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[writingquestionsanswered]

hi do you have any tips on how to make your writing longer? i can only seem to write 3k or less every time i try to write something and i'm starting to become irritated with it and embarrassed by it. it's like my brain won't let me write more than that? anyway, thanks!

How to Increase Your Word Count (Meaningfully!)

Different types of stories have different target word counts:

Short Stories - 1,000 - 5,000 wordsNovellas - 20,000 to 50,000 wordsNovels - 50,000 - 110,000 wordsEpic - 110,000 words and up (though these are rare)

Different age categories also have target word counts:Middle Grade novels - 25,000 - 40,000 wordsYoung Adult novels - 45,000 - 80,000 wordsNew Adult: 60,000 - 85,000 wordsAdult 65,000 - 110,000 

Even different genres have target word counts:

Literary novels - 80,000 to 110,000 wordsRomance novels - 50,000 to 80,000 wordsFantasy novels - 90,000 to 110,000 wordsMystery novels - 70,000 to 90,000 words

But how do you make sure your story gets anywhere near your target word count? 

1. Know what you’re writing about… know what your story is about.

All too often, inexperienced writers sit down with only a tiny seed of an idea, and they start writing with no plan, no idea what the story will be about, and no direction. This is fine when you’re just writing a zero draft–sort of a precursor to the first draft, where you’re just playing around in your story’s world and seeing if the story takes off naturally. But at some point you do need to flesh your idea out into a well-structured story. There are loads of resources online, not to mention amazing books, that can help you figure out plot and story structure. Making sure you hit all the right beats in your story is the best way to get it into the right word count range.

2. Write out a scene list.

Scene lists are one of the handiest tools a writer can use. They help you plan out your story, they act as a guide to keep you on track while you write, and they also break your story down into manageable chunks. Its a lot easier to write a scene than it is to write an unknown chunk of your story. If you know what the scene is, you can see its beginning, middle, and end. You can focus on letting the words flow just in that scene because you know what needs to happen.

3. Don’t skimp on description.

When writers say they’re struggling with their word count, quite often part of the problem is they’re not describing things. Their stories end up being a laundry list of activities:

Sarah walked out the front door and climbed into her car. She drove into the city and parked near the river. It was a pretty day, so she decided to walk for a little while before she was supposed to meet Walter. The river was pretty when it was iced up along the shore.

That’s nice and all, but it’s just so boring. What was the weather like when Sarah walked outside. What did she see? What does her car look like? Does her car and its condition tell us anything about Sarah’s life? How far away is the city? Now, let’s try it another way:

Sarah walked out the front door into the bitter cold of a January afternoon. Her car, an old Volkswagon, sat in the driveway, seemingly daring her to drive it. Between the peeling paint and dirt-crusted windows, it wasn’t much to look at, but it hadn’t broken down on her–yet. She climbed in and started the rumbling engine, hoping it would make it into the city today of all days. 

I’m not going to keep going, but you get the idea. In the first example, it only took eleven words to get Sarah from her front door into her car. In the second example, I expanded that to 70 words just by adding in a little description. And, not only did we expand the word count, now we know a lot more about Sarah, her car, and the day.

4. “Show” more often than you “tell.”

In the same vein as #2 above, make sure that you’re doing a lot of “showing” and not relying too much on “telling.” Author Anton Chekhov is supposed to have said, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass,” and that’s really the best summary of “showing” vs “telling” you can get.

Sarah looked out the window and saw that the moon was shining isn’t as interesting as Sarah looked out the window and saw nothing except moonlight glinting off the lake, cast down from a black sky filled with gauzy, glowing clouds.

5. Avoid “floating head” dialogue.

This is a BIG one. All too often, budding writers tend to write dialogue that sounds like it’s being spoken by two heads floating in a dark room. They don’t seem to have bodies, because all they do is talk. They don’t physically interact with each other or their environments in any way. No one slides their hand down their face in frustration. No one runs their finger along the edge of their glass. No one reaches across the table to hold the other person’s hand. Not only does this make for a weird, boring, and unrealistic dialogue scene, but it you also lose out on some valuable words. You can double and even triple the word count in a dialogue section just by making sure your characters are physically interacting with their environment and with each other. 

I hope that helps! :)

[betterwithcaffeine-blog]

Library Dates | A VK Fanfic

Image credit to http://imaginarylights.tumblr.com/

I have seen this image previously, and for some reason, this was what came to mind and I simply couldn’t get it out of my head. So I’m going to write it down and hope that it will finally leave me alone. In my head, in this Vampire Knight x Hogwarts crossover, this is canon for me. Hope you like it. :P

Library Dates

Category: Fan Fiction, Vampire Knight x Hogwarts crossover 

Characters: Akatsuki Kain/Ruka Souen

Ruka Souen was sorted into Slytherin because of her loyalty to the purebloods. However, having ambitions and loyalty doesn’t necessarily mean she was thriving in the Slytherin house. The house colours clashed horribly with her complexion. Their dormitory was underground, which meant she barely saw any sunlight. With the exception of Kaname, she didn’t have any friends among her fellow housemates. To cap it all off, her house ghost is the Bloody Baron who Ruka still found scary.

Which is why Akatsuki often found her huddled in the library late in the evening. Even though she had already finished her homework for the week, she would linger in the well-lit warmth of the library by the fireplace, hoping to avoid the inevitable return back to the dungeon that she was supposed to call home. Without a word, Akatsuki plopped his books down next to hers, pulled out his parchments and quill and began to work on his own homework. Madam Pince was very strict about noise levels.

The first time he had discovered her in the library, back in their first year, Ruka had flinched in surprise. She chose the library mainly because apart from the Great Hall, there was nowhere else she could be in the evening. Plus, no one really came into the library unless it was close to exam period. Akatsuki was probably wondering why she was hiding in here. It hadn’t exactly been inconspicuous how she had withdrawn from their group. And she can’t even blame the conflicting schedules the four houses have, given Hanabusa, Takuma and Akatsuki still hung out together all the time. Even Kaname joined them occasionally, whenever he’s not with Yuuki.

Akatsuki was probably going to ask her all the uncomfortable questions she had been avoiding all term, Ruka thought miserably. The truth was, she didn’t even know why she was avoiding all her friends. Apart from the fact that somehow, despite the magic that was Hogwarts and the fact that she was finally learning everythign she ahd wanted to ever since she was little, she was miserable. With the exception of Kaname, she wasn’t familiar with any of her other housemates. She hated the dungeon and could barely get any sleep at night. Worst of all, she never got to see her childhood friends anymore.

Sometimes, Ruka wasn’t sure if the Sorting Hat had sorted her into the right house. Well, it was the right house for her family. And she did say to the Sorting Hat that she desperately needed to be in Slytherin, even though its first suggestion of a couple of choices was actually another house. But how could she face her parents, when their entire ancestral line has always been in Slytherin? So in the end, the Sorting Hat gave her what she wished for.

Now, during particular weak moments, Ruka wondered if it was the right choice.

However, Akatsuki didn’t say anything that night. He had simply sat down across the table from her, and started doing homework. They had worked in silence and when it was getting close to curfew hour, they had quietly gathered up their schoolwork and he had walked her down to the ground floor. There, they separated, her down to the Slytherin common room and him back upstairs to the Gryffindor Tower. 

The same thing happened the next few days. He would rock up a little bit after dinner, join her in doing their schoolwork before walking her back to the ground floor at the end of the night. They barely spoke, apart from an occasional question to each other about their homework, but Ruka had come to look forward to their evenings together. It was comfortable and reminded her of home. Slowly, she began to enjoy her time at Hogwarts.

At the end of the week, on one of their trips down the main staircase, Ruka turned and asked the question that had been bothering her.

“Why aren’t you hanging out with our other friends?”

Akatsuki shrugged. “Why aren’t you?”

True that. Ruka was silent for awhile. “Why don’t we join them tomorrow then?”

“Okay,” Akatsuki said. Like it was no big deal.

And that was that. No interrogation. No guilt trip. Somehow, Akatsuki had managed to drag Ruka out of her shell, back then in their first year.

Their friends, did not make any comments about Ruka’s absence or make any fanfares about her return. Instead, they had simply reabsorbed her back into the group. Together, they fell into the usual bantering that they had enjoyed during their childhood. The Great Hall became their common room, where they spent many enjoyable evenings playing Wizard Chess or Exploding Snap.

Still, occasionally, Ruka would disappear into the comforts of the library for some peace and quiet. No matter how much she was enjoying her time at Hogwarts, falling asleep in the dark cold Slytherin dormitory was still a skill she was unable to obtain. She would unpack all her books, set up a nice studious pile behind which she can hide from Madam Pince and sometimes, not always, she could take a quick nap. 

Almsot always, she would wake up with Akatsuki next to her, quietly reading a book.

Five years later, most things haven’t changed. Ruka put her quill down and glanced over to the tall boy sitting next to her. Sure, they had all grown a little bit. Or in Akatsuki’s case, more than a little bit. He had always been the tallest in their group, but when puberty hit, he had shot up like a weed. But instead of being tall and lanky, he had the additional muscles to go along with his frame. That was a fact that many girls, irrespective of Hogwarts houses, would dreamily attest to whenever they watch Akatsuki play quidditch as the Gryffindor Keeper.

But, Ruka thought as she sucked on the end of her sugar quill, most things have stayed the same. As much as she loved her friends, Ruka had come to really treasure the quiet times she shared with Akatsuki. Most of the time, they just worked on their own schoolwork. But sometimes, they would whisper quiet conversations about things that happened during the day, or plan their next trip to Hogsmeade. Occasionally, when the librarian is prowling around, they would pass notes to each other on slivers of parchment. Ruka liked those times because it was just the two of them. No one else.

“What?” Akatsuki asked, glancing back at her.

“Nothing,” Ruka said quickly. She didn’t need a mirror to inform her that she was blushing - even her ears felt hot despite it being a cold wintery night.

Akatsuki hmmed but thankfully, didn’t say anything. He turned his attention back to his book, but Ruka could see the barest hint of a smile on his lips. 

“What?” Now it was Ruka’s turn to ask.

“Nothing,” Akatsuki said in reply. There was now definitely a full fledged smile on his face. He closed his book and put it down on the table. “I think we’re both done for tonight. What say we go down and see what everyone else is up to?”

“Okay,” Ruka couldn’t think of anything else to say. The two of them quietly packed up their things, and returned the library books to the return trolley under the hawkish scrutiny of Madam Pince before hurrying out of the library.

“There you guys are,” Takuma called out cheerfully when Ruka and Akatsuki entered the Great Hall. He was in the middle of a game of Wizard Chess against Hanabusa, and it appears the Hufflepuff prefect was losing quite badly against the child genius of Ravencaw. “So finished with your library date?”

“What?” Ruka said incredulously as she and Akatsuki joined the group at the table. “It’s not a date! Who would have dates in the library?”

“You two,” Shiki and Rima said in unison.

“They are not - we aren’t -” Flustered, Ruka could barely string a sentence together. Her cheeks were quite heated again.

“Library. Quiet hideaway spot. Perfect for snogging,” Rima added helpfully.

Ruka’s ears were practically burning by this stage. 

“Guys, cut it out,” Akatsuki said.

Shrugging, Shiki and Rima turned their attention back to the game between Takuma and Hanabusa.

But Ruka found she couldn’t concentrate on the game for the rest of the evening. The question, no matter how innocently asked, kept looping in her head. Were they library dates? Or simply two really good friends, passing the time in the library? Did Akatsuki see them as dates? She didn’t. But did she want them to be?

“You alright, Ruka?”

Jolted out of her thoughts, Ruka saw that their friends had all packed up and left. Akatsuki was also standing up with his schoolbag slung over one shoulder.

“Yes,” Ruka mumbled. But then, almost as if she couldn’t keep it in any longer, she burst out. “Are our library sessions dates? I mean, I don’t know. I have never thought of them that way. And having had no experience in these kind of things, I wouldn’t know, would I?”

Akatsuki was staring down at her with an indecipherable expression on his face.

“Well,” he said calmly. “Do you want them to be?”

“I don’t know,” Ruka said, frustrated and confused as she stood up as well. “Maybe? I just don’t know -”

Her words were cut off by the gentle press of Akatsuki’s lips against hers.

"I forgot my chess set, oops!”

Akatsuki and Ruka broke apart, to see Hanabusa staring at the two of them with a shocked look on his face.

“Never mind,” Hanabusa turned promptly back around and left the Great Hall. His chess set still on the table, forgotten.

Next evening, Ruka and Akatsuki were back at the library. But instead of their usual spot at the table by the fireplace, the two of them found a cozy little hideaway spot in the back.

Rima’s right, Ruka thought dreamily as she pulled Akatsuki’s lips down to meet hers, this is the perfect place for snogging.

This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I started out. I did have Ruka being scared and sleepless in Slytherin, but the actual scene I had in mind was Akatsuki staying out late with Ruka just so that she could have a couple of hours of shut-eye every night. But a) as I was writing this out, I realized the library was the spot for them and b) them staying up late didn’t quite fit with Hogwarts’ curfew hours. But I still think this turned out okay. Rought. But okay.

Penny for your thoughts? :)