My story goes way to quickly forward, what should I do?

Question

Alright, so I'm not a professional author, just to clarify that. I'm just a mediocre writer, and my problem is that whenever I write, my story goes way to quickly forward and like at page 20 or 30 there's already happened a LOT. While in actual books things often start happening at like page 40 (well obviously depending on the book). So my question is: How do I make my writings longer?
Thanks

Answer 1

I agree with Andrew that you should write in standard English and not in colloquial "teen" English when writing to strangers. Your prospective readers will expect an adult to write like an educated adult (unless your story's narrator, like Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, or the dialogue makes it clear he is not.)



I also agree that pacing takes practice. Those writing books in your library under the Dewey class 400s and 808 should give you some insight and lessons how and when to slow down and speed up.



My immediate suggestion about slowing down is: have your viewpoint characters look around and describe what they sense, or at least what they see. If they are hungry, they will think of delicious food, and if soup is on the stove, they will smell it. If they walk into a party room, do they notice the crowd or anyone in the crowd? What is the band playing? Satisfying their hunger or moving from friend to friend in search of someone can move the plot along or provide information too.

Answer 2

It's OK to finish your story quickly, because then you can add details to every paragraph of yours

Answer 3

You certainly didn't need to preface your explanation with the admission that you're not a professional author - that's more than apparent. As a matter of fact, your claim that you are a mediocre writer is a bit of a reach as you cannot differentiate between "to" and "too." Like anything and everything else with writing, learning how to pace your pieces comes with practice. Try outlining your stories instead of writing without a clear (or even the most basic) guidelines. And pay attention to your spelling, grammar, word usage and punctuation. For example, don't use "like" when referring to reported speech or when a more appropriate word such as "around" or "approximately" would work better.

Answer 4

Descriptive pieces and monologues often slow down the pace. Many brief encounters and side-plots can also slow the story.