Words! I Need More Words!

Grammarly emailed me this morning to let me know I wrote over 130,000 words last week. Although it would be nice if those words were all publishable fiction, about 123,000 of them were either job-related or written works that Grammarly scanned multiple times.

I started the morning with 1500 words on my work-in-progress, a sweet romance called Myrtle Beach Memories. This book is a rewrite of a previously published work whose rights were returned to me. Republishing it should have been a breeze.

Earlier this year, I had the bright idea to move the setting closer to my new home in South Carolina, add to the word count, and whittle the three points of view down to two. Because the book was already written, it was basically plotted out. With a nip here and a tuck here, I’d be all set.

Yeah, right! I’m a formulaic writer. The romances I write alternate between the heroine and the hero’s points of view. Each book has an odd number of chapters to give the heroine a little edge over the hero. Every chapter has between 1,000 and 1,200 words.

This morning, I needed to flesh out a chapter. I was, quite literally, at a loss for words. My only choice was to do what many other authors do in this situation. I procrastinated by researching how to add to my word count. Because sharing is caring, I’ve listed my favorites below.

1. Add conversation, even if the character is talking to themselves.
   My romance is inspirational. Sometimes the main character’s prayers are more like a one-sided conversation.
   
2. Add something unexpected that adds to the plot.
   Be careful of adding words for the sake of adding them. Readers will catch on, and you don’t want negative feedback to show itself in the form of book reviews.
   
3. Use character traits to add scenes.
   A couple of chapters ago, the hero revealed a secret to the heroine, and she did not take it well. Her reaction led to her current dire straits–and his.
   
4. Add cliffhanger mini-scenes to your chapters.
   This way, when the reader reaches the end of the chapter, they’ll want to keep reading.
   
5. Use your senses.
   This is one of my favorite ways to beef up my word count. As you read through what you wrote previously, put yourself in the character’s place. What do they see, hear, smell, taste, and feel based on their current setting?

Now that I’ve procrastinated a bit more, it’s time to add a few more words to this book before the day is through. And if you need to pre-order a copy of Myrtle Beach Memories, then you can do that here: www.amazon.com/dp/B09VY9NMDR.