How long is too long for a story?

[NaughtELittleGrl]

Just finished my first story Wondering how long is too long?

 

[RedMonkeyButt]

I think when you get in the range of 100k words, you should at least break it down into parts.

 

[electric1]

As long as you can maintain the sexual tension, the story is never too long. When the sexual tension runs out, wrap it up quickly.

 

[NaughtELittleGrl]

Thanks, I have 4500 words.. but it is broken into pieces. I want to write chapters that follow, but needed the intro tobe a little lengthy THANKYOU

 

[electric1]

I think when you get in the range of 100k words, you should at least break it down into parts.

Yes, long stories should be broken into chapters, parts, whatever you want to call them. On a long story, readers need a place to stop and come back to later. And I think chapters should be as short as you can reasonably make them. A reader can always go through multiple chapters in a sitting, but wanting to stop when you're in a very long chapter with no end in sight is bad.

 

[RedMonkeyButt]

Thanks, I have 4500 words.. but it is broken into pieces. I want to write chapters that follow, but needed the intro tobe a little lengthy THANKYOU

I just submitted a story that was just over 4500 words. I consider that to be short.

 

[NaughtELittleGrl]

Good... well then hopefully my first will be a success It is most definitely out of my comfort zone...but had to bite the bullet and just do it already. Guess we will see how it is recieved Thanks for your help!

 

[Darkniciad]

And I think chapters should be as short as you can reasonably make them.

I wouldn't go that far. Authors are getting ripped on a daily basis for 1 Lit page chapters.

I would actually consider 4000-4500 words a minimum, because that crosses over a reasonable amount into a second page. A few 1 pagers won't kill you, but if they're all one page, the haters are going to come out.

 

[RedMonkeyButt]

I wouldn't go that far. Authors are getting ripped on a daily basis for 1 Lit page chapters.

I would actually consider 4000-4500 words a minimum, because that crosses over a reasonable amount into a second page. A few 1 pagers won't kill you, but if they're all one page, the haters are going to come out.

I didn't realize it took that much to get a decent 2 Lit pages. 4500 words for me is very short, though, writing or reading. It was almost disappointing when my latest came out that short, to be honest... But then I've been told my one approved story is a tad on the long side, so there has to be a good middle ground somewhere.

 

[electric1]

I wouldn't go that far. Authors are getting ripped on a daily basis for 1 Lit page chapters.

I would actually consider 4000-4500 words a minimum, because that crosses over a reasonable amount into a second page. A few 1 pagers won't kill you, but if they're all one page, the haters are going to come out.

Of the few stories I've posted here, the one that gives me the most pride, and the one that is tied for highest score, is a 1-pager. That's not a chapter - that's the entire story. But it's a hell of a good page, if I do say so myself. To make the story longer, I would have needed to pad it, and padding sucks.

A lot of 1-pagers are bad because they have too little content or too much exposition. The length itself is not the issue, I don't think. Quality writing and sexual tension are the issues. Some stories can sustain those elements for hundreds of pages, others are best kept short and sweet.

But when breaking a story into chapters, I wouldn't fear making chapters too short, so long as readers can easily get to the next chapter.

 

[Darkniciad]

I didn't realize it took that much to get a decent 2 Lit pages. 4500 words for me is very short, though, writing or reading. It was almost disappointing when my latest came out that short, to be honest... But then I've been told my one approved story is a tad on the long side, so there has to be a good middle ground somewhere.

Holy Snikies! 14 pages! *laugh*

The sweet zone for a standalone story or chapters is 2-3 Lit pages. That's about the average attention span across the board. There are some who like shorter or longer, but hitting that sweet zone maximizes your readership.

But when breaking a story into chapters, I wouldn't fear making chapters too short, so long as readers can easily get to the next chapter.

That's the problem. When you're putting out 1 page chapters, people are only getting a tiny taste, and then having to wait 3, 4, 5 days or more for the next one. If it's only a smidgen as well...

Most of these complaints start out with "I love this story, but make the chapters longer."

 

[sr71plt]

What stories are being ripped for being only one page?

If you are trying to develop for the mainstream, you might consider that most mainstream short story contests limit the wordage to 3,000 to 3,500 words (one Lit. page). More words don't necessary make a better story. I've seen rather more "everything and the kitchen sink" train wreck stories here than I have seen tightly plotted and "just enough" characterization stories.

As far as too long, I would think 533,728 words would be a word too long.

 

[RedMonkeyButt]

Of the few stories I've posted here, the one that gives me the most pride, and the one that is tied for highest score, is a 1-pager. That's not a chapter - that's the entire story. But it's a hell of a good page, if I do say so myself. To make the story longer, I would have needed to pad it, and padding sucks.

A lot of 1-pagers are bad because they have too little content or too much exposition. The length itself is not the issue, I don't think. Quality writing and sexual tension are the issues. Some stories can sustain those elements for hundreds of pages, others are best kept short and sweet.

But when breaking a story into chapters, I wouldn't fear making chapters too short, so long as readers can easily get to the next chapter.

This is how my latest is. 4500 words was all it needed.

The longer one, though, I think I could have at least broken it into parts. It topped out at a little over 55k and 14 Lit pages. But the chapters are relatively short on their own... It was my first submission, so I didn't know any better. I had the whole story finished, so I submitted the whole story.

 

[sr71plt]

55,000 words in electronic terms isn't a "story," it's a novel.