Advice on splitting a story into parts

[Writer61]

I am currently working on the second story in my series "Adam in Public". The first has about 12k words and I broke it into two parts (5k and 7k respectively).

About half-way through the first draft it is looking like up to 20k in length, which feels too long for a single post (my usual stories are 4-5k). So, I am wondering about whether to split it. The story has two obvious break-points to make it a three-parter. There is no good point to split it into two parts.

I should add that the discourse is a bit flabby at the moment; strong editing would bring it closer to 15k than 20k.

I see three options:
- let it all hang out in a single post of 20k
- strong edit for a single post of 15k
- not quite so tough edit for three parts approx 6k each

What would you do?

 

[StillStunned]

I'd go for the 15-20k option.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

12k words would've probably generated three lit pages. Do you not have chapters? You could just submit it as a whole, and it'll be several pages long, some people do that, I've read a ten page long story once. Chapters are a bit more palatable for most.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

I can't really answer this question. There is so much to consider.

More shorter chapters will keep you on the new lists more often. That is a plus. However some readers don't care for separate chapters with no sex in them. If you are looking to make sure that the scores stay up, make sure that there is some smut in each chapter. If you only have one steamy scene, you might want to make it one big 15-20k chapter. If you break it up, you might want to ensure that each 5-10k chapter has it's own self-contained hanky-panky. If you post one longer piece, it will get its full share of hits since if someone reads a page and bails, you still get the hit (if that matters to you). If you break it into two or three chapters then if someone reads a page and bails then only the first chapter will get the hits and the rest won't. If you don't care about the score or the hits, then just break it up however it feels best to you.

One last thing: you've written part 1 and this is part 2 and presumably there may be parts 3 and so on ... This would not be a problem if you would have written all of the parts complete before you published any of them. If you had, you'd have a much better idea of how you'd like them split up (if at all).

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Let the story dictate length. I have a few serial pieces that I specifically designed that way, but as a general rule, I let the story tell me how long it wants to be. Savage Daughter was supposed to be a short story and ended up just over 41k words. It's been very well received.

 

[Writer61]

Thanks all for your comments.

@M_K_Babalon each third is effectively a chapter, and there is a sex scene near the end of each, so splitting is feasible. I certainly want to finish the whole piece before I post any of it (got myself into a knot by not doing that in another series).

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Thanks all for your comments.

@M_K_Babalon each third is effectively a chapter, and there is a sex scene near the end of each, so splitting is feasible. I certainly want to finish the whole piece before I post any of it (got myself into a knot by not doing that in another series).

That's always a wise choice. I've been leaning more that way because I have too much unfinished stuff out there.

 

[Cagivagurl]

As a reader, I prefer the whole story in one piece. I prefer longer stories.
Stories generally have a natural length. There is no magic formula. I have posted stories in series, and long stories between 35,000 and 60,000 words.
The scores are similar. The viewing numbers are similar.
A story of 20,000 words is not long.
If it was me, I'd go for posting it as a whole...
Then you would have information for your own comparison.

Cagivagurl

 

[AllenWoody]

I’ve had better success writing somewhat longer chapters than I originally intended if there’s a natural break. Arbitrarily chopping something in half may result in insufficient momentum and interest on the part of the reader. On the other hand, if those natural breaks are there at 6K words, then great.

 

[Rob_Royale]

As a reader, I prefer the whole story in one piece. I prefer longer stories.
Stories generally have a natural length. There is no magic formula. I have posted stories in series, and long stories between 35,000 and 60,000 words.
The scores are similar. The viewing numbers are similar.
A story of 20,000 words is not long.
If it was me, I'd go for posting it as a whole...
Then you would have information for your own comparison.

Cagivagurl

Yep, what she said. A stand alone story at 20k words is a real treat for most readers. Long enough to really get into the story, but not long enough where it might take two sittings to get through it.

 

[Jay142]

I have written stories that have multiple chapters or parts in a single submission. I do this for a couple of reasons. First, I don't like reading long stories and prefer to have them broken up so I can easily come back to them when it's convenient for me. Secondly, I've found a serious drop-off in views in subsequent chapters and don't want the readers to have to wait for a second chapter if they want to continue on.

 

[Leffe6]

Wow, so I'm new to writing and thought the one I just finished was long. I broke the 7500 word story into 5 chapters, albeit they are short. The way I ended it allows for another story or could end my ball binding series. This is part 3. Should I write another 10k words?

 

[tswanabrit]

I've always subscribed to let the story decide the length theory. I wrote a series intending it have two parts of about 20k words. I ended up with 6 parts and about 130K words total. The second and third parts were about 80K words combined. Each part ended naturally, at least for me.

 

[Leffe6]

Who do you recommend for a quick read and edit? I have found that the rules for writing here are a bit different than traditional writing.

 

[12oclocktales]

It’s been my experience with stories and chapters that Chapter 2 will get half the views and votes as Chapter 1 where it will even off though still trend downward. Length, number of sex scenes – nothing mattered, it’s what happened. I’d post the 20k all at once.

 

[Alice_Angel]

Been considering this same problem with a story I'm currently writing. Still not sure how long the first part is going to be, but I'm pretty sure it will get broken up into separate chapters once I get it finished. Personally I'm not a big fan of long stories, and I think most people would agree. At least that's what's been recommended to me, and what's been my experience. I can sometimes deal with a long story if there's sufficiently exciting moments building up to something, but I think most people (myself included) want to hurry and get to the good stuff. I wouldn't rush it too much. There needs to be some appetizer before the main course.

It's been recommended to me that most stories should be two to three pages. Beyond that people can lose interest. I have honestly looked at stories that sounded like they'd be up my alley, but I saw they were 8 or 9 pages or whatever and that just felt like an ungodly amount to read. Most people aren't looking for an Ann Rice novel, just something short/hot. Though you don't want to go too short either. It's not a children's book, like "See Joe run. See Joe play soccer. See Joe fuck Susan." Obviously I'm over simplifying, but I think you get the idea. Personally I think the most important issue beyond simple chapter length is that there's a feeling of progression/escalation from chapter to chapter. I've read some hot stories, but been severely disappointed when the next chapter was really more of the same with no progression. Like if one chapter involves moving to third base, the next chapter shouldn't be third base again, unless there's some new/interesting twist, it should move on to third base.

Ultimately it's your story, do what you want with it as long as you enjoy it.

 

[THBGato]

Personally I'm not a big fan of long stories, and I think most people would agree. At least that's what's been recommended to me, and what's been my experience.

I really think that depends on genre: the predominance of long stories/chapters from long stories in the all time hall of fame for Lesbian Sex and Sci Fi seems to suggest that, in those genres at least, readers are actively seeking longer stories.

My advice to the OP: try to end a chapter on a cliffhanger. Give us an extra reason to read on!

 

[ElectricBlue]

I'd recommend a single submission. 20k words is not long, not by Lit standards. Chapter release strategies only make a difference in the first few months of a story's life. After a year or so, chapters are convenient for readers (like a book), but won't make a jot of difference to who reads it, nor how they rate it.

 

[lc69hunter]

I am currently working on the second story in my series "Adam in Public". The first has about 12k words and I broke it into two parts (5k and 7k respectively).

About half-way through the first draft it is looking like up to 20k in length, which feels too long for a single post (my usual stories are 4-5k). So, I am wondering about whether to split it. The story has two obvious break-points to make it a three-parter. There is no good point to split it into two parts.

I should add that the discourse is a bit flabby at the moment; strong editing would bring it closer to 15k than 20k.

I see three options:
- let it all hang out in a single post of 20k
- strong edit for a single post of 15k
- not quite so tough edit for three parts approx 6k each

What would you do?

I much prefer chapters/stories in the 3-4 page length. If it is longer, it goes into "the read later" file,

 

[SamBomb]

You could do each chapter separate or one story. Either really works, whatever fits your style.

For me, I like one sex scene per release, so generally about 8-12k a segment.