How big is too big?

[MrPessimist]

Paragraphs I mean. I story I submitted was rejected because some paragraphs were too long. Any rules of thumb for paragraph size?

I'm talking like as an example "12-point single space paragraphs should be less then _______ inches on a sheet of paper." or "Paragraphs should be less then _____ words."

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Paragraphs I mean. I story I submitted was rejected because some paragraphs were too long. Any rules of thumb for paragraph size?

I'm talking like as an example "12-point single space paragraphs should be less then _______ inches on a sheet of paper." or "Paragraphs should be less then _____ words."

I don't have such a specific graphic, but I would suggest transfering your work into note pad. It is fairly easy to spot paras that are long enough to be hard n the eye. Since the note pad format mimics Lit poretty well, you can generally find paras that need some breaking up.

Good Luck

 

[thebullet]

A paragraph is too big when it becomes difficult for the reader to keep his attention on the writing. The problem with internet writing is that one has to consider the various browsers being used, the fonts and sizes of the fonts.

The first story I ever posted got feedback that said: 'your paragraphs are too long, making them hard to read on the internet'. I bought the argument when I looked at the story on the net. From that point forward I began breaking my paragraphs up.

Net result: How you write for the printed page should be different than how you write for the internet. Your readers need to be comfortable with your words, but they also need to be comfortable with the way your words are displayed.

 

[elsol]

*burp*

I try to keep my paragraphs < 10 sentences.
Sample.

I hate the fact that the administrative assistant doesn't know my name. If she did, I could at least say hello! Of course, I could always introduce myself but I'm a bit shy for that. I'm waiting for the perfect moment; like she slips and falls down the steps while I'm beneath her. It will blow any chance I have with her 'cause I'd definitely be doing some ass-grabbing. It's a nice ass, dammit! Not to mention, some boob-grabbing. Those are fake boobs but I would tip the doctor if I knew who he was. The man or woman did some awesome work. I mean REALLY awesome! I would have to hand in my man-card if I got an opportunity to cop-a-feel and didn't.

10 sentences... I think.


Sincerely,
ElSol

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Whenever in doubt, start a new paragraph.

It's far better to err on the side of empty white space than it is to have monolithic blocks of text.

People will read stories that have nothing but one-sentence paragraphs. They won't read stories that are solid blocks of text.

 

[Recidiva]

*burp*

I try to keep my paragraphs < 10 sentences.
Sample.

I hate the fact that the administrative assistant doesn't know my name. If she did, I could at least say hello! Of course, I could always introduce myself but I'm a bit shy for that. I'm waiting for the perfect moment; like she slips and falls down the steps while I'm beneath her. It will blow any chance I have with her 'cause I'd definitely be doing some ass-grabbing. It's a nice ass, dammit! Not to mention, some boob-grabbing. Those are fake boobs but I would tip the doctor if I knew who he was. The man or woman did some awesome work. I mean REALLY awesome! I would have to hand in my man-card if I got an opportunity to cop-a-feel and didn't.

10 sentences... I think.


Sincerely,
ElSol

Oh, come on. That's just lazy. I counted.

The burping should have tipped me off. Dammit. It was a trap!

11 sentences, even with the sneaky use of a semicolon. I hate semicolons, they're too pushy to be a comma and too much of a wuss to be a colon. Fence riders. I refuse to use 'em even when the word "however" is used. I'll rephrase.

Lazy, I tell you. Just lazy.

And how about that profligate use of the unnecessary hyphen!

You made me proofread. You made me. Bastard.

 

[elsol]

Oh, come on. That's just lazy. I counted.

The burping should have tipped me off. Dammit. It was a trap!

11 sentences, even with the sneaky use of a semicolon. I hate semicolons, they're too pushy to be a comma and too much of a wuss to be a colon. Fence riders. I refuse to use 'em even when the word "however" is used. I'll rephrase.

Lazy, I tell you. Just lazy.

And how about that profligate use of the unnecessary hyphen!

You made me proofread. You made me. Bastard.

Actually I was to distracted from trying NOT to hit a new paragraph to count.

Sincerely,
ElSol

 

[English Lady]

Dr M is right, keep 'em brief. I nigh on always start any dialogue on a fresh new line too, seperates everything out and makes it easy to read.

And welcome

 

[velvetpie]

*burp*

I try to keep my paragraphs < 10 sentences.
Sample.

I hate the fact that the administrative assistant doesn't know my name. If she did, I could at least say hello! Of course, I could always introduce myself but I'm a bit shy for that. I'm waiting for the perfect moment; like she slips and falls down the steps while I'm beneath her. It will blow any chance I have with her 'cause I'd definitely be doing some ass-grabbing. It's a nice ass, dammit! Not to mention, some boob-grabbing. Those are fake boobs but I would tip the doctor if I knew who he was. The man or woman did some awesome work. I mean REALLY awesome! I would have to hand in my man-card if I got an opportunity to cop-a-feel and didn't.

10 sentences... I think.


Sincerely,
ElSol

I think your example is a bit too long. I'd have to agree with the good doctor concerning blocks of text. If I open a story and that's all I see, I immediately close it. I just can't follow a story that has huge blocks of words. Something in me brain just shuts right down. I think a couple of sentences is enough.

 

[elsol]

I think your example is a bit too long. I'd have to agree with the good doctor concerning blocks of text. If I open a story and that's all I see, I immediately close it. I just can't follow a story that has huge blocks of words. Something in me brain just shuts right down. I think a couple of sentences is enough.

See, my point is illustrated.

10 'normal' sentences and people want to jump

< 10 sentences.

Sincerely,
elsol

 

[elsol]

Did anybody else think this thread was going to be about something else?

The size of cucumbers per se...

Sincerely,
ElSol

 

[impressive]

Net result: How you write for the printed page should be different than how you write for the internet.

Not just the Internet ... eBooks in general.

 

[Recidiva]

See, my point is illustrated.

10 'normal' sentences and people want to jump

< 10 sentences.

Sincerely,
elsol

Well there goes my submissions.

I'll just be reading my own long paragraphs. Oh well.

Thank you for pointing this out, I had no idea that this was an actual ebook issue. Good to know.

 

[Recidiva]

Did anybody else think this thread was going to be about something else?

The size of cucumbers per se...

Sincerely,
ElSol

Yeah, I had a story and everything. I'm sad.

 

[elsol]

Yeah, I had a story and everything. I'm sad.

I would like to announce a

THREAD-JACK!!!

Personally, being male it's never TOO big... unless my girl and I are in a threesome and the other guy is on the TOO big side.

At that point, anything bigger than me is too big.

But it's just fun porno watching, then TOO big is kinda cool... like a tiger is kinda cool, as long as I'm not in the cage with it.

Sincerely,
elsol

 

[BlackSnake]

Paragraphs I mean. I story I submitted was rejected because some paragraphs were too long. Any rules of thumb for paragraph size?

I'm talking like as an example "12-point single space paragraphs should be less then _______ inches on a sheet of paper." or "Paragraphs should be less then _____ words."

Seperate the ideas....

 

[velvetpie]

I would like to announce a

THREAD-JACK!!!

Personally, being male it's never TOO big... unless my girl and I are in a threesome and the other guy is on the TOO big side.

At that point, anything bigger than me is too big.

But it's just fun porno watching, then TOO big is kinda cool... like a tiger is kinda cool, as long as I'm not in the cage with it.

Sincerely,
elsol

Seeing some poor woman (or man) try to wrap their lips around a huge 'cucumber' is not enjoyable, neither is a woman (or man, once again!) taking a superhuman cock in any orifice. I just can't get into that ...

 

[Weird Harold]

Paragraphs I mean. I story I submitted was rejected because some paragraphs were too long. Any rules of thumb for paragraph size?

I'm talking like as an example "12-point single space paragraphs should be less then _______ inches on a sheet of paper." or "Paragraphs should be less then _____ words."

First, the problem might have been a formatting problem, rather than where you intended your paragraph breaks to be. If you'r edepending on pragraph formatting and a single paragraph break in your word processer, Lit' coverion scripts will present your story as a single block of text. You to use two pargraph breaks between paragraphs for it to format correctly.

Second, there isn't a particular word count or direct comparison for printed output. Lit uses "Font size 2" and "Verdana" font for stories, which is close to a 10-point font in MS Word with margins set a 6.5" line length , but it's not an exact match.

I wrote a How To Essay on checking the formatting of your stories -- http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?id=57781 -- that will help you relate what you see in your word processer to what you'll see on Lit. In part because the differences between word processer and posted story will be different for everyone depending on which word processer is used and how it's configured.


For reading online, a single paragraph should never cover more than half the screen, with no more than one third of the screen being preferable. The "standard" screen of text is still basically 80 columns and 25 lines, so a paragraphs should be no more than eleven lines of 65-70 characters. The proliferaton of proportional fonts and WYSIWYG word processers make that "standard" increasingly outdated, but the basic principle still applies.

White space (two paragraph breaks or manual line feeds) between paragraphs is essential for online formatting. Without white space between paragraphs, the reader's eye sees a single block of text.

I think the problem is probably the formatting, but if you look at your orignal word processer document and can't position the text to see both the top and bottom of your paragraphs, they're too long.

 

[Recidiva]

I would like to announce a

THREAD-JACK!!!

Personally, being male it's never TOO big... unless my girl and I are in a threesome and the other guy is on the TOO big side.

At that point, anything bigger than me is too big.

But it's just fun porno watching, then TOO big is kinda cool... like a tiger is kinda cool, as long as I'm not in the cage with it.

Sincerely,
elsol

I would have to say, that there is too big, and I have met it. And truly, my response to it was..."Ow. Ow. Ow." Okay, there were more ows. Probably faster and with more punctuation and not that well pronounced. No, it didn't stop me, but...essentially I could have done with a little less of a challenge. Anecdotally he had put some poor female in the hospital with an occult hemorrhage before he "figured things out" and tried not to injure people any more. I believe it.

Also, it's essentially unsatisfying to not be able to fit the damned thing anywhere. He says he didn't mind, but I just feel sad for the guy. I probably shouldn't, but I do. He's probably well consoled.

Too big in porno makes me just feel kinda sorry for the girl and sad for the guy. Really, in a "Sir, that just is not going to fit, back away slowly" sorta way. 'course there's still some part of my memory saying 'ow, ow, ow.' I also told him I didn't mind being bitten. But he bit too hard. Okay, compounded 'ow' and I suppose the moral to this story is that there's too big for ME. And not being bitten too hard might depend on the quality of dental work.

There are the stories you don't believe from guys until Go Time. Like the ones that are just used to making women faint so they've stopped calling ambulances any more, they just have a cigarette and wait it out with a smile. Some things have to be experienced, then you can say "Ohhh, yeah, okay. Granted."

Fainting is more fun though, when it's not from "too big" compared to "too much" which is an entirely different thing.

 

[sweetnpetite]

Paragraphs I mean. I story I submitted was rejected because some paragraphs were too long. Any rules of thumb for paragraph size?

I'm talking like as an example "12-point single space paragraphs should be less then _______ inches on a sheet of paper." or "Paragraphs should be less then _____ words."

4 or 5 sentences is a comfortable length. A few more or a few less is ok. Many more is difficult to read, especially if there are many in a row that are much longer. Short para's are ok too, but many short paragraphs in a row is also a pain. *When I want to break up long para's I read along and look for any spot where it seems like the topic has shifted a bit. *Where I've put stars in this post would be a good place for paragraph breaks, IMO.