4 Questions to Strengthen Lean Manuscripts

AI-generated image (ChatGPT): book that’s growing happily in size.

Today’s guest post is by Lisa Fellinger, an author, book coach, and editor.

I have a small confession to make: I’ve never been told I need to cut words from my manuscripts. In fact, I’m the author envious of anyone who needs to do so because I’m the one struggling to get my manuscript up to my target word count. And for a long time, I feared I was the only writer with this issue. So many writing articles and discussions focus on how to cut down an overly wordy novel to fit standard word counts, but I hadn’t seen much advice for how to bulk up a manuscript that fell below those expectations.

But over the years, I’ve found writers with similar struggles. I’m not the only one who starts with a lean first draft that needs to be built up to create a well-rounded story. Neither way of writing is right or wrong—it’s truly about what works for you and your process. The important thing is that you understand your genre’s word count expectations and why those expectations exist and that you put in the work to add or cut words to create a deep story.

While writing lean can sometimes feel like it’s wrong approach, there’s absolutely value in it. Writing a lean first draft allows you to see the main points and events that are most central to the story and work to enhance them, rather than having to uncover those main points underneath a mountain of excess words. I’m often told my writing is clear and easy to follow, which I credit to the fact that I write lean initially and build the story from there.

Still, it’s important that lean writers understand the need to deepen those drafts to become reader ready. Readers crave stories that are rich and immersive; novels that fall far below the standard word counts don’t typically do this.

So, for my fellow lean writers out there, here are opportunities to dig into your story and meet your target word count.

1. Do you have a compelling subplot?

Subplots are one of the best ways to deepen stories and bulk up a lean manuscript. However, don’t just throw in any subplot and call it a day. If you decide to add or enhance a subplot, focus on one that adds depth to the main storyline rather than distracting from it. If you try to include an unrelated subplot only to increase your word count, readers will sense that and lose interest.

The subplot should have a clear connection to the overall story and its own arc. And just as minor characters should be as fleshed out, a subplot should be well-rounded and complete in its own right, even though as much time won’t be spent on it.

2. Are you summarizing the hard scenes?

This is where I often find the most gold in terms of increasing word count, as well as in the novels I work with for developmental editing or book coaching.

It’s especially common in first drafts for writers to summarize the hard scenes—scenes that either feel technically difficult to write or are especially emotional. Since these scenes require so much work to do them justice, it’s tempting to gloss over them by providing a summary of what happened rather than dramatizing the entire scene.

But readers don’t invest in novels to read summaries of what happened to the characters. They want to experience those events alongside them and feel their emotions in real time. Skipping over those difficult scenes robs the reader of that experience and the opportunity for them to feel a strong connection to your story. While summary is sometimes necessary or the best choice for certain scenes, for scenes that are highly emotional and/or central to the overall story, dramatize them so readers can experience the events and emotions along with your characters.

And—bonus points—dramatizing a scene that you initially summarized will absolutely increase your word count.

3. Are you digging into your characters’ thoughts and reactions?

One reason readers often declare “the book was better than the movie” is because books allow for the opportunity to see inside of your characters’ thoughts in a way that movies can’t. So use that to your advantage.

While you don’t want to do this to the extreme—where you’re repeating the same things to the point of boring your readers—you do want to ensure that your readers understand your characters’ reactions to events, especially critical ones. Showing a character’s thoughts can be a good way to bridge the gap between an event and a reaction from a character that doesn’t necessarily make sense. While a reaction might seem odd on the surface, if you can show us the thought process that led them there, then readers will understand it even if another character may not. And digging deep into your characters’ thoughts will build stronger reader connections with your characters.

4. Is your setting clear and detailed enough?

I know I’m guilty of this one in my own writing. It’s easy for me to get so caught up in the dialogue between two characters, or exploring a character’s thoughts and emotions, that I forget to include enough detail about where events take place. But readers need to be able to visualize the story as it unfolds rather than wondering where the characters are.

As you’re reading through your manuscript, ask yourself: Would the reader be able to visualize where these events are taking place by the words on the page? While too much setting description can slow your story’s pacing and bore your reader, this is an area where I often see lean writers being skimpy. It’s an ideal opportunity to strengthen the story while also adding to your word count.

Parting advice

Target word counts exist for a reason. That’s generally the sweet spot where a story will have enough detail and information to create a full, rich story for readers to enjoy without giving way to digressions or slow pacing. While there are always exceptions to word count standards, be honest with yourself about why your story falls outside of them. If you’re below the target like I often am, I hope these questions will help you determine if your story really is complete or if there’s room to add and create an even stronger story.