Too short!

jeseymour · May 18, 2014

Help! I'm working on the third book in my Kevin Markinson series, and it's too short. It's only about 57k right now, and the first two were right around 80k each. I'm good at making books shorter when editing, not so much at making them longer. I'm going through it and adding some scenes, putting in action instead of telling about it, but I'm running out of places where I can do that. I wrote this book a long time ago, and I'm full of doubts about it, even as I rewrite it and fix the issues. Maybe I just need to vent, I don't know. Feel free to ignore me. Unless you have ideas on how to make a book longer.

onesecondglance · May 18, 2014

I took a 60k first draft to a 100k final draft, but it was a total rewrite. The biggest thing was adding a major new subplot - which ended up altering some of the main plot. Other than that I found I was ending scenes summarily, rather than actually going through them at a natural place - turns out when I'm doing first drafts I tend to be too fast paced.

Good luck!

thelastwordsmith · May 18, 2014

What about adding minor plot twists? You can take your time developing it too, as long as it merges with the main plot idea. Don't have to turn it into 24, dammit.

reiver33 · May 18, 2014

You could add 'chrome' - more detail to set the time and place, or what seems like padding but is actually forshadowing the next book in your series. For example, an encounter with a character unconnected to the current case but who crops up later.

jeseymour · May 18, 2014

Subplot! I should add a subplot. Now to come up with one.

sheadakota · May 18, 2014

jeseymour said:
Subplot! I should add a subplot. Now to come up with one.

subplots are good

Namatu · May 19, 2014

Blow something up in your subplot!

heyjude · May 19, 2014

Namatu said:
Blow something up in your subplot!

Aren't you the "subplots are for ninjas" person? :tongue

lizmonster · May 19, 2014

heyjude said:
Aren't you the "subplots are for ninjas" person?

I thought it was "ninjas ARE the subplot."

Ninjas are like pizza. They are good no matter where you find them.

jeseymour · May 19, 2014

I'm not sure ninjas would fit in this story. Blowing things up is a possibility, or perhaps the threat of blowing something up, to create a distraction. Nothing like an explosion on the other side of town to accomplish what you need on your side of town.

Namatu · May 19, 2014

Exactly. See, heyjude? Explosions. They help with everything.

Ninjas are also helpful on occasion, but they can't be deployed as often as explosions.

jeseymour · May 19, 2014

My main character does Tai Chi, but I'm not sure that makes him a ninja. He's not really an explosives expert either, but that's easier to fake.

jeseymour · May 19, 2014

Hey, I'm up to 60k without even adding a subplot. 20k to go.

Namatu · May 20, 2014

Woo hoo!

Daddyo · May 20, 2014

Sounds like you've got your horse headed in the right direction. Giddyup!

tarak · May 20, 2014

Thinking of subplots - is there anything you can add that isn't part of the main plot but affects character development that ultimately affects the main plot?

My MC does tang soo do (basically because it's the martial art I practice and I thought it would be easier to describe movement). My husband, who is a higher rank than I am, was given a task by Master Min. Find parts to the fuel pump in his 1998 Ford Contour. I wrote it into the MS because I thought it was hilarious (likely because I don't have to do squat yet, being a lowly orange belt).

jeseymour · May 21, 2014

tarak - interesting. I do have lots of little subplots for character development, because I tend to care more about the characters than the plot. But I am looking at adding a bit more to one of those little subplots to make it bigger and have it tie in to the main story more.

My main character does some Tai Chi because I took Tai Chi in college.

He had classes in prison.

Fizgig · May 21, 2014

I write way too short. I clip everything too much -- description, action, aftermath. My beta readers said they were gasping for breath (and not in a good way) because I never let anything breathe.

Not sure if this is the case for you since I think a lot of people have the opposite problem, but maybe see if you can expand on existing scenes? When I went back and did that with my last WIP I added almost 20,000 words (and my beta readers thought the pacing was much better).

jeseymour · May 21, 2014

Fizgig, yes, I tend to write the bones. I like sparse. It's hard for me to add more, but I am actually finding spots where I did the tell not show thing, and by fixing those, it's getting longer.

AuthorUnknown · May 22, 2014

Stop using contractions?

SergeantC · May 23, 2014

Subplots are good. Take advantage of opportunities to add character development and detail in your scenes. And, finally, remember what Raymond Chandler said: "When things get slow, have a man with a gun come through the door."

InkStainedWench · Nov 22, 2014

"It was a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very dark and stormy night."

wonderactivist · Nov 23, 2014

Love and sex are good for subplots too. And explosions. Plenty of explosions.

Too short!

jeseymour

onesecondglance

pretending to be awake

thelastwordsmith

Brother's Keeper

reiver33

Monolithic

jeseymour

sheadakota

part of the human equation

Namatu

Lost in mental space.

heyjude

Making my own sunshine

lizmonster

Possibly A Mermaid Queen

jeseymour

Namatu

Lost in mental space.

jeseymour

jeseymour

Namatu

Lost in mental space.

Daddyo

been around a while

tarak

for certain qualities of "sane"

jeseymour

Fizgig

jeseymour

AuthorUnknown

Look Closer

SergeantC

InkStainedWench

It's a dirty job, but...

wonderactivist