: Re: Is it OK to add chapters to slow down the pace of the story? Example: I'm writing a story where the protagonist is searching for some information. She searches for it at her university, and

@Bethany377

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If these proposed chapters are slow, boring and have little to do with the actual story, then you should not add them for the sake of making the story longer.

However, fictional writing is all about the journey. In high fantasy novels like Lord of the Rings, the endgame is returning the one ring to Mordor. If Frodo and Sam were just able to walk down the post office and mail the ring to Mount Doom, then there really would not be much of a story.

The thing you want to avoid is adding filler for the sake of adding filler. If you, the author of the book is not enthusiastic about the content you will be adding, then chances are that neither will be the reader.

There are literally an infinite amount of ways you can extend this without having it seem like it is just dragging. Some examples could be having some kind of a flashback, or a non sequitur. You could also have your character diverge off of the original path. Maybe she slips on the ice and hits her head and goes into a coma. Perhaps she decides to play the lottery and hits the jackpot.

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