Anyone Feel Like You're Under-Writing?

Another underwriter here too. First draft scenes are more like scene sketches. They aren't well rounded, and don't use all the tools of the trade.

In revision, I flesh out each scene, paying attention to grounding the POV character solidly in his or her immediate surroundings. I look a lot at how the scene moves, the choreography of characters as they interact with each other, and what engine is driving the scene as a whole. How do I build up to the turning point moment? And maybe most of all, I flesh out emotion via internalization, reaction beats in dialogue, and other tweaks. This naturally raises word count, and none of it is fluff.

Another thing to keep in mind is that not every scene needs the same level of the stuff noted above. But often scenes I don't expect -- like a fast-paced action scene -- benefit hugely by slowing down a bit and adding layers to increase suspense. If a character is going downstairs to see who is banging on the door, the reader should feel the dread in each step the POV character takes, or experience the hyper-sensitivity to our surroundings we all experience when we're scared and alert.

In the end, most of what we put in a story is there so the reader has a certain emotional experience. If you keep that in mind in revision, your scenes will expand naturally. So don't worry about first draft word count.

I definitely underwrite as well. I suffer from what I've heard referred to as "white room syndrome" in that my characters are talking and having emotions etc but they could be anywhere. It's important for me to always remember to put those little things in there that bring the reader fully into the story, not just the very specific things that push the plot forward.

Also, when I "finished" my first draft, it was only 47k words, and I realized it would be hard with that story to really bulk it up without just adding fluff or a bunch of subplots. Since I write historical fiction, I went back and did some research on what happened just after the time I was writing about and I was so interested in what I found that happened about 3 years after my manuscript was set, that I sat down and wrote 20k words of a new ending that just continues on from the old ending, since I had found such interesting history! Yet I was positive I had ended my book in the correct place when I finished my first draft. You never know where a project might go. You might realize you have a novella instead of a novel and that can be totally fine. My personal advice would be to keep writing to the end, and then keep editing and thinking, and you might have solved your problem without having to do extra work. Maybe you think you're at the halfway point and you don't realize how much longer the second "half" will be, so you're really only at the 1/3 mark.

A lot can change when the MS is still in the early stages. I found that I learned so much from writing the first part of the novel that the second part was so much stronger that I had to virtually rewrite the entire first third of the book. So much can change. Once you get it all down, then you can really start worrying about that word count.

Good luck!

You definitely are not the only one! I write 80,000 words and think it's a lot but then look at other people and immediately get self-conscious. I was always told that the really large ones that are over 100,000 words are more epic fantasy.

One partial cure I've found for the problem is to read Stephen King. He is the opposite of an underwriter, but keeps it reasonably interesting.

Happy to take my place in the circle at underwriters anonymous. I add with each successive draft.

You know what they say "No excuses, just write."

I always underwrite, then end up editing each scene too many times before moving on. I like to get as much down as possible, then let it sit until the next day. I need time to let a scene rest in my mind before I think of all the details I want to add. I know that I will add much more in the revision and editing process.

Yep, I definitely am an under-writer! Subplots are not my strong suit. Nor is description. I can usually hit 80k eventually after a couple passes, but it boggles my mind how people write 200k books!

Yes.

Thanks for the great suggestions! Now I'm off to look through my draft with an eye for internal monologue.

I always under write. It's my way.

My first draft of my first book came in at just over 50K words.

The final draft of the book was just over 100K.

My short stories tend to go the same way. The first draft is really more like a really, really long outline. I tend to leave out all the nuance in my first pass.

It's just something I got used to. I write thin, weak first draft, then I go back through and add in everything I missed.

SciSarahTops said:

Happy to take my place in the circle at underwriters anonymous. I add with each successive draft.

Click to expand...

That's similar to me. I typically do what is an extended outline and flesh out from there. By nature, I am succinct, not at all long-winded.