# Lengthening the story...



## Vanya (Feb 20, 2012)

How do you lengthen your story without 'info dumping', dragging the story, or going too quickly? My initial problem was jumping from one thing to the next, going quickly over many events before even reaching page 20. Now I'm going back through and trying to beef up the story, adding more dialog or descriptions here, history info there, but it doesn't seem to be enough. It's just on the verge of still being to much in too little amount of pages but I don't want to drag the story out by adding in a scene or lengthening a scene that has no real value to the story. Should I do this (add/lengthen the story) for character development if no other reason? I don't want to bore the reader with frivolous dialog when there's a lot of action in the upcoming unwritten pages just brewing in my head to put on paper.


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## mirrorrorrim (Feb 20, 2012)

That's a rare gift you have! I think most authors struggle much more with keeping things short than making them long; I know I do. I've had to give each of my chapters a page limit, and when I hit it, I don't allow myself to add anything new without erasing an equal amount of content to make up for it.

I think one of the the worst things you can do is try to artificially inflate your page count. If your story didn't need the dialog, descriptions, and history the first time around, they probably won't add much when you go back and tack them on later.

On the other hand, it's quite possible that you may have left too much out or rushed too much to begin with, and the average reader may become confused or worse, detached, as a result. My suggestion would be to have a friend/family member (more than one would be even better) who knows nothing about your story read what you've written, and then tell you what, if anything, she was confused over, or that she felt you didn't spend enough time on. Use his answers to direct where you make your additions. 

If he doesn't identify anything, then I would just count yourself fortunate and move on. There's nothing wrong with a short book, or a book that's heavy on events and short on description. In fact, much of popular fiction seems to be trending toward that more and more.


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## SeverinR (Feb 21, 2012)

Interesting, I tend to be on the light side too.

But I believe both problems are fixed in the edit.  If you overwrite, you chop off the fat and make it flow.
If you underwrite, editing will allow you to describe more.

For me, when I get inspired I charge ahead get the story down. Realizing I am not describing enough.  I am not saying dump a bunch of adjectives every chance you get,  but you have to paint the picture at least a little bit.  

You don't want a white background without substance, but you don't want a jungle so overgrown the reader can't fight through the scene. The balance is the art.
Describe more in the slow scenes, less in the action scenes.


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## Caged Maiden (Feb 22, 2012)

I read your post and had to smile..... I recently just posted about a story I wrote with thirteen pages _before_ Chapter 1.  What I did broke the rules, and I know it, but I love it as it is and won't change it.  In those first pages I am setting the whole tone of the novel, letting the reader know people are going to die and life is hard.  I introduce some key characters who don't appear until late in the story, and I set the "why" for readers who don't want to wait until the end to figure out how the pieces fit (and to affirm that I _do_ have a plan, though the beginning events sound a little contrived.
I say there are rules which apply in most cases, and if you love what you have made, whether it fits into those guidelines or not, you can be proud and happy.
The suggestion to have an outsider read the work is a great suggestion, because it will be instantly clear whether you need to fill in more details than you have.  But if it makes sense, and creates the sort of message and tone you like, I say leave it as it is.


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## Darwin (Feb 22, 2012)

Well I would say that in terms of info dumping you would just need to add what a character knows or what a character needs to know.  If the character doesn't know that their father was killed in battle then the reader shouldn't know either.  1-this keeps you from info dumping, 2-it keeps the reader emotionally attached to the character.

Anyways, just keep the information on a need to know basis.  If you want to go into some history of your world, instead of making a long drawn out narrative that doesn't possess any moving dialogue, have a character within the story recount a legend of the land.  Let the characters delve into their own histories.  That way it becomes easier for the reader to digest what's going on.  They'll think, "Oh, this guy's telling a story. It might be important."


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## zizban (Feb 22, 2012)

Easy: add more plot.


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## Steerpike (Feb 22, 2012)

I wouldn't go back and lengthen what is already written until the whole work is completed, and then only if it really needs it.


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## zizban (Feb 23, 2012)

When I wrote my soon to be published novel _Ouroboros_, it actually ran short of novel length (it came in at 35,000 words) and I considered adding plot as the the rejections piled up. I am working on a sequel that is also short that I'm adding plot to to make it novel length.


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## Jabrosky (Feb 23, 2012)

I have an issue with my stories being too short too. I think it's because I'm scared of info-dumping and purple prose and tend to tell rather than show.


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## DreamingInTheDark (Feb 23, 2012)

I have a problem with fast pacing, too. I'm on page 20 and I already feel I've written half of it. With my last story, it ended up as a Novella because I couldn't get past 35k (although, it is in the editing stage so I'll have to see what needs doing) and this new one I'm writing, I'm aiming for 60k, and I'm trying my best to fill it out but without dragging on. 
I know some people have trouble not writing fast paced stuff, but I'd rather make it long and cut, then have it short and still need to edit out draggy bits. Underwriting is one of my many flaws as a writer. That and poor grammar and describing. I think because I don't spend forever describing every little thing, it cuts out a lot, therefore making scene to scene go faster, even if it is minimal info. I've been told that's a good thing by some people, that fast paced is good. But... I'm not so sure. I hate how I do it like that... but I guess I gotta work with what I have.


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## Epaminondas (Feb 23, 2012)

Yeah, I usually have the opposite problem. I'm generally twenty thousand words in before I really even get the character's personality flushed out very well. 
When I have run into that problem, depending on the story, I like to try to put in another POV or another layer to the story arc. But then I like to have lots of POV's because I get bored with linear stories and like to bounce around to different scenes with a different emotional feel.


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## JCFarnham (Feb 23, 2012)

Rule of Thumb: If you, the author, thinks events are flying by too quickly then they probably are. And if you're doubting that try reading the manuscript as you, the reader. Above all else you should trust your instinct. 

As for lengthening a story my honest to God first thought was "don't". What I meant is this; if a story does everything right but is short, you should first ask yourself "short by whose standards?", secondly "can I sell it as is?" and then _believe_ in its pacing. Some times stories are short. When they want to be short they'll be short. 

So what happens if a story is short, needs to be longer even considering the above criteria, but does everything else "right"? Its a tough thing to call but the best thing you can do is go back and insure you're spending enough time with your characters. Are you pushing them through the plot, and therefore letting plot dictate? Perhaps it could be worth switching tack and spending time on characterisation. A good novel not only tells us story, but lets us in on the lives of the characters involved. This doesn't mean having characters go all introspective and have them think instead of do. That would also be artificial word count inflation. 

To summarise: Trust yourself and trust your story, and if it still isn't quite working, check you're not neglecting deep characterisation.


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## Caged Maiden (Feb 24, 2012)

Oh man, seriously novels that are 35k?  How in the world can that be done?  I marvel at the possibility.  In fact, I just had to split a book, because I'm at 122k and I got to a part where it just feels like I need to write the second half in another whole book (because it has its own climax and resolution).  Am I hopelessly broken?  Honestly, I feel it's action-packed, with deep and real characters (and very flawed), and the story isn't filler or anything.  I tend to be light on the descriptions and heavy on the demanding a reader to use their imagination to fill in the blanks.  I really need to have someone professional read my work; I might be way off the mark.


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## zizban (Feb 25, 2012)

My novel was 35k, which was the problem. I just didn't have enough plot and I tried to add some to no avail. I finally found a publisher for it that publishes novellas but the sequel with be a full blown novel.


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## Panther (Feb 26, 2012)

For me, a story is as long or as short as it needs to be!


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## Vanya (Feb 26, 2012)

You guys are awesome! Thanks for the responses.  I was a bit skeptical if I could actually write a story the length it needed to be to be considered a novel. I guess if it doesn't get up there I can still have it as a novella. Thanks, again!


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## myrddin173 (Feb 27, 2012)

anihow said:
			
		

> Oh man, seriously novels that are 35k?  How in the world can that be done?



Technically it can't.  It has to be at least 40k for it to be an actual novel.  35k is in the novella range.  Below that are) novelettes and short stories.  I want to say 7.5k is the boundary between those two.


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## Steerpike (Feb 27, 2012)

myrddin173 said:


> Technically it can't.  It has to be at least 40k for it to be an actual novel.  35k is in the novella range.  Below that are) novelettes and short stories.  I want to say 7.5k is the boundary between those two.



If you take the view that word count is dispositive. There are theories of the novella versus novel that posit that certain structural elements, or other elements of the story, are determinative, in which case you could have a short novel that is shorter than a long novella.


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## eternaldream24 (Feb 29, 2012)

So glad you asked this. I have much the same problem. I'm so used to writing short stories that are only a few pages long, and I have to keep pacing myself. The one thing that has helped me is adding more plot and conflicts. You need to be careful though, because It can't be just pointless filler.

Follow up question: I've been so concerned with making sure my YA novel is long enough...how long is long enough? I've heard that novels are at least 40,000 words, but does more words mean the more likely it is to be published?


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