We're past Christmas, and a couple of days away from New Year's Eve. And so I think it is time to combine mathematics with the art of writing:
It's easier to add than to subtract.
Removing a plot line, a character, a chapter or a scene, all of that is way harder than adding something. Anything. (Especially adding spelling errors is easier, but that's not the point.)
Write short. Concise. Focused. You can always expand later.
Rewrite / Cut
A rewrite in which you have to cut stuff isn't just painful (because you might like the stuff you're asked to cut) but it is also very time consuming (as you typically have to remove any reference to the person, object, location and / or event you took out. That can be a lot of work.
Retrofit
A retrofit (where in a later chapter / book you change the nature of the game by adding an explanation you hadn't planned for earlier, is easier than a rewrite / cut, as long as the (new) explanation seems believable. It's easier to add a new explanation than it is to cut the old one. More here.
Adding Layers
You can always add a layer to the plot, or add a subplot, when you find out your story's too short or too simple. More here.
Adding Details
Don't go overboard and stay out of purple prose territory, but if your story or scene is lacking a little, think about the troubles and aches your character experiences. The world he / she lives in is a living world, a place in which things happen even when your character isn't around. People age, buildings suffer wear and tear, and the world changes.
If you find it hard to add those living, breathing world details, then just close your eyes and think of all the things your characters may see, hear, smell and feel.
Again, it's easier to add those details, than it is to remove them.
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