If you’ve landed on this article, more than likely, you’re looking for ways to add more words to your novel because your book may be coming up short.
Most beginning writers, including myself, have experienced this problem.
We finally completed a manuscript that we had put our blood, sweat, and tears into, but when we checked the final word count, it was under 40,000 words (at least in my case).
I’ve searched high and low for different techniques, so these are the five best methods to ass more words to your novel below.
Add More Dialogue
Adding more dialogue between characters is one of the top ways to add more words to your novel.
If you add dialogue, make sure it moves the story along. Do add use filler or fluff, with your characters just talking about bullshit. That’s just a waste of space, and readers hate that.
Write Out Character Thoughts
Try writing out what your character is thinking. Dive into your character’s mind and write what he or she is feeling so your reader can be drawn closer to the main character.
This allows you to write multiple paragraphs of your character’s thoughts, which will increase your word count.
Add More Characters
Including more characters in your novel is a good way to add more dialogue and character interactions, leading to more words.
When you add characters, make sure they serve a purpose, play a part in the story, and are interesting and engaging enough to keep your reader interested.
Include Subplots
If you’ve never heard of a subplot, let me explain. It’s a secondary story in fiction novels that runs alongside the main plot.
For example, in a science fiction novel, a man and a woman are stuck on a space station for a week, waiting for their arrival. During the wait, the electricity goes out, and they have to find a way to turn it back on. Once they find the power switch, all is well again.
Subplots are fun to add to your story. Make them creative and meaningful so your reader will have a hard time putting your book down.
Add Things from the Main Character’s Past
Feel free to go back in time and mention happenings in the character’s past.
For example, say the main character is chopping wood at his cabin. You can have him reminisce about a time when he was a child when his grandfather showed him the correct way to chop wood. You can add things such as the motion his grandfather taught him, how it made him feel swinging the axe, his and his grandfather’s body language, etc. Feel free to get creative with it.
That’s all I have for this post. I know it was quick and short, but I just wanted to get to the point.
If you have any other tips to get more words in your novel, add them to the comment section below.
Thanks for stopping by. I’ll see you next time. Take care.