forum How Can I Increase the Length of My Stories?

Started July 24, 2018 by Hannah

tune

I'm having an issue with too short of stories, most end up around twenty pages. I need to lengthen my story to at least a hundred pages. Do I need more plot? More detail?
(Please don't be mean I'm just starting out as a writer)

Hi mini me! I dunno, just wanted to say hi, but it would help if I knew the plot of your story.

@I'mWithYouUntilTheEndOfTheLine I will probably explain it badly but here I go: Basically its set in a world where 62% of the population has powers. The other 38% have none and are essentially slaves to the powerful. It centers on a mute girl who works at the castle as a cleaner and falls for the princess. The princess eventually falls for her as well and her mentally unstable (basically insane) father tries to separate them by locking the servant girl up. They escape the palace and start a new life on the run, under threat of death by their family and their world.

What you probably need is a more complex plot. What you’ve written could work for anything from a 10 page story to a series of books, but to make it longer you need to fill in the gaps between the major plot points you’ve outlined above. What are the events leading to the mute girl falling for the princess? What does she do about it? What leads to the princess falling as well?

Part of your story could be what’s happening in the kingdom at the time. You say the king is mentally unstable - what else besides opposing his daughter’s relationship showcases his insanity? What does the princess do when the mute girl is locked up? Does she appeal to her father, try to bribe the jailer, enlist someone with powers to help? How is the mute girl freed and how do they escape? Does anyone go with them? (A larger cast of characters usually leads to a longer story because there are more personalities and relationships that surface).

How does the king react to their escape? A large part of your story could be them outwitting those that are tracking them and getting help from others along the way.

Don’t answer these questions here, they’re just there to get you thinking. :)

Another point is make sure you’re showing, not telling, as you write the story.

Telling:

He came through the front door and saw Tania waiting for him. “You worthless piece of trash,” he said angrily.

”But I-“ Tania began. She was too upset to reply.

Showing

He slammed the front door so forcefully as he came in that the hall mirror was knocked from its place on the wall and dropped to the floor, one corner cracking within its frame. Tania flinched. She was already waiting for him at the end of the hall, clenching his discarded cloak in sweaty hands.

He fixed her in his bloodshot gaze. “You worthless piece of trash,” he spat.

”But I-“ Her voice faltered, and she bit her lip to stop it trembling. Try as she might, Tania could not look her brother in the eyes.

That was a very extreme example, but I did it to make it clear. As you can see, showing often comes with adding detail and uses a lot more words.