Having Trouble With Novel Structure? Look at It Like a Mixtape ‹ Literary Hub

In the spring of 2019, I found myself tangled up in a writing riddle that on the surface seemed easy to solve but which became more and more difficult the longer I looked at it. I couldn't figure out how to order, or re-order, the chapters in my book. It seemed like a stupid problem to have, a problem I ought to be able to solve quickly. My first novel had just been published and I'd waded my way through all sorts of editorial wastelands with that one but this was a new problem. My agent had given me notes on my latest manuscript and in those notes he said something was off about the order of the chapters. His notes echoed almost exactly what my partner had said to me upon reading any earlier draft. My partner and my agent are the two people I trust most with my writing. Something was wrong.