This is K.M. Wyland and you are listening to the 524th episode of the Helping Writers Become Authors Podcast. So if you were wondering why there was no podcast last week,

it's because last week was launch week for my new book

writing your stories theme. So if you missed the original announcement and you're

interested in the book you can check that out now either on my site at helping writers become

authors.com or of course on Amazon and other sales sites I have talked about the book quite a bit

this year and I'm super psyched to finally have it out.

This is the first non-fiction book I've published in several years so I'm excited to have a new one out

and especially because theme is such a passionate topic for me,

something I love thinking about and writing about.

And as I'm sure you know if you've listened to more than a few of my podcasts,

it's something I'm a huge believer in when it comes to better, more

entertaining, and more powerful stories.

So in short, I'm very excited to be able to announce that writing your stories theme is now out and about in the world.

And now I hope you enjoyed this week's episode,

the midpoint as the swivel point in your stories linked structure.

The quote unquote saggy middle of a story is one of the biggest challenges writers face. The second act is twice as

long as the other two acts and yet is often less clearly defined. So what's a

writer to do to keep the pacing just as

tight and the events just as interesting over the long haul of the second act? The

simplest answer is mind the midpoint. Writing instruction is often

more prolific for the first act and the third act since their functions and responsibilities are more clearly

defined. The first act must hook readers and set up the conflict. The third act must ramp up into a satisfying climax that concludes the

...