Stretch a Too-Short Short Story, Without the Filler
Did you just finish a big writing project only to come up short? Did your novel turn out to be a novella? It can feel disappointing for a story to come to an end sooner than you wanted, but that doesn’t mean it’s a problem.
First ask yourself if you really need a longer piece. Does the story feel complete? Have all the narrative threads been wrapped up? Then you might just have a great flash fiction piece instead of the short story you intended to write. There’s nothing wrong with that. Consider it a win and write something else.
But if your editor wants another 10k words, or if you just have your heart set on a longer novel, there are lots of things you can do to expand your draft and hit a higher word count. These are some of the steps I followed when I expanded the novella-length first edition of Screaming Void into the full-length novel second edition, and they may be worth trying in your own writing project.
- Add more world building details. When characters arrive at a new location, include more description of the architecture, cultures, businesses, etc. You can even add the lyrics to the song the band is singing, the text of the poem written by the love interest, or a commercial for the mad scientist’s new killer robot. It can be almost anything, as long as it’s relevant to the plot, theme, and/or characters.
- Add more try/fail cycles. Many times, a story comes up short because you’ve made things too easy on your characters. Having them try and fail two or three times before they succeed can add drama and tension as the characters struggle to achieve their big goal.
- Add more sequel scenes. After a big, dramatic event or a failure, characters should spend time discussing what happened and what to do next, and possibly revising previous plans. Adding a sequel scene after a significant plot development is like underlining and bolding the text. It highlights the importance of the plot development and makes it more memorable.
- Add a subplot. This could be a love story, a fetch quest, a flashback showing how everything went so wrong, even a side character building the weapon needed to win the final battle. A foil might disagree with the protagonist about how to defeat the villain and try to solve the problem in their own way. A sidekick might tire of being in the protagonist’s shadow and attempt to become a hero in their own right.
- Add a background story. Consider setting the story during a significant event like a war, a pandemic, or a flood, something big enough to influence the main story, but not so big that it takes over.
- Add side characters. A love interest, a mentor, or a hacker providing exposition and the location of the villain’s secret lair could all add to the story in unexpected ways.
- Add backstory details and explore characters’ motivations. How did the villain turn evil? What stopped the mentor character from solving the problem themselves? What are the love interest’s goals, apart from marrying the hero?
- Consider continuing the story after your original ending. Are there any details you haven’t wrapped up? Are there other villains who need defeated, other victims who need rescued? What is the world like now that the characters have won?
Not every addition will work for every story. Make sure that whatever you add expands the plot, further develops your characters, or further contributes to your story’s theme. If you keep those three elements in mind, your additions will feel like a natural and necessary part of the story, and not like you’re just padding your word count.
If you aren’t working from an outline, create one. An outline will help give you a big picture view of the story, so you can see if the additions fit together and flow nicely. If you still aren’t sure, ask for feedback from a trusted friend, a writing partner, or beta readers.
