: Re: I feel like my book is too small and I’m kind of just throwing all my ideas out too quick. Does this mean filler might be necessary? My book seems like it’s going to be way too short.

@Sue2132873

Vote Up Vote Down

Here is a list of possible problems that lead to too short a story:

1) Did you start it too late? Perhaps you need to begin with an earlier scene in the life of the characters. You may have the wrong inciting incident.

2) Do you have a complete story? Study story structure. Yours probably closely aligns with either 3-Act, 4-Act, Hero's Journey or episodic. Do you have all the parts that are commonly found in that structure? Are some rushed? Diagram your story against the structure and count the number of pages devoted to each.

3) Are the story parts out of proportion in length? The beginning, middle and end take up different lengths. Make sure the middle is not too short. The end should cover a short period of time with many pages, the middle a longer period of time with comparitively fewer pages per time elapsed.

4) Did you skip important scenes, possibly because you could not imagine them in a way interesting enough to write? I wrote a story where the protagonist is a prisoner. He eventually wrangles his way out of prison. I didn't describe the scene where the Warden interviews and threatens him prior to his release. It was an expected moment in the normal flow of a prison drama that I just plain skipped over. I had to write one, and it was a good addition.

5) Are both the inner and outer character arcs given their due?

6) Are some of your secondary characters one-dimensional? Could one or more of them use additional development? Should you add additional characters? Perhaps a sidekick or person who provides comic relief.

7) Could you add another reversal or two? Increase the stakes? Add more foreshadowing or false clues?

8) Can you add more conflict? More conflict means more threads that need to be resolved.

9) Have you made effective use of setting? Perhaps you can bring the setting more to life, make it take on the qualities of a character.

10) Can you deepen the theme by introducing a related theme that complements the themes you have already chosen? Can you have the antagonist or a secondary character make the wrong decisions just as the hero is making the right decisions, as a contrast?

11) Has the protagonist paid too small a price for victory? In one novel I wrote, my initial plan was to have the heroine go on trial for a crime of which she was innocent. The whole first half of the book was her enlisting allies and fighting to be exonerated so that she would be undurdened enough to fight the true evil threatening her world. However, when I got to the trial scene at midpoint, I realized that having her lose the court case and endure additional constraints being placed upon her would make the story even better.

(0)

Login to post a comment!