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Structure, and getting the novel out...

For the last few weeks I have been working on a novel WIP that I began around two years ago. It has been going quite well, albeit in fits and starts, but the more I write, the more I realise that I may not actually have a novel length tale to tell.

I have a planned plot; I know where this story is going, what characters need to be introduced and when. What action is going to take place at the climax of the story. My chapters are all relatively short, numbering between 1,700 and 2,700 in words: the average chapter length is 2000-3000 so I am coming a little short of the mark here. Added to that, I have two very short chapters which need development, and a few ‘interludes’ that are all short in word count. That is deliberate.

So, my conundrum is how to develop the chapters and ensure that my work is of novel length, without ‘padding’ the story with unnecessary details. I do want to keep the pace up, especially at the climax of the book, so I don’t want the chapters yet to write to be the bulky ones. On reflection, I suppose having a few more detailed chapters at that part of the story isn’t an issue, as long as the action is well-paced in those sections of story. Novel writing is definitely a different creature to short fiction. I am absolutely certain that, had I tried ton complete this before the course, it would have been a poorly structured mess. It still is in many ways, but at least I am aware of it now and that means I can try to tidy it up.

I am continuing with the ‘finish it’ plan of action, but when I do, I will need to do a full chapter by chapter read through, to see whether there is more story to tell that I have missed.

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