Does story length come with experience?

[alohadave]

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?

 

[ScrappyPaperDoodler]

Having more than one writing environment definitely helps me add more (/excessive) detail.

Whenever I’m on a good writing streak, I’ll be writing small snippets on my phone, sitting down to type, and writing down ideas in a notebook... Everything piles together in the end. Other notes and research also get integrated. Usually that just means I’ve got a few photographs I want to use as references to describe a particular setting, character or outfit.

 

[NoTalentHack]

I think it really varies. My first published story here was less than 3500 words. But I wrote it as a break from the story I had been writing, which was broken up into two parts and clocked in at about 40K total. Since then, other than a 750 word story, the shortest thing I've written was about 2K and the longest about 33K.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Perhaps, although quality certainly doesn't hinge on length. I've looked at some of your stuff. No offense, but as it seems you are looking for suggestions:

Your stories seem to be mainly action, the sex, with just enough outside that to tie things together. That's fine and there's a market for it and I've done some of that myself, but consider including some buildup, backstory and thoughts and emotions (yes, horniness is indeed an emotion ). How did Mom wind up with the mailman in her bed? Has there been another lover? A bit more description of what they are feeling and so forth. My two cents, anyway. Good luck.

 

[AlinaX]

I think 4000 words is my comfort zone. It's enough for sexy stuff and some story without needing to dive into deep character creation. As soon as I have a story with multiple characters that I want to flesh out, the word count shoots up.

Get into the characters' heads. What are their hopes and fears? Sure, they're fucking, but there can be a hundred thoughts running through their heads while they do.

 

[TadOverdon]

Detail.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I write predominantly longer stories, typically more than 75K words. I don't want to oversimplify the process I use, but it involves the "Who", "What", "Why", "How", "When", and "Where" concept of storytelling.

My focus has always been on the "Who", or the characters, which has to integrate with the "Why", or the motivations of the "Who's". Readers need to understand what makes a character tick.

The "What" and "How" describe the actions of the "Who's" based upon their strengths and motivations. The "When" and "Where" are incidental in most cases.

Also consider writing a story in a different perspective than you normally use. Switching from 1st to 3rd as an example might give you a different view on telling the story, which could result in an increased word count.

 

[KeithD]

The words do come easy for me, and I usually expand the work, adding complexity to it, in review.

Re the question of what comes with experience, being more focused and concise and making every word count was what came with experience while I initially was developing. Writing for contests with wordage constrictions helped.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I am not sure that it comes with experience. I started writing here like half a year ago, and I went straight into long stories. I think it's a matter of mindset more. While I can write a short story, by catching one particular scene or event or just some fun erotic moment, it would mostly leave me unsatisfied... My measure of story is fleshing out the characters, making them nuanced, and not by describing their nature in narration, but showing who they are through thoughts and actions. I also like an interesting plot that spans for a long time, something that makes my characters evolve, grow, fight adversity, but also some interesting premise to hold readers' attention.

 

[MajorRewrite]

My latest story is my longest at 22k words, which is odd because I feel like it’s the story that I best kept on track and avoided unnecessary scenes. So it’s more concise but longer too, if that’s possible.

 

[MelissaBaby]

Perhaps, although quality certainly doesn't hinge on length. I've looked at some of your stuff. No offense, but as it seems you are looking for suggestions:

Your stories seem to be mainly action, the sex, with just enough outside that to tie things together. That's fine and there's a market for it and I've done some of that myself, but consider including some buildup, backstory and thoughts and emotions (yes, horniness is indeed an emotion ). How did Mom wind up with the mailman in her bed? Has there been another lover? A bit more description of what they are feeling and so forth. My two cents, anyway. Good luck.

All of this.

I read a couple of Dave's stories, and they seemed more like scenes in a larger story to me. If he wants to tell longer stories, what he needs to do is tell the whole story of which these scenes are a part.

To get to that story, he needs to formulate a fuller conception of his characters. Who are they when they aren't horny?

And, as someone else noted, his stories need detail. They are sketches that could be colorful paintings.

"She grinned and took her clothes off as fast as she could." What does that look like? Sliding her jeans down her thighs? Letting her skirt drop to the floor? Did she shake her hair from her face after she pulled her sweater over her head? Did she sit on the edge of the bed to take off her shoes? Did the bed squeak? Did she look up at him while she did it, biting her lip and cocking one eyebrow?

Anyway, there's two more cents. That and a handjob will get you a cup of coffee.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Story length...
Every time I sit down to write. I say. "Keep it short and sweet."
50,000 words later, I'm saying"What the fuck happened?"
I write like I speak, I'm a chatter box, and love to talk.
Length has absolutely nothing to do with quality...

 

[KeithD]

Story length...
Every time I sit down to write. I say. "Keep it short and sweet."
50,000 words later, I'm saying"What the fuck happened?"
I write like I speak, I'm a chatter box, and love to talk.
Length has absolutely nothing to do with quality...

Well, yes it can, and you pointed to that yourself. If what you get is just the author sitting down and chatter boxing, unless they have a gloriously interesting and organized mind (and maybe they do), you're not likely to end up with very high quality.

 

[SabrinaGLangton]

I always have high hopes for my stories, keeping them short and sweet, but then I fall in love with the characters and end up writing an epic. I know personally, I like to get lost in a longer story and I might read it for a couple of days, but then other times I want something quick, to kill some time, or check out someone I haven't read yet. It seems all good to me either long or short, I have cut stories down after reading and some I expanded on, it all depends on the story you are trying to tell. Good luck...

 

[GrantBricksly]

Ah yes...the age old question of story length....

Here's the thing...if you take the time to flesh out your story (pun intended) with well developed scenes, characters and such the word count will come. Do you need it? well, that is debatable. But, I will say this, my best story so far, based on ratings, views, and my own pride...is 19.5k words. And I have another that is 60k that hasn't even been submitted yet, that I am super proud of.

But, I also have a few that have high ratings that are only 3k words...

And then there is my first few stories on here...which are in the 1.5k range...much lower ratings..and honestly...not my best work...

 

[Bramblethorn]

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?

Like others have suggested, a lot depends on the kind of story you want to tell. Longer isn't intrinsically better.

For me, the challenge in longer stories is not so much coming up with things to write, but in the organisation side of things - making sure the plot has a satisfying shape to it without slumping in the middle or dragging on past the point where it should stop, making sure the main arcs get resolved, and so on.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I think some authors have niches they fit into. The length of a story is often one of those niches. Some write beautiful short stories, some novellas and longer is just right, while others can tell something extraordinary in 750 words.

 

[GrantBricksly]

I think some authors have niches they fit into. The length of a story is often one of those niches. Some write beautiful short stories, some novellas and longer is just right, while others can tell something extraordinary in 750 words.

Exactly..And some struggle to do that. I wrote a story for the 750 word challenge...it took me a while to get it right. I usually write more than that..

 

[MillieDynamite]

Exactly..And some struggle to do that. I wrote a story for the 750 word challenge...it took me a while to get it right. I usually write more than that..

750 is difficult for me. And for the challenge, I'm not sure if it is supposed to be 750 exactly or there about.

 

[ElectricBlue]

750 is difficult for me. And for the challenge, I'm not sure if it is supposed to be 750 exactly or there about.

Thereabouts. I doubt Laurel actually checks the count, what with a sentence to say it's an anthology story, a copyright notice etc. The spirit of it, though, is to nail your actual story to the 750.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

So, I saw that a 750 word even was on, is that right? I have an idea for that one.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I think some authors have niches they fit into. The length of a story is often one of those niches. Some write beautiful short stories, some novellas and longer is just right, while others can tell something extraordinary in 750 words.

Yes, definitely this. My sweet spot varies, but right now I'm content with pieces that are 6k - 8k words - enough to have some depth to a story, but also knowing when to stop.

 

[ElectricBlue]

So, I saw that a 750 word even was on, is that right? I have an idea for that one.

Official Support Thread - 750 Words 2023

 

[djrip]

When I first posted my stories were around 2-4k. Now I'm averaging around 10-12k. I just started including more detail over time. If I'm writing enough to fully explore what's happening, it naturally takes a few thousand words. If I have more than 2 characters playing, that takes more words to give them all the attention they deserve. I don't tend to write about long periods of time, like following characters around over months; I'd like to try something with a lot of meat on it like that at some point, where I delve into character and plot development and such. If I did, that would surely add some more thousands.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

Official Support Thread - 750 Words 2023

Thanks, I'll check this out.