So I was visiting the NaNoWriMo message boards, which is where I go when I am looking for a little inspiration or just writing topics to read through. I came across a post that I have seen every year since I began doing NaNoWriMo. It entails what I call cheating, even though it is cheating only to the one who deems it to be. For me, it is definitely cheating.
Word padding. Why?
There were suggestions to have a character run around singing the lyrics to a song over and over, there were suggestions to do flash backs and dream sequences, suggestions to make the character a list maker, have their name be longer (Billy Joe Bob), use cooking scenes with recipes and all the steps listed as part of the story (first she added the egg, and then she beat it with a beater. After that she added the two cups of flour and one cup of sugar, blending the entire concoction well until it was smooth. Then she added two tablespoons of vanilla which is said to have been what gives the cake its main flavor, and …. you get the point), include journal entries and letters… etc.
But again, I ask – why?
I am completely at a loss as to why someone who actually wants to write a novel and have it published, and who is taking the time to actually write 50,000 words or more in a month…. why word pad? Why make your novel useless? Unless of course you can actually incorporate those things into a novel, but unless the novel is supposed to be comical it simply isn’t going to be readable.
What are your thoughts on word padding?
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