist discovers an important clue.
Chapter 14: They confront a suspect, who denies everything.
Chapter 15: The suspect disappears, making the investigation more complicated.
Chapter 16: Your protagonist discovers that someone they trust has been lying.
Chapter 17: A new revelation changes everything they thought they knew.
See how each chapter builds on the previous one?
That’s what we’re looking for!
We don’t want our protagonists wandering around waiting for the plot to happen.
We want their actions, choices, and mistakes to move the story forward.
3. Give Every Chapter a Purpose
If you’ve been following along, you already know my favorite outlining method!
For each chapter, I write down:
- Chapter Number
- Chapter Goal
- Setting
- Characters
- Three Important Events
And here’s one question I always recommend asking:
WHAT CHANGES BECAUSE OF THIS CHAPTER?
Does your protagonist learn something new?
Does a relationship change?
Do the stakes increase?
Does something happen that makes their goal harder to achieve?
Your chapters don’t need constant explosions or enormous plot twists.
They just need to contribute meaningfully to the story!
✍️ Today’s Preptober E-Guide Exercise
Grab your FREE Preptober E-Guide and turn to pages 21–22: Plotting & Outlining!
Today, we’re outlining Act II!
- Identify your midpoint and Act II turning point.
- Brainstorm obstacles that progressively increase the stakes.
- Arrange those obstacles into individual chapters.
- Give each chapter a goal, setting, characters, and three key events.
- Make sure your protagonist’s choices create meaningful consequences.
Remember, I personally like to plan approximately 12-15 chapters per act, but your story might need more or fewer!
Your outline works for YOU. You don’t work for your outline. 💕
We’re Almost There! 🎉
You guys, we’ve officially outlined the beginning AND middle of our novels!
And if you’re still missing a few chapters?
THAT’S OKAY!
You don’t need a perfect outline before November 1st.
You just need enough direction to start writing.
🎥 Follow Along With Preptober 2026!
I’m sharing 31 FREE daily YouTube videos throughout October to help writers prepare for Novel November!
Coming Tomorrow: Day 25 — Outline Act III! ⚔️
Tomorrow, we’re outlining the FINAL ACT of our novels!
We’ll take our darkest moments, climaxes, and resolutions and turn them into individual chapters.
Now I want to hear from YOU!
What’s the BIGGEST obstacle your protagonist faces in Act II? And do they somehow manage to make everything WORSE? 😂
Let me know in the comments! 💕
We’ve got a novel to plan. 🎃✍️
