Well, I know that reading & writing fanfic have made me a lot more aware of things like plot structure. And I do keep that somewhere in the back of my mind when I'm writing, so it's at least semi-conscious.
As for the sagging middle -- yeah, been there, wrestled with that! Generally, I fill it in with a-plot elements, with the b-plot carefully timed to coincide, so that they both get to the place where I need them for my ending <g>
PJ
"You told me you weren't like other men," she said, shaking her head at him when the storm of laughter had passed.
He grinned at her - a goofy, Clark Kent kind of a grin. "I have a gift for understatement."
"You can say that again," she told him.
"I have a...."
"Oh, shut up."
--Stardust, Caroline K
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