lovecraft68
Bad Doggie
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
- Posts
- 45,679
I see a lot of threads from newer authors worrying about how long their story should be. There is a school of thought here that three lit pages should be the cut off.
Not sure where that started or why, but I am not a believer in it.
For those who are concerned their story would suffer if they made it "too long" here are a few stats that show length doesn't matter. Then again I am touting longer could be better
The Top 250 most favorited stories on lit.
http://www.literotica.com/stories/favoritesportalv2.php
#1 Words on skin 6 pages
#3 Hunted 6 pages
#5 Threads the Island 42 pages
A quick up and down of the list had a couple of other Notables
Stolen Kisses 6 pages
Two Moms, Two Laps, Two Hours 7 pages
Colleen 7 pages
I have three on the list They are 6/6/7 pages.
Category top lists.
#1 all time group story Gamer Goddess 6 pages
#1 all time in Romance Pool Boy Benefits 9 pages
#1 all time Lesbian Proper Send off 7 pages
#1 all Time BDSM Bleakest Seasons pt 2 8 pages
I didn't check every category, nor did I check every story on the 250 list, but I think those are some notable examples that length is not a deterrent to a reader.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with short and I saw to of the top ten all time 250 stories are 1 page. But I don't see nearly as many threads about people worrying about to short.
If the story is engaging the reader will stay with it.
My most successful story here is 7 pages long with nothing more than a peck on the cheek until the end of page six. It's a 4.85 on over 2500 votes and closing in on 200 comments
If you write it, they will read it.
So write your story as you see fit and don't get caught up in it being too long. Length is not what will bring a story down.
Not sure where that started or why, but I am not a believer in it.
For those who are concerned their story would suffer if they made it "too long" here are a few stats that show length doesn't matter. Then again I am touting longer could be better
The Top 250 most favorited stories on lit.
http://www.literotica.com/stories/favoritesportalv2.php
#1 Words on skin 6 pages
#3 Hunted 6 pages
#5 Threads the Island 42 pages
A quick up and down of the list had a couple of other Notables
Stolen Kisses 6 pages
Two Moms, Two Laps, Two Hours 7 pages
Colleen 7 pages
I have three on the list They are 6/6/7 pages.
Category top lists.
#1 all time group story Gamer Goddess 6 pages
#1 all time in Romance Pool Boy Benefits 9 pages
#1 all time Lesbian Proper Send off 7 pages
#1 all Time BDSM Bleakest Seasons pt 2 8 pages
I didn't check every category, nor did I check every story on the 250 list, but I think those are some notable examples that length is not a deterrent to a reader.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with short and I saw to of the top ten all time 250 stories are 1 page. But I don't see nearly as many threads about people worrying about to short.
If the story is engaging the reader will stay with it.
My most successful story here is 7 pages long with nothing more than a peck on the cheek until the end of page six. It's a 4.85 on over 2500 votes and closing in on 200 comments
If you write it, they will read it.
So write your story as you see fit and don't get caught up in it being too long. Length is not what will bring a story down.