How can I add depth to my story or how do I determine if my story already has depth?

I'm unsure if it's meaningful, if it has enough depth. How do I determine this?

You might start by asking yourself: what kind of meaningfulness or depth am I looking for?

With very few exceptions, a fictional work is at heart a story about a character. Really good novels, of course, go well beyond being just a story: they have a thematic meaningfulness (the work invites the reader to consider the issues raised), or a depth of characterisation (one or more characters are complex in nature, richly described, or deeply examined), or a complexity of plot (e.g. multiple sub-plots meaningfully woven into the main storyline; or a frame story; or a non-linear plot line), or an artistry in the language itself. The truly great works of literature generally tick multiple boxes.

But are you planning your first novel to be a truly great work of literature? Most of us would settle for far less on debut: for example, simply getting published is a tremendous tick of approval, because it means an editor thinks your novel has sufficient appeal that people you don't know will want to buy it.

So perhaps when you ask yourself about meaningfulness and depth, you might first consider whether any of the elements - theme, characterisation, plot, language - actually require more work. For example, not every novel needs thematic depth: in fact, most of the novels in the New Releases section of your local book store just tell an entertaining story, with minimal thematic content. Teenage Leigh tracks down a fugitive; Jane falls in love with Larry; Ruh-el finds the nor-dragon's weakness and saves her village; Murray finally gets a job, but not the one he was looking for.

Add a theme if you will: Leigh's "voices in the head" turns out not to be a mental health disability but a paranormal gift; replace "Larry" with "Fatima" and set it in a small-minded town.

Or is it depth of characterisation you feel is lacking? Are your primary characters underdeveloped: do they have clear strengths and weaknesses, a past and a purpose, real bodies and clothes and mannerisms? Do they evolve as the plot progresses? Are your minor characters just cutouts? Is there sufficient tension between the different characters?

Instead, is it the plot itself that lacks depth? Are there enough twists and surprises? Are there sub-plots you can add or explore? Is the story too linear?

Or perhaps you're just telling a good old-fashioned tale, no great thematic depth, the characters are well-crafted, the plot is entertaining, but is it the language itself that lacks complexity? Is there insufficient variation in tone, pace, sentence structure? Is the dialogue too predictable? Are the dialogue tags too flowery? Does the linguistic cleverness of the first few chapters tail off? Is there inadequate description of setting? How often are touch, smell or taste evoked?

It's easy for an emerging writer (I'm thinking of myself here!) to waver between an exuberant confidence in their own ability and a demoralising doubt in the quality of what's actually produced. Beta readers and redrafting certainly help along the way, and hopefully the above offers a useful mechanism to reassure yourself that your novel has the depth you're after (or to identify where further work is needed), but the most important task for any writer is a simple one: write write write.

posted over 5 years ago

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Chappo Says Reinstate Monica‭

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@MatthewDave suggests asking yourself what your story is about. I would go farther: ask yourself what is the meaning of your story, what it is you're trying to say.

If you're saying nothing at all, then no, your story doesn't have much depth. And at this point, it's too late to change that - you'd have to start from scratch. "What you're trying to say" is the core around which you're weaving your story. It's what guides you when you need to choose whether events would go this way or that. It's not something you can add after the fact.

If you're saying something, your story has some depth. That's a start. Exploring complex ideas, addressing their multiple facets, perhaps touching on multiple ideas, is what would give your story satisfying depth.

As an example, Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises is, on the surface of it, about a group of friends who go to see the bullfights in Pamplona. Beneath that surface, Hemingway explores the Lost Generation and how they deal with the war trauma in the post-war years. And it is also a story about a man coming to terms with the fact that the woman he loves will never be with him. It is a story about people who might seem shallow at first, but are not; and about finding strength, day after day, to deal with life, and about so much more. All in a story so short I'm not sure if it qualifies as a novel or a novela. That is depth.

posted over 5 years ago

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Galastel‭

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+1 Galastel; I would say one way to approach an answer to her question, "What is the meaning of your story", is to ask yourself What do my characters learn?

Deep stories, at least by my definition, have characters learning something about the world (our real world, not their fantasy world), how it works, what is important in life, what is not that important.

I certainly don't want to slap readers in the face with life lessons; but my characters always learn something I personally think is important about life.

For me, the definition of "shallow" is characters that prevail but haven't changed by becoming any better. That might be a fun read, an adventure with imagination and clever plot twists, and I'm willing to have a shallow good time. But those stories are not deep. I'm not going to read them a second time. I don't fall in love with the characters, or feel like they are real people. I don't feel compelled to keep the book, it is something I'll donate to a school.

posted over 5 years ago

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Amadeus‭

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