What’s missing in your story? Try a story structure. Focus your story more. Give it a backbone. If you’re a plotter, you may have already done that. But if you’re a pantser, like I used to be, you probably didn’t. You just went along with the story following it wherever it went. This is fine. Some great stories were created that way. But I guarantee those same stories went through a rigorous round of revisions as well. The best part is that once you’ve found your focus, it will be so much easier to cut away the excess material.
How DO you find your focus? Start with a story question. Figure out what your character wants. Figure out your character’s wound, which is shaping his world and holding him back. What or who is physically standing in his way? And what is he afraid to lose? Don’t forget to add a ticking clock to add tension.
Now get going. Grab an eraser and get to work. Kill your darlings, as they say. Underneath the rubble of words you just might find your masterpiece.