How to get to 80,000 words

Make something else happen that puts your MC or a person close to your MC in dire jeopardy. Figure out what might be the worst case scenario for your MC - and let it develop. Give your MC some level of responsibility for this ominous turn of events via a character flaw and subsequent poor decision - thereafter ladle on a debilitating load of gut-wrenching guilt and self blame.

If you want a happy ending, let your MC win the inner struggle to overcome the personal demon(s), flaw(s), etc... and save him/herself and/or the jeopardized other at the last minute.

Otherwise, let the monster(s) win...

For me, a lot of what works for horror is atmosphere as well. It's the build of tension over the pages. This doesn't mean pages on pages of purple prose, but even tight descriptions with well-chosen words that help convey atmosphere.

For me, tension and build up and suspense are important in a story that is supposed to be scary. It can't just be monsters on every page, as you say. It won't give you 40k, but it might be that you need more of the suspense and build and tension and atmosphere.

A book I'd recommend to see horror done incredibly well is 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill. He does an amazing job of creating atmosphere and tension in only a few pages.

Usually writing ends up short because it's missing some of these elements.

If I ever figure that out, I'll let you know.

*sucks at word count quotas and is thisclose to querying emarkets exclusively because of it*

Get several horror novels you admire that are, say, 300 pages plus. Read them like an apprentice writer, which means taking them apart to see how they work. Start with a chapter. Break it down into its scenes. Note what's in each scene and what you think the writer is trying to do with it. Forward action, delineate character, establish setting, provide backstory, build suspense?

Note how scene flows into scene, chapter into chapter. Study the variations of pacing: is one sequence of scenes slower and more contemplative, another sequence quick and dramatic? Does the pacing work? Why?

Note how detail accumulates to create a rich reader experience in all fictional components: plot, character, setting, theme. Note how the components buttress and play off each other.

Hard work? You bet. Some writers will assimilate and internalize novel structure without conscious effort, just by extensive reading. But whether or not a writer has, I think he can profit by the kind of highly conscious and directed reading described above.

Also know that if you're coming to the novel from short stories, you're learning a whole new language. The same happens in reverse: Going from novels to short stories. It's not a matter of just writing more or less. Mindset has to change, to learn the deep structures and paces of each form.

Write 1000 words per day on the story. Start now. Do it every day, whatever comes to you, and don't stop until you hit 80 thousand words. It doesn't have to be good. In fact, expect it to be crap. Uncle Jim gives you permission to write crap. Just write.

One thousand words per day.

In 80 days you'll have 80 thousand words.

Write every day.

That is the only way I know of to get to 80 thousand words.

I have the same problem (and I have 7 novels on the market).

The Danish market is different in that way, so my latest horrornovel is only 47000 words. Still, it tells the story as it should.

I tried analyzing King to see how he makes those 1100+ pages monstrosities, and I think I found out.

In my Bunker 137 we only hear the story through the MC. One restricted point of view.

In most King novels we hear from oodles of MC's. Basically, by adding MC's you are writing the same novel several times from the perspective of multiple people. It adds up.

I need to work on that, because I strongly prefer the mono-view, but it has some challenges.

In my new novel (out in october) we are yet again only hearing one voice, but I still wrote 75000 words.

Also - it's much easier to write a traveling style story, because you can just add places and episodes, while having the MC locked up somewhere can easily become stale if you just add chapters

WormHeart

For me learning to write longer has been about more character depth. I know you THINK you have character depth there, I did too, but you don't yet. And my longest work is still only 63,000 words, but at least I finally wrote what some consider a full length novel, and it comes out in print in November. (Not horror but the title of this thread caught my eye.

I think it's a good idea to sketch out the novel, but not completely. Just have the beginning, middle and end. Then, write everyday, as much as you can. Setting yourself up to write a specific amount, like 1,000 words, might prove self-defeating. You might think, "wow, I couldn't make my thousand word limit today, I'm a loser. Ah, the heck with it." Instead, just write whatever you can. Don't keep a specific word count in mind, just pay attention to your story, flesh out the details and get to the end.

Once you're there, step away from it for about a week. Then, go back, read it very carefully, and have a legal pad next to your computer (or, if you've printed it off, next to your manuscript). As you read, make notations where you might be able to expand your writing. For example, in my book, I had someone attending a Halloween party as an adult. When I read it through, I thought, why not have him go to a Halloween party as a kid (there's an extensive flashback), then I can contrast the two! That resulted in a whole extra chapter of approximately 20 pages. Don't write anything until you've finished reading through your first draft and making the notations.

Once you're done, read the legal pad, make more notes, and list exactly where you can enlarge and improve. Then, start incorporating the changes into the original manuscript. I went from 250 pages to 400 pages doing that, all within the space of two months. I ended up doing it AGAIN, and ended up with 500 pages--a total of 92,000 words! That's what got my novel sold to Samhain!

Good luck!

Well, how could you not? You're story's set in the 16th Century. The reader must be given some kind of historical backgrounding in the story no matter where or when it's set imo. Brian Stableford did it in his alternate history vampire novel. Harry Turtledove does it all the time in his alternate histories (though they're not exactly horrible there's some pretty horrible stuff that happens in them).

If it makes sense to have some historical backgrounding in your story, do it.

As Uncle Jim says, "If it works, it works."

I'm not published, so take that into account when you read my advice. It's backstory on characters your main characters interact with that tends to distinguish a novella from a novel. Write your main thread: the story from your main character's perspective as it unfolds. He's going to meet and interact with numerous characters, from vice-presidents to cashiers at the Quik-E Mart. As you hit each scene, ask yourself "Why? Why does the McDonald's guy spit in my character's milkshake? What pissed him off?" Sometimes, you'll find that you have a good answer that makes an interesting ten pages. Sometimes you'll find a whole good subplot that will shift your story around. Sometimes you'll find boring things that you will delete later, but looking for these things is still the key. Very few authors manage to write 95,000 words about one character being propelled linearly from the beginning of the story to the end.

I agree. My "Summerland" trilogy started as an outline for a single 50k word book, and as of now, I've worked it into 3 part, roughly 70k word situation.

Length comes from making a novel wider, not longer. You can't just add sequential events one after the other, else you end up with an 80,000 word short story that's boring.

You add things that make the novel wider right from the beginning, such as a new character, and/or a subplot. Anyting like this adds a new thread to the tapestry, and automatically gives you the right kind of length.