Pondering PlotWriMo

Today is Day Nineteen of Martha Alderson's PlotWriMo. I have thought through my NaNoWriMo story organically, nailed the protagonist, her internal conflict and her two opposing goals, and strengthened my Hook and Climax. I've linked the beginning and end with character motivation and change. And I'm excited about the rewrite. But, what about the middle or the muddle?

The middle of my NaNo draft was too easy, they coasted along from one manufactured disaster to the next. Now is the time to analyze it for cause and effect. Did I throw a bomb just because I, the writer, needed one? Couldn't think of anything else? Or did the antagonist have a good reason for doing this?

Ah... this is the hard part. The middle is the world of the antagonist, and everything the antagonist does must make sense, even if in a warped manner. Otherwise, I have a paper tiger, conveniently throwing roadblocks and complications just to thicken the plot. Cause and effect have to line up from Hook to Climax logically from the point of view of all characters, protagonist, antagonist, and everyone involved. Time to do some hard thinking.

For those of you interested in the revision process, check out plotwhisperer.blogspot.com