: Re: Descriptive words to slow down the pace of the story? Is it true that to slow down a story, you add descriptive words in place of an action? I feel like the pace my story is going at, I'll

@Kimberly114

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First, finish your first draft, just because at the pace your going at feels like it’s too short, doesn’t mean that’ll be the reality of it. Then take a look at your characters, if you had someone read your first draft, do you know a lot about your main villain? Is he this serial killer who has been around for thirty years, murdering rivals in his profession, yet still protects innocent bystanders from senseless violence while on a venture of self-destruction. Or is he just kind of a dick? Developing your villain and other important characters in subplots from different POVs can both enhance your story, and lengthen it.

Having said that, don’t just make it longer because, “it’s under 200 pages.” If in that time you’ve told a cohesive, well developed narrative with interesting characters. Then don’t try and just pad or pages because it’s “too short”. There are many great novellas out there that’s aren’t that many pages, such as the infamous Jekyll & Hyde.

TL;DR (Kind of): If you feel like your novel is incomplete try developing your villain and supporting characters throughout subplots or POVS. Or Maybe the protagonist beats the antagonist too quickly and needs more of an uphill battle. Just don’t artificially extend the length to make it longer.

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