The writer’s curse is a sagging middle

Not your stomach. It’s the middle of your manuscript dragging into oblivion. Classic advice says ‘kill someone’. A dead body injects life. I’ve killed a few characters. Then found a reason why. Who is the ‘real killer’? Can’t have a fake killer, can we? Red herrings abound. Threads weave another layer to the plot.
Or it is a murder the death of the story?
At one RWA conference an editor stated she hated to find a dead body at midpoint in a comedy. I rewrote that one and found the story went no-where. Its still waiting under my bed for inspiration to strike.
An extra dead body is a clue that your story isn’t alive. Every action must have a cause. Tossing a corpse off the roof might not do anything but make the editor toss your book.
Back to my middle. I’m a by-the-seat-of-my-pants writer. I learn my characters as I go. I plot day by day. I’m constantly surprise by what happens. A murder? Sometimes an earthquake, a riot, a hurricane or a love scene fits better.
Be creative. It’s your job.