How to add more details to a novel
I have discovered that I am most definitely not a pantser, especially when writing longer pieces. The last couple of times I've tried to write a novel, I didn't feel like I was writing enough. I didn't plan either novel.
For my latest attempt, this time a sci-fi novel, I have an outline. A 3000-word outline that goes over the whole plot, chapter by chapter. But I still feel like my story isn't going to be as long as I had hoped.
I'm pretty confident that my plot is deep enough, and that I could write a whole novel out of it, maybe 80000 words. But at the start of the 5th chapter, I'm headed more toward half that size. I think the problem is that I'm sticking too much to my outline, and only writing the parts that are crucial to the plot.
I know word count isn't everything, but I'm still a bit worried the book won't be what I want it to be when I'm finished. Am I worrying too much about length? What can I do to add details and interesting stuff to my story, other than just the major plot points?
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1 answer
I think it's easier to cut than to add. Therefore, since you seem to be very good at outlining and sticking to your outline (yay!), perhaps you would benefit from adding more branches to your tree, i.e. your outline.
So -- see if you can add some subplots, built around side characters.
Perhaps it would be helpful to read Middlemarch by George Eliot, and think about all the different characters and subplots that could be going on, and interacting, in the place where your novel takes place.
However, there is something to be said for novellas.
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