• Basic Writing questions is not a crit forum. All crits belong in Share Your Work

Another novella question,

Status
Not open for further replies.

JustSarah

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
1,980
Reaction score
35
Website
about.me
But a little bit different. I had gotten to around 30K (slightly less) for nanowrimo. What has been your experience with trimming or adding words to your work in progress?

While I'm not an extreme put inner, I'm finding just adding dialogue tags I forgot, fleshing out characters actions more during dialogue, for example, making characters actually do something while they speak, and other refinements are doing more to add word count than adding a subplot.
 

Undercover

I got it covered
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 1, 2010
Messages
10,432
Reaction score
2,054
Location
Not here, but there
Yeah, adding a sub-plot would work. Also more character development, give them more of a past, a future, what are they into, some history on them would be good.

Another thing that really helped me add was printing it out, double or even triple spaced and try to fill in that way. But again, printing it out will help see it differently. Hope this helps.
 

JustSarah

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 6, 2012
Messages
1,980
Reaction score
35
Website
about.me
I'm going to try to invest in a new printer to get this thing printed.

Broke my printer printing my first 20K middle grade. (It's an older one that's only equiped to print 2 pages at a time.) Also new character arc! A cynical fantasy gamer grows a heart of gold after a confrontation with loss.

Gives me a revision direction to shoot for.

Edit: At the moment, I've considered a slightly different technique. I deliberately exclude a subplot from each chapter/arc, so that later on in revision I can include an intermediary character across all three novelettes.

I've done it, it's just a matter of if it will work for YA.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.