How long is too long?

[JGittes]

Period sex can be a problem anywhere, but Incest readers seem to have a bias against anal. It's disrepectful to your ( insert relative here ) to do that to them or something of that nature is the comment I've seen most often. The Anal category is actually quite popular. One of my top 5 in views is from Anal.

If there's any incest content ( outside of a few categories ) it's going to get put there, and unless it dominates the story, it's going to suffer for that there. There were a lot of complaints about Incest and Non-Con showing up in other categories a while back ( years now ) and Laurel started drawing a harder line on those two things going anywhere else. There's a semi-exception for the fantasy categories which lobbying was only successful for because those readers weren't making much noise during the complaint onslaught.

I don't want to step on the OP, but you're the person who could answer my question, and it may be relevant.

I agree with the Incest category bias against anal. I find that odd, but it is what it is.

My question is about incest in categories other than Incest. I've been working on a Transgender & Crossdressers category story that would have some mother-son incest. When reading in the T&C category, it seems incest is acceptable there. Can you verify that observation? It could be that some stories have slipped through, but they're recent and pervasive.

 

[RejectReality]

I don't want to step on the OP, but you're the person who could answer my question, and it may be relevant.

I agree with the Incest category bias against anal. I find that odd, but it is what it is.

My question is about incest in categories other than Incest. I've been working on a Transgender & Crossdressers category story that would have some mother-son incest. When reading in the T&C category, it seems incest is acceptable there. Can you verify that observation? It could be that some stories have slipped through, but they're recent and pervasive

That's one category I haven't done much research on. I've only posted one story there myself, and that was ( fairly ) recently. A huge chunk of my observations were from before I ever thought about posting in the category, so I wasn't giving it a lot of thought at the time.

I can't confirm anything, but if there are a lot of recent stories being allowed there with Incest themes, it may very well be a category where exceptions are being allowed. Maybe somebody else who frequents the category will have more insight than I do.

 

[KeithD]

When reading in the T&C category, it seems incest is acceptable there. Can you verify that observation? It could be that some stories have slipped through, but they're recent and pervasive.

Can you cite examples? I would be surprised if that was being permitted beyond a few cases of not catching the incest angle.

 

[ElectricBlue]

My question is about incest in categories other than Incest. I've been working on a Transgender & Crossdressers category story that would have some mother-son incest. When reading in the T&C category, it seems incest is acceptable there. Can you verify that observation? It could be that some stories have slipped through, but they're recent and pervasive.

I have a trans story with a sibling incest sub-theme. I asked Laurel to put it into T&C, because I knew the standard I&T readers would baulk at the story's primary themes. She agreed, put an Incest warning at the beginning. So in that case, it didn't "slip through", it was put there deliberately, and with permission.

 

[KeithD]

Maybe T&C and GM categories trump I/T(?) I checked back to the only father-son story I remember writing, and it's in the GM category.

 

[jaykaythree]

I'm a short story writer. And I've accepted that.

I think my longest story so far is 4 LE pages.

Although that's not entirely true, because I've also done several series. So while technically each chapter is short, together they're a larger narrative.

As for reading stories myself; length is never an issue.

I'll read a 20 page story if it keeps me engaged but bail on a two pager if I'm bored by the third paragraph.

Long doesn't mean better, and short doesn't mean bad.

All stories have merit if they are well written and engaging.

What you said, and then some.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

What you said, and then some.

I agree. Though I do find a 70,000 word story daunting, if it's really good, I can sit and read till the end, probably wishing there was more.
But a short story that doesn't do anything for me, will have me clicking onto something else.

 

[WyreBendr0417]

Period sex can be a problem anywhere, but Incest readers seem to have a bias against anal. It's disrepectful to your ( insert relative here ) to do that to them or something of that nature is the comment I've seen most often. The Anal category is actually quite popular. One of my top 5 in views is from Anal.

If there's any incest content ( outside of a few categories ) it's going to get put there, and unless it dominates the story, it's going to suffer for that there. There were a lot of complaints about Incest and Non-Con showing up in other categories a while back ( years now ) and Laurel started drawing a harder line on those two things going anywhere else. There's a semi-exception for the fantasy categories which lobbying was only successful for because those readers weren't making much noise during the complaint onslaught.

I had no idea of the bias against Anal, by the Incest readership. Out of my six stories on Lit, one that was published in mid 2021 rating a little higher than 'Scratching an Itch', and being marked HOT since the day of publishing, is a two-part series that is entirely Incestuous, and predominately an Anal relationship between the two main characters who are siblings. It is not forced anal, either, but how the female sibling prefers it to be, saving her virginity for eventual marriage. Vaginal sex isn't introduced until the second chapter, when another family member joins in.

Of the twenty-six comments across both chapters, only one was negative because of the minor infliction of pain, even though it's begged for by the receiving character. All other comments were positive, asking for more chapters, and one citing the story's progression being a bit too fast for their taste. The story is in the I/T category, and no one has complained about the Anal aspect.

I appreciate the heads-up about the going bias, and will watch how I introduce Anal in any future Incest stories as I know tides change from time to time. Thanks!

 

[WyreBendr0417]

That is a very good rating then. I don't think you have anything to be worried about. Remember, you are never going to please everybody. It just isn't possible, so don't try. The few who do comment with complaints about the length, just ignore them. Or delete the comments if they bother you.

Write what you want, and write it the way you feel it needs to be written.

Negative comments always bother me at first, as I've never been good with rejection of any sort. But I make myself reread them a few times and soon realize they boil down to a matter of individual taste and preference which no writer can control. I never delete negative comments unless they are downright ignorant, and obviously submitted by someone whose main purpose on Lit is to shoot down any story for their own pleasure, no matter the quality of writing. I also have a tendency to take any anonymous negative comments with a grain of salt. Whether that's right or wrong, I don't know. It's just the way I am. Thanks.

 

[RejectReality]

I had no idea of the bias against Anal, by the Incest readership. Out of my six stories on Lit, one that was published in mid 2021 rating a little higher than 'Scratching an Itch', and being marked HOT since the day of publishing, is a two-part series that is entirely Incestuous, and predominately an Anal relationship between the two main characters who are siblings. It is not forced anal, either, but how the female sibling prefers it to be, saving her virginity for eventual marriage. Vaginal sex isn't introduced until the second chapter, when another family member joins in.

Of the twenty-six comments across both chapters, only one was negative because of the minor infliction of pain, even though it's begged for by the receiving character. All other comments were positive, asking for more chapters, and one citing the story's progression being a bit too fast for their taste. The story is in the I/T category, and no one has complained about the Anal aspect.

I appreciate the heads-up about the going bias, and will watch how I introduce Anal in any future Incest stories as I know tides change from time to time. Thanks!

The preserving her virginity angle probably covered you there. She's asking for it for a "good reason", so it gets a pass.

 

[RoperTrace]

My most recent story published 5 days ago, was 18,869 words. It has been getting a lot of views for me. My shortest stories have been in the 2500-3000 words category. I finished a six part story last year, and the final chapter was 21K words, or 7 pages. Not sure how long all six parts were. I say, you should write to whatever length, that is needed to tell your story. For me, 77,000 words would be a daunting task, before my ADHD gets in the way of completing it. Kudos to you for accomplishing that feat.

 

[Euphony]

The preserving her virginity angle probably covered you there. She's asking for it for a "good reason", so it gets a pass.

I can't help but wonder if the vaginal "payoff" didn't come through, if it would have still ducked wrath. That the loving expanded to a 3rd (another often no-no in incest) the pitchforks may not have made it all the way past the moat to stabby stabby.

*edit* Ok, after reviewing it, anal seems to get its pass from sheer dilution with all the sex acts going on. Feels like if the incest leads were more relationship-y and , the anal haters would have been more vocal.

I have an anal only incest I foresee getting blasted in category but the muse runs my show more than the commenters.

 

[PennameWombat]

There is a category listed as Novels and Novellas in Literotica. The technical definition of a novel is a work of fiction exceeding 100K words. A novella then is a work of fiction containing more than 25K words but less than 100K words. Less than 25K words means you have a short story. Thus your work of 77K words clearly qualifies as a novella. If you presented it in one submission, the reader might find it tedious and lose interest.

Where do you get that a 'novel' is a minimum of 100,000 words? That's double the standard definition, although it fits well into what's the traditional range (up to about 120,000, with 80,000 a usual sweet spot.) All this depends on genre and target ages, to a degree. No publisher would call a 77,000 word work a novella.

To add, the 'Novels and Novellas' category here isn't defined by length. It's for works with erotic (thus, not Non-Erotic) themes and material but without a 'dominant' theme regardless of length. Not that you couldn't put Non-Erotic there, just not much reason to.

 

[PennameWombat]

I was just curious as to what other author's consider too long of a story. I recently posted one that is just a touch over 77,000 words and turned out to be twenty-two pages in length after publishing on Lit. About half of the negative comments I received were people complaining about the number of pages, that nobody wants to read a story that long.

On the flip side I received positive comments saying they loved the story, and while it was long, it was worth reading to see the story develop. The number of followers I have, doubled after this story was published and the number of views surpassed my most popular story by 10,000. I know views can be misleading though, as a lot of them may be people opening the story then dropping it.

Anyway, I was just looking for some input to get an idea of how many other's on Lit write long stories. Thanks!

I have two standalone stories here that exceed 70,000 words, one in SF&F and the other in First TIme (although standalone, both exist in the same shared universe with ties to other stories, but if you ignored or didn't know that you wouldn't miss too much). Neither has much in the way of comments (the latter has zero comments), but no one has ever told me that either is "too long." My assumption is, since readers can see the word count at the beginning, if they see 70K (or so) and the beginning doesn't grab them, they move along.

But both have decent scores (the first one hovers around the 'H' line, currently is above it.) And both are roughly inline with 'Views per Vote' ratios with most of my stories (I know Views doesn't equal reads, but the ratio between the counts of views to the number of votes is within a close range for most of my stories.) One reasonable extrapolation of that is that of the readers who initially view my story, a similar percentage grind through my 70K entries as most of my others to get to the voting page, but I can't 'prove' that given the stats available.

I have quite a few stories in the 15K-40K range (most of what I've posted here), and as mentioned, similar ratios.

Easily my lowest scorers are my 750 word entries...

 

[WyreBendr0417]

Just wanted to thank everyone who replied. It appears story length preferences on Lit, in both writing and reading, vary widely across its members and visitors. As long as I can still work at writing, I suppose my stories will always be on the long side, which is the way I prefer to write, letting the story develop, revealing character details a little at a time.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Just wanted to thank everyone who replied. It appears story length preferences on Lit, in both writing and reading, vary widely across its members and visitors. As long as I can still work at writing, I suppose my stories will always be on the long side, which is the way I prefer to write, letting the story develop, revealing character details a little at a time.

It's always going to be your story. If you write it, you have to live with it, and that should be your primary consideration.

As others have mentioned here, the readership on Literotica is diverse, with fans of certain categories or genres having their definite "sweet spots" and preferences relative to story length. Here, length is also a relative term because it has to factor in the overall length of a chapter story posted in multiple parts against a single large submission of a story. Consider what the readers' expectations might be in each category and decide if you want to cater to those or do what you feel is best for YOUR story.

My first story posted here was just under 100K words, posted as a single submission in Novels/Novellas. In the eight years since it was submitted, it has garnered approximately 135,000 views, was a monthly winner, has never fallen below a 4.86 rating, and delivered me a loyal following of readers. There were a few comments from readers about the length being too long for a single sitting, so the next few stories I published were broken up into multiple parts in Novels/Novellas. While well received ratings-wise, reader feedback about having to wait even a day to read the next installment was strong. Since then, I only post a story in a single submission and the reader complaints have abated.

Just keep writing.

 

[Duleigh]

How long is too long? A story becomes too long IMO when it becomes boring. If it’s engaging and entertaining, I’ll keep reading as long as it lasts.

When you've run out of story and you're still typing - it's too long. There's five elements to a story:
Exposition (or Introduction)
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
If you're not working directly to one of those points as you write, it's too long.

My current favorite story is over 300,000 words long with two (maybe three) more chapters to go and my chapters usually run 25,000 words. My readers continue to ask for more, but soon the words The End will appear, the story has reached its climax, we're working on wrapping it up and tacking on an epilogue. But I love my characters, I don't want to say goodby, what do I do? I write side stories involving the characters and let them stand on their own. Or, with the new Series feature you can tuck those side stories into the main story using the series maintenance options

 

[Dr_Strabismus]

There's five elements to a story:
Exposition (or Introduction)
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution


My current favorite story is over 300,000 words long

Link me to your two-chapter 60,000-word climax.

 

[Duleigh]

Link me to your two-chapter 60,000-word climax.

The climax is one chapter (26,594 words) but it's chapter 11, (Chapter 12 and 13 are falling action, chapter 14 is resolution, 13 is scheduled for next month)

Chapter 11 probably won't make much sense without context so here is the story in a nutshell written from a different perspective - A Krissmas Karole

But if you want to read the whole story, here it is

 

[Dr_Strabismus]

Thanks, but it will eat into my AH blurt time.

 

[RoperTrace]

The climax is one chapter (26,594 words) but it's chapter 11, (Chapter 12 and 13 are falling action, chapter 14 is resolution, 13 is scheduled for next month)

Chapter 11 probably won't make much sense without context so here is the story in a nutshell written from a different perspective - A Krissmas Karole

But if you want to read the whole story, here it is

With the utmost respect, your Lit-name should be The Red H.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

When you've run out of story and you're still typing - it's too long. There's five elements to a story:
Exposition (or Introduction)
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
If you're not working directly to one of those points as you write, it's too long.

My current favorite story is over 300,000 words long with two (maybe three) more chapters to go and my chapters usually run 25,000 words. My readers continue to ask for more, but soon the words The End will appear, the story has reached its climax, we're working on wrapping it up and tacking on an epilogue. But I love my characters, I don't want to say goodby, what do I do? I write side stories involving the characters and let them stand on their own. Or, with the new Series feature you can tuck those side stories into the main story using the series maintenance options

The plot of my first story didn't become the impetus for my next story, but characters from both drove my third story and have subsequently played a role in the four through eight. I usually have a firm grasp on what the next story will involve by the time I am half way through writing a story, which allows me to insert teasers and cliffhangers to entice readers to be anxiously waiting the next one.

 

[nice90sguy]

300,000 words?? I can't tell you how impressive that is to me -- that's about equal to the total number of words I've ever written in my life!

 

[MillieDynamite]

When I feel the distinct urge to stop reading and put a gun to my forehead, it was too long.

 

[Duleigh]

When I feel the distinct urge to stop reading and put a gun to my forehead, it was too long.

That is a good sign that maximum length has been exceeded