Don't be Boring Just to Make Word Count

A few years ago, I had a great Skype session with my almost-13-year-old granddaughter, who was an avid reader and a great help to me with my Young Adult WIP, Tattoo, The Awakening.

Anyway, she asked what the next few scenes would be and I mentioned that my main character would be taking a trip to another state. She nodded, then leaned forward so I could see her expression on the screen.

"Well, okay, but leave out the boring stuff."

This caught me off guard. What would a young teen find boring about a trip? So I asked her, and she didn't hesitate at all.

"You know, sitting in the plane, taking off, all that stuff. If you use the plane trip, make it exciting. Like, if the plane crashes and she's the only survivor!"

Okay, I can see that this child will not be fooled by filler. And if she isn't, then neither will the thousands of other young readers we hope to woo with our tales.

So, back to boring. In the early stages of my fiction-writing career, I attended a workshop given by a successful writer in which she outlined the parts of a novel and their importance. She focused on the "sagging middle" because that's where many authors have problems. She talked about breaking up the story into mostly equal word counts to achieve the final goal, and how to dole out the story points through the whole thing.

Could I keep my mouth shut? Nope. During Q&A, I mentioned that my story was finished, but I only had 65,000 words and the required count was 85,000. How could I fix it? Without missing a beat, she said, "Come up with more story." It was the right answer, but what she didn't include was HOW to do that. I had to learn that on my own.

A story arc has three "acts" made up of scenes. Each scene should tell the reader something new and move the story forward smoothly. A story outline can give the author a map to follow and, like a road trip, should include some scenery and attractions along the way. Building the story world is one way to expand word count, but add too much and you'll have readers skipping through the narrative. Extensive character description can also expand word count, but most readers prefer to visualize a character themselves rather than read about the mundane physical details. Dialogue is one of the best writing techniques for carrying a story, but make every word golden. Lots of dialogue is good and provides plenty of white space on the page that gives one the feeling of reading quickly. But dialogue that tracks every reply and grunt and "Hi" and "Yeah" and "Fine, how are you?" is boring! We write stories not about real life as it boringly is, but real life as it is interesting. Conflict is the foundation of every story, so use it to the fullest. 

Know ahead of time what your genre expects for word count and include it in your initial story plan. I recently found this great explanation of word counts; it will make life much easier for me in the future and I hope for you too.

To figure out how to achieve your desired word count, look at each scene or plot point and ask yourself, "What else can happen to make this more interesting?" This is how you "come up with more story."

Now, about that plane crash...

Feeding the Writer's Muse

Writing is hard work! (No one believes that but other writers.) One of the things that commonly happens to those of us who spend hundreds of hours at our computers is we either 1) forget to eat, or 2) resent having to stop to eat, or worse—cook. Sounds harmless, but feeding the brain is a very important part of writing.

Feeding the Muse 
The brain requires a steady supply of glucose (carbohydrate) in order to function correctly. In fact, the brain uses twice the energy of any other cell in your body and can only utilize carbohydrate to generate that energy. Now, I'm not talking about a steady diet of chocolate or potato chips (although the chocolate sounds like a good plan to me), but a writer must not fall into the habit of not eating because they are on deadline or on a roll. Conversely, too much sugar can cause brain fatigue. Avoid sweet soft drinks, pastries, cookies, and candy among others.

I keep snack foods in a drawer near my desk for those times when I,m hungry, but don't want to stop what I'm doing. Snacks that provide the mental energy without the calorie load include dried fruit (apricots, cranberries, raisins, etc.), nuts (walnuts and almonds), and easy to eat fresh fruit (blueberries, cherries, grapes, etc.).

Another cause of brain fatigue is dehydration. Again, who wants to leave their work to go get a drink of water? I keep a small bottle of water at hand, and try to drink at least 8 cups of water per day. Other beverages that will hydrate but not overload your brain with sugar include caffeine-free tea and fruit juice.

Plot With Your Crockpot! 

As far as I'm concerned, my crockpot is my best friend. With just the tiniest bit of planning, I can sit down to a delicious dinner at the end of the day without having interrupted my work flow. On any given day, I write at least one blog post, one gardening article, text for my websites, begin or finish a feature article or column. I love not having to think about food!

For those who are away from home during the day, set up the crockpot in the morning or the night before, plug it into a timer so it will come on and turn off at the correct hour. You'll have a nice meal waiting for you, and can get on with your writing on a full tummy.

Here's one of my favorite crockpot recipes.

Pork Ragout with Fruit
Serves 8
Ragout is simply a fancy name for stew! You can substitute chicken, but be sure to use dark meat only. Breast meat will dry out during the long cooking time.

4 lbs bone-in pork shoulder or finger ribs
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup chopped onion
1 tsp ground ginger (or 2 tsp fresh grated)
1 Tbs brown sugar
1/4 cup red-wine or sherry vinegar (cider works just as well)
1 tsp dried thyme (or 1 Tbs minced fresh)
1 can reduced sodium beef broth (or 1 bouillon cube + 1 cup water)
1 cup whole dried apricots or peaches
1 cup dried cranberries (I use Craisins) or cherries or even prunes
1 cup dry sherry (or orange juice)
2 Tbs water
2 tsp cornstarch

Arrange onion in bottom of crockpot. Add meat, then season with salt, pepper, ginger, brown sugar, and thyme. Add vinegar, broth, sherry or juice, and fruit.
Cover and set to low. Cook 4 to 6 hours, depending on your experience with your own crockpot. Before serving, thicken liquid with cornstarch/water.

This dish is perfect served in a bowl or, if you feel like serving it over rice, it's fabulous that way too!

Other super-easy and delicious crockpot meals include Mac & Cheese and Simple Chicken. Google recipes that are one step meals–who has time to brown meat and fry onions and pre-cook stuff to go into the crockpot!

2018 Toni Leland