Does story length come with experience?

[AlinaX]

Gotcha. But it's like getting good at anything, I suspect. One plays a lot of 'Chopsticks' on the piano before one can sink one's teeth into Chopin. Hang in - you have some good plot ideas; I look forward to seeing you start pulling in H's like a cockney parliament.

Funny. I've never got my head around Chopsticks, but some bits of Chopin are achievable.

 

[NoJo]

Yes, it comes with experience. My stories have gotten steadily longer over the years (and the sex content has decreased to pretty much zero, unless the storyline calls for it -- I haven't written "erotica" for about five years).

 

[AlinaX]

Well, that is a challenge. Sure, there are readers who will happily enjoy a non-erotic story, but ultimately this is a site for erotica and surely it's possible to have good story lines that are erotic.

One of my biggest gripes with mainstream erotic romance is that the plot of the story generally gets put on pause while the characters fuck. (That and the way the male heroes are awesome in every possible way.) On Lit, the story very often is the sex.

But, yes, after you've written N stories with every conceivable variation on the sex you actually like to write about, writing Story N+1 with yet another variation does drain the soul a little. Far easier to neglect the actual sex and focus on the characters...

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I've been thinking about it and I think that I'm impatient to get to the 'meat' of the story, rather than building up to it. I'm writing scenes rather than stories.

Maybe you could try a different approach. Write the scene that you are excited to write first, get it out of your system. Then start thinking about plausible ways how those people involved could have reached that moment. What are their personalities, their thoughts. What are they thinking after the scene, how it made them feel, do they want to do it again, are there any regrets. Once you do all that, I bet you will get an idea for the next sex scene and so on. Just don't get caught in the other common anxiety, to publish the story asap

 

[SimonDoom]

I've been thinking about it and I think that I'm impatient to get to the 'meat' of the story, rather than building up to it. I'm writing scenes rather than stories.

I read your story Mom Watches Ch. 1, and I can see what you mean. The story is light on detail and character development, and it gets quickly to the sex. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Many readers like stories like that, and you may like them like that. The story has done well, with a good score and over 20,000 views in the 2 months since it was published. By comparison, my last Exhibitionist story was published about a year ago and it has fewer views and favorites than yours does.

If you wanted to flesh out a story like that, then think more about your mom character, her background, her motives, conflicted feelings. Why is she horny? What's her relationship with her daughter? On the other hand, don't add detail just to make the story longer. Every word should add something to the story. Always focus on the story, and what it needs.

In this case, the story is not about sex, but about voyeurism. That's what should give it sizzle. I thought you played up that angle well. The one thing you did that I would do differently is you kept jumping back and forth between the perspectives of the different characters. I can see why, but I think it's disruptive to the narrative thread. I think a story like that reads better if you focus on the point of view of one of the main characters -- either the one who is watching or the one who enjoys being watched. If you do that, then you can add an element of mystery as the POV character finds out, slowly, about the other person and wonders what that person is doing and thinking. By sharing both POVs you take away that element of mystery.

 

[EmilyMiller]

I'm a new writer, and I have a problem writing longer stories. Most of my stories are under 2000 words long.

I'm amazed at people who write longer stories. My longest is only 5K words long.

When I'm writing, I feel like I'm getting the story across, but I check the word count (and I know not to base a story on word count, but when most others are writing 5-6K word stories or chapters, it's hard not to compare), and it'll be 900 words, 1500 words, etc.

I guess my question is how do you do it? Do the words come easy and you pare them down?

I find the opposite. I’m a novice writer. Before I started doing stuff here, I hadn’t written any stories since I was a freshman.

If find [on average] that I am writing shorter stories now than when I started. My first story (written rather than published - I had fun with Laurel) is 13k words. I worked up to a peak of 20k words for one story, but a lot of my most recent stuff consumes just one Lit page. I am also trialling writing longer works as stand-alone chapters, which are obviously shorter (< 2k words).

Em

 

[MelissaBaby]

I've been thinking about it and I think that I'm impatient to get to the 'meat' of the story, rather than building up to it. I'm writing scenes rather than stories.

So, write that, then figure out what led to that situation, and what consequences followed. There is no rule that says you have to write a story from start to finish. I very rarely do. Sometimes I write the ending first. Sometimes I write multiple scenes, then the narrative that connects them.

 

[Rob_Royale]

My long stories take place over a period of time. A crazy weekend, a five day cruise or something similar. I take it day by day, include 4 to 6 sex scenes and include story between them. An easy 12k-20k story depending on your imagination.

 

[MillieDynamite]

So, out of curiosity, my highest-rated story is three lit pages long. My story with the most is two lit pages. I draw no conclusions from these facts, though. I always hope my next, no matter the length, not matter the subject matter, will be the highest rated and earn the most s.

 

[Djmac1031]

After a year and a half or so, I still consider myself a new writer.

When I first started, I felt like I'd spent hours writing some long, drawn out thing, only to discover it barely fit two pages here and only took minutes to read.

It is a learning process, one that can take time. And effort.

Read other stories. Read shorter ones; read longer ones. Compare differences. Look for the little details. Study the wording, sentence structure, how one event flows into the next. Or doesn't.

Study CHARACTERS. If people simply want two nameless beautiful people fucking, they'll go watch porn.

Erotic stories need characters, people we care about enough to want to see what happens next.

Stories need build up; a set up and a payoff.

Writing people fucking is easy. Giving them a good, interesting reason to fuck is much harder. But ultimately far more entertaining.

 

[lovecraft68]

The first story I published here was a two page femdom story that I'd written a year before. The first new thing I published here and wrote chapter to chapter ended up spanning 44 installments(49 in reality, but I removed the five part follow up) 900k words and done over a period of 18 months.

What can I say, I'm a go big or go home type.

But I feel that was a story burning inside to get out, I've never written a series(here) after that, but I'd say my average lit story is most likely 6-8 pages.

I'm in the camp of the story being as long or short as it needs to be and worrying about the length is a sure way to hinder you.

Hmm...there might be an analogy in there, something about size mattering...

 

[panaflora]

I've only been here since October. I more or less fell into writing stories of 9-12k length (3-4 Lit pages), just because I wanted readers to know who the characters are without telling their complete life stories. The character development drove the length rather than the other way around.

Then I wrote a short vignette, just over two pages, about a couple who meet and more or less go crazy for each other within the space of a week. That one drew several comments that it was too short. I wonder what the appeal of a one page story is.

I did end up writing a sequel to the two page story.

 

[SamScribble]

Just as an observation: I think Lit readers tend to prefer their stories on the long side. In the dead trees world, short stories tend to be about 2.5k – 3.5k words. (There are exceptions. Alice Munro stories are rather longer.) At this stage, my next anthology looks as if it will be comprised of stories averaging about 2,800 words. But 3k is just a taster for many Lit readers.

Why Lit readers prefer longer stories I cannot say. Perhaps it has something to do with what else they are doing while they are reading. Many years ago, I participated in a seminar conducted by an award-winning short story writer. One of the other participants asked him if he would ever consider writing for Playboy. He thought for a moment or two and then said: ‘Probably not. I like to think that readers are reading my stories with both hands.’

 

[yukonnights]

I'm a new writer, and I have a problem writing longer stories. Most of my stories are under 2000 words long.

I'm amazed at people who write longer stories. My longest is only 5K words long.

When I'm writing, I feel like I'm getting the story across, but I check the word count (and I know not to base a story on word count, but when most others are writing 5-6K word stories or chapters, it's hard not to compare), and it'll be 900 words, 1500 words, etc.

I guess my question is how do you do it? Do the words come easy and you pare them down?

IMO, for the stories I enjoy reading and writing there needs to be two things going on; One is the physical/visual content consisting of people and places. The second part is the interior dialogue/thoughts of the main characters. The description of the physical aspects of the sex is necessary but it's not the priority. For me, the depth of the story is told in the unspoken feelings — lust, fear, doubt, the way the character is feeling the physical sexual aspects, etc.

It's easy to describe the sexual activity — but in my opinion, it's as dry as burnt toast. The emotions/feelings/interior thoughts are the peanut-butter and jelly that make the dry toast yummy. Without actually counting the words in my stories, I figure the description of the physical aspects is way less than the emotional/inner thoughts.

That said, I have no doubt that there's a large number of folks who swing in the opposite way and they get off on the detailed description of Betty's boobs, etc.

Bottom line is; we all write primarily for our on enjoyment. There's room for, and an audience for, a variety of styles. I've not read any of your stories, so perhaps you already know all of this. If not, maybe you can give it a try and see if it helps fill out your artistic erotic creations.

 

[FifthEstate]

Maybe you could try a different approach. Write the scene that you are excited to write first, get it out of your system. Then start thinking about plausible ways how those people involved could have reached that moment. What are their personalities, their thoughts. What are they thinking after the scene, how it made them feel, do they want to do it again, are there any regrets. Once you do all that, I bet you will get an idea for the next sex scene and so on. Just don't get caught in the other common anxiety, to publish the story asap

These are great suggestions. Also, I would suggest focusing on how the authors you really like do it. What details do they focus on? How do their stories differ from yours? What words or phrases do they use that you really like? Are you capable of incorporating those thoughts or ideas into your work?

Pick a couple of stories by your favorite authors and truly analyze how they bring them to life. Ask yourself if your stories read that way. If they don’t, focus on what is missing and work to improve them.

Quality is more important than quantity. But I think you’ll find that by adding more details (quantity) your quality will improve.

 

[AlinaX]

It can be difficult to find a story we can properly relax into and enjoy. I know I have often spent an hour browsing in a bookshop looking for something both original and to my taste, and Literotica presents a similar problem. 9/10 titles hold little interest, and of those I dip into, maybe 1/3 will hold my interest.

Finding a good story and then having it end within 5-10 minutes can be frustrating, especially if it doesn't feel like a complete story. Too many Ch. 01s end just as things get interesting.

I find when writing that my first burst of plot+sex tends to come in at about 1000 words, but this is just a scene, it's not a whole plot. It's fun, but not fulfilling. My latest, Portal Gag, just stops there, and the comments are people demanding a continuation. It's nice to get comments, but they're right: it's not a story, it's a teaser for a story.

3000 words is probably a realistic minimum for a blend of sex and story that will reward those readers who put time into searching for a story. It's not that stories can't be shorter, just that the perception of time spent in reading vs time spent searching for something to read is an important factor.

 

[123z]

I've published more than 10 chapters in a continuous story seperately. Does it sound like a good idea to publish the entire 80 000 words and publish in the novel/novella section?

 

[ElectricBlue]

I've published more than 10 chapters in a continuous story seperately. Does it sound like a good idea to publish the entire 80 000 words and publish in the novel/novella section?

I would put it in the most appropriate erotic category, not novels and novellas. Others will say N&N does just fine, but it's low traffic, relatively speaking.

But if it's already published, why change anything? You'd have to remove the existing chapters and resubmit. That's a waste of time, and means you start all over again.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I'm finding that, with experience, comes the realization that story length doesn't matter. My first stories were 18-20K and they were well received, so that seemed a good goal for me but these next five stories I've done have been between 5500 and 12k words and I'm happy with them. Adding more to fatten up the length would be pointless, and probably detrimental to the quality of the story.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'm finding that, with experience, comes the realization that story length doesn't matter. My first stories were 18-20K and they were well received, so that seemed a good goal for me but these next five stories I've done have been between 5500 and 12k words and I'm happy with them. Adding more to fatten up the length would be pointless, and probably detrimental to the quality of the story.

I've got three little 750 Word chapters running at the moment, with a fourth in the queue (they're each self-contained, but follow on from each other).

This comment, on the third, was nice to get:

Aredia4 days ago
Wow! I usually skip past the 750 things 'cause most are not appealing to me. I'm so glad I made an exception for you! You've managed to nail it - three times! Brilliant!

 

[Rob_Royale]

I've got three little 750 Word chapters running at the moment, with a fourth in the queue (they're each self-contained, but follow on from each other).

This comment, on the third, was nice to get:

I entered a 750 story also. I'm very happy with it and it's been received well. It's all about planning. For me at least.

 

[oneagainst]

To answer OP, it's not the length, it's what you do with it (drumroll, rimshot).

A sex scene is, say, 1000 words. The anticipation of it with character progression might be 1500, then a few hundred at the end to wrap up; those other bits matter if you're telling a story as opposed to dictating a scene. If the characters are evolving, you might choose to follow their journey and let it becomes multiple chapters. You'll get as many commenters tell you it's too short as tell you there needs to be more.

The only advice is: tell the entire story, and when you get to the end, stop. Personally, I've done that in 750 words, I've also done it in 700,000.

 

[ronde]

Story length depends upon the audience for which you are writing. We all have fantasies that could be written in less than a thousand words. The only problem is many readers wouldn't believe such a thing could ever happen in real life. Most men will entertain thoughts about what they might do with a willing woman, but the key word here is "willing". Few guys are going to walk up to a woman and say, "How about it." Most women wouldn't hop into bed with a guy she just met, much less give him the gift she can only give once. They need some character development before they do that, and depending upon their personalities, sometimes a lot of character development and interaction.

I write a lot of romance stories, and they usually end up being 13k - 20k words. I've written shorter stories, but I seem to get more readers for the longer stories.

 

[KeithD]

Story length depends upon the audience for which you are writing.

Not for me. Story length for me (unless there's a contracted limit) depends on what content I need to get my story fully written. I write the story before I consider the audience placement. There isn't just one universal reader. There's an audience for just about anything you can write--and there are readers who don't want to read just about anything you write. I let them sort themselves out without any worrying about it from me.

 

[Seadog777]

I don't think that's entirely the case.
I certainly think that it helps.
The more you write, the more feedback you get and the more comfortable you become with writing.

Personally, I do not write long stories that often.
I prefer to break them down into parts or chapters.
You can only hold a reader's attention for so long.