Tips for Underwriters: How to Lengthen Your Novel - YouTube

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Hellooo, everybody! It's dark in here.  So here’s the deal guys. It's exactly 5:59am  

right now. And no, I didn't wake up early, I  just haven't gone to sleep yet. I'm nocturnal,  

this is normal. I've been really busy, and this  is literally the only time I've had available to  

vlog. So it was either dark vlog, or no vlog.  Anywho, today I'm addressing one of your most  

popular questions and that is: How the hell do  I beef up the word count on my novel? In other  

words, this video’s for all you underwriters  out there. Most writers tend to fit into one  

of two categories: overwriters and underwriters.  Overwriters are people who get really detailed  

and wordy on their first draft. Then when they  move on to the second draft, they got to focus  

on trimming that shit down. Underwriters are  people with the exact opposite behavior. Their  

first draft is completely bare bones. And  then when they move on to the second draft,  

they gotta work on adding more content. For  overwriters, writing the first draft tends to  

be a slow process. But the revision and editing  phases are a lot easier for overwriters than  

underwriters, because their main function is to  hit the delete button. Delete, delete. Simple,  

not hard. On the flip side, underwriters tend  to finish their first draft really quickly,  

but the second draft, and the third draft, and the  editing phase, take a really long time. You gotta  

create entirely new content, and that is time  consuming. So to all you underwriters out there,  

I'm here to give you some tips on adding  meaningful content to your bare bones  

manuscript. I myself am not an underwriter. But  back when I used to critique manuscripts, I read  

a lot of stories written by underwriters. So all  of what I'm about to recommend is based on the  

countless underwritten manuscripts I've read, and  what they were typically lacking. But before I get  

into these tips as an underwriter, you absolutely  have to stop and ask yourself: do I even need to  

lengthen my novel? Not all stories require 100,000  words, it's very possible that your story isn't a  

novel. Maybe it's a novella. Maybe it's a short story. Don't feel like you HAVE to beef it up,  

just to meet a page requirement that maybe doesn't  fit your story. Now, if you look through your  

manuscript and decide, ‘No really it's gotta be  longer.’ I'm going to ask that you please resist  

the urge to add filler content. Filler content  are scenes that writers throw into their stories,  

for no reason whatsoever. They don't benefit a  plot, they don't benefit any of the subplots,  

they're just kind of there. Don't do that. No one  wants to read that shit. But you can do any of  

the five things I'm about to list. Number One (1):  Show don't tell. You may have heard this one once  

or twice, or a million fucking times. But it's  usually better to show the reader what's going on,  

as opposed to telling them what's going on.  Showing means adding specific detail to a scene  

that has sort of a transporting quality. You make  your reader feel like they're there in the moment  

with the characters. Instead of just saying  that the story takes place during the summer,  

you describe the burning rays of the sun beating  down on your character's back. Instead of just  

saying that your character’s angry, you  describe how they're clenching their jaw,  

and they're balling their hands into white knuckle  fits. These sort of descriptions not only add bulk  

to your writing, but it'll also enhance the  reader's experience. You want the reader to  

feel physically and emotionally connected to your  writing, and showing as opposed to telling is the  

way to do it, while also increasing your word  count. Number Two (2): Set the scene. One of  

the biggest problems I noticed when critiquing  underwritten manuscripts was that I never knew  

where the characters were. In my mind, I'm seeing  character A, and character B, and they're just  

floating in space. Set the scene, let your readers  know where your characters are, and what they're  

doing. Now I know a lot of people hate setting  the scene, I hate setting the scene. But you don't  

have to describe every single leaf on every single  tree. If your characters are in a castle, you can  

describe the overall architecture, the artwork,  the ambience. You don't gotta list the square  

footage. Just adding these basic descriptions  will not only help the reader visualize the  

moment, it'll also add pages to that skimpy  manuscript of yours. And while you're at it,  

check to see if you're lacking other descriptions,  like physical descriptions. Remember, the reader  

isn't in your brain. You may be able to visualize  the setting and the characters, but that's because  

you created them. Go through your manuscript  with a critical eye and look for scenes that  

could possibly use a bit more description. Because  the audience is reading your book, not your mind.  

Number Three (3): Attach bodies to voices.  Sometimes underwriters go to write dialogue,  

and that's it. They just write dialogue. “Hi,” he  said. “How are you?” she said. Communication is  

so much more than words coming out of your mouth.  Communication is body language, eye contact, tone  

of voice. All of these things matter at some point  in a conversation. If you write a hefty stream  

of dialogue, and all you do is include dialogue  tags, like ‘he said’ and ‘she said,’ it's gonna  

read like this: “What a lovely home.” “Thanks, I  wasn't expecting guests.” “I couldn't tell, this  

place is absolutely charming.” That was boring  and weird. It all sounds like empty words, like  

there aren't actual people attached to the voices.  But if you include body language or mannerisms,  

even the simplest conversations suddenly have  a lot more meaning. (Sarcastically) “What a  

lovely home.” (Nervously) “Thanks. I wasn't  expecting guests.” (Sarcastically) “I couldn’t tell.

This place is absolutely charming.” By  adding a few facial expressions and hand gestures,  

the conversation went from basic and boring, to  awkward and bitchy. Now I'm not saying you need  

to include mannerism and tone of voice for every  single piece of dialogue, but mention it when it's  

relevant. This is gonna make your dialogue  a lot more interesting, and you guessed it,  

up your word count. Number Four (4): Subplots.  Most really long stories have a lot of shit going  

on. So if your book is on the skimpy side, chances  are you're lacking in the subplot category. Check  

your outline to see if subplots work into the  equation. And if you already have subplots,  

check to make sure they're well developed.  Just because it's not your primary plot,  

doesn't mean you can neglect it. If you've got a  romantic subplot, check to make sure it's not an  

insta romance, because a lot of readers hate that  shit. Give your subplots depth and weight, because  

a half baked subplot is only going to take away  from your audience's overall reading experience.  

How many people have read a book and said, “I  would have loved it, if the romantic subplot  

wasn't so rushed.” Or, “I would have liked it. But  the subplot between the two best friends was just  

left hanging.” Develop your subplots. It will make  your readers happy, and it will make your book  

longer. And Number Five (5): Deepen your plot.  I've read a lot of manuscripts that essentially  

felt unfinished. You meet the main character,  she's given a bad guy to defeat, she defeats him,  

then end. That’s it? What about all the stuff  in the middle? The build up, the rising action,  

the breaking point? You can't just start  with point A and then automatically jump  

to point Z. There's a lot of other letters in the  middle. If you're an underwriter, take a look at  

your manuscript and ask yourself, does your plot  progress too quickly? Was the protagonist’s goal  

way too easy to achieve? It's possible that you  missed a lot of basic structural events. And if  

that's the case, you probably gotta go back to the  drawing board and educate yourself on plotting and  

structure. This may lead to a bunch of rewrites,  but rewriting an unfinished novel is a lot better  

than releasing an unfinished novel. And did I  mention it'll add bulk to your novel? Cuz that's  

literally the entire point of this video. Anywho  those are my tips for beefing up your manuscript,  

that I delivered to you while I watched the  sunrise. I would say it was a beautiful moment,  

but this is a pretty common occurrence for me. If  you're an underwriter, these five tips can help  

take your manuscript from this big, to this big.  All right. But please before you make any changes,  

double check to see if your book even needs to be  longer. Size doesn't matter, okay? It's what you  

do with your story that counts. With that said,  don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I post  

new videos on Wednesdays. Eve: The Awakening  is still available in ebook and paperback on  

Amazon right now. You can also order a signed  copy, all the links are listed below. And if  

you have any questions or if there's something  you'd like me to talk about in my next video,  

be sure to tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye! 

Woah, a bird! Come back. Be my friend.