Padding

I've heard authors accused of "padding" their books to make them thicker. At first I didn't fully understand what the problem was--if you're getting more of your favorite series, why does it matter? And in general I still believe that to be the case. In fact, I think a lot of books could stand to have a bit more padding.

Think about it like weight. Some books are downright anorexic, so sparse that the story barely holds together as a cohesive whole. Others are fit, trim, and athletic, fast reads that step on the plot accelerator and never let up. Still others are morbidly obese, where the actual story is so bogged down in digression and purple prose that it can't move.

But there are options to that, and it's what I think of as a Normal Guy story. He's not immensely athletic, but he can walk up stairs without getting out of breath, and run when he has to. He eats healthy, but doesn't have a problem with an afternoon snack every now and then.

And that's the point! Reading a book without any "padding" is like maintaining a perfectly healthy diet--good for you, I'm sure, but not nearly as much fun as indulging sometimes. The trick is to maintain a good balance between lean prose and the fat that makes a story tasty.