Seven Tools to Add Depth and Length to Your Plot

#1: Secrets

Secrets are an excellent way to make your outline more exciting.

In the historical fantasy novel, Fawkes by Nadine Brandes, the main character, Thomas, has to keep the stone plague spreading over his eye a secret. He ends up getting in all sorts of trouble whenever his eye patch slips. Fawkes does an amazing job with a lot of other secrets too, but I don’t want to spoil anything!

Perhaps your main character has a deep, dark secret that he needs to keep hidden from his best friend. It could be a secret hobby (like crime-fighting ;)), and he needs to cover up what he’s doing with his time, or why he’s late to events.

Or maybe his secret relates to his past, and all the truth comes out in an emotional scene near the midpoint. You could even spread the truth out, and just reveal a little at a time to the reader within flashbacks or hints.

Secret revelations also make awesome plot twists. If there’s a character that seems shallow to your MC, what if your main character learned something that changed his entire perspective? 

There are all sorts of possibilities that open up when you introduce secrets to your story. Why not give it a try?

#2: Character Arcs

If your main character doesn’t have a character arc, that’s the first place I would go if I were you. When characters grow and change (or become corrupt) through the events of the story, it gives the theme so much more meaning.

If you haven’t used a character arc before, definitely check out this article (Helping Writers Become Authors and Abbie Emmons are also great resources) and give your main character one.

If your main character already has an arc, consider adding another for a different character. Having multiple character arcs can add a lot more depth, though you have to make sure that you don’t overdo it. Keep all your character arcs revolving around your MC.

If you have a villain, a great way to do this would be to try a negative character arc. Perhaps he started out a reasonable person, but spiraled into evil as he embraced moral lies. 

Or you can do a twist on that and make your villain become good. Whatever you decide, have fun!

#3: Injuries

If your novel is all talk and no bite, why not spice things up? 

Injuries can be a great way to add a little action. Whether the villain gives the hero an epic scar, or the MC cuts her finger a tiny bit while she’s in a cooking contest, or a young boy ends up in the hospital for a week, injuries are a fantastic tool for adding tension. (Though not fantastic in real life, of course!)

Injuries, as well as illnesses, can also be a useful device to force your MC to rethink his life. Maybe a loved one got hurt, and he’s wondering if the path he chose is really such a great idea after all. Or if he’s in a cast for a while, his time just got freed up to think about his choices. Even if he just has a fever, missing an important football game or social event can be a big plot point.

If you need an extra obstacle on your hero’s quest, toss in a burn, cut, bruise, sting, or have him twist his ankle. Or maybe you just need a little something to interrupt his walk to school. So many possibilities—put them to use!

#4: Interactions Between Side Characters

Do you already have a few side characters? Ask yourself: “What if this character met up with that character?” You can come up with some great stuff this way. 

Perhaps the otherwise stale character teams up with the bad guy, or unwittingly helps him with his scheme. Or maybe these other characters turn out to be brothers—making for an exciting plot twist and much more interesting dynamic with the MC. 

Or if you have the most inconvenient characters fall in love, things could get very interesting. Think Vanessa (the villain’s daughter) and Monty (the agency leader) from Disney's animated TV show, Phineas and Ferb.

Try it out!

#5: Fear Faceoff

What’s your main character’s worst fear? Make them face it. 

This is thematically very good for your plot and will give your hero’s character arc a lot more depth. I would prescribe this for every story. 😉 

One of my favorite parts of The Green Ember (a story about two rabbits siblings by S. D. Smith) is when Picket conquers his fear of heights by using a glider in an epic fight scene near the end.

What happens when your hero loses a loved one? What happens when he finds his reputation ruined? How would he respond to becoming a tool of destruction?

Bring your MC’s worst nightmare to the table and the game is on. But most of all, make sure he learns from it.

#6: Backstory

What better way is there to add depth to a character than to give him a backstory?

Don’t make your villain a bad guy for no reason. Give him a backstory, a reason for treating life how he does. Perhaps he was raised that way or hurt in the past. Maybe he feels like he is respecting the legacy of his great-grandfather by taking over the world. Or maybe he wants to avenge his sweetheart.

If your MC has a character arc, give him a backstory to explain why he believes a lie at the beginning of the story. The backstory could be short, take up his whole childhood, or be split into several events. 

If your character has a lot of backstory, revealing a little bit at a time throughout the book could be a great way to keep your reader hooked. In Marvel's superhero movie, Captain Marvel, Vers has a really complicated backstory, and you need to keep watching the movie before you can connect all the pieces of the puzzle.  Prompt your readers to ask themselves, “Why does this character act the way he/she does?” and they’ll be invested in your characters up until the very end and beyond.

#7: Nature-Caused Obstacles

Obstacles are what make up the majority of a great story. If the character just wants something and gets it, that’s boring. But make your character face obstacle after obstacle after obstacle before he gets it, and you’ve got a story right there.

Many obstacles will be specific to your story, but almost any story can have a natural obstacle. Have a blackout caused by a lightning storm at the worst possible moment. Attack your MC with a vicious animal in the middle of his journey. Food poisoning. Mudslide. Tripping over a log. Taking a detour around a mountain. You name it!

Natural disasters are an epic way to make a seemingly easy goal a lot harder. Where could you use an obstacle in your story?

To recap, here are the seven tools again: