How Long Should a Story Be

[johndoe2007]

I was just wondering, how many words is a good length sotry. I know that alot of people will tell me it depends what happens in the story and how you shouldn't stop a sotry just because it's getting too long.

I've been critized because my stories supposedly don't have a story because my they are too short (this is because I'm writing a series).

My real question is, is it better to have a 1 or 2 massive stories or a collection of short ones.

 

[drksideofthemoon]

I was just wondering, how many words is a good length sotry. I know that alot of people will tell me it depends what happens in the story and how you shouldn't stop a sotry just because it's getting too long.

I've been critized because my stories supposedly don't have a story because my they are too short (this is because I'm writing a series).

My real question is, is it better to have a 1 or 2 massive stories or a collection of short ones.

I'm writing a series as well. My average chapter length right now is about 20,000 words.

5-10K is a good length.

 

[johndoe2007]

I'm writing a series as well.

For you series, do you have a seperate plot for each chapter or an overall arc for the series?

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

The answer to you question is - There is no answer. One massive story posted in the Novel/Novella Cat won't be read.

A series I find to be wearing. Each posted chapter has to be a separate story of it's own. If you look at what I've written, I do a series, but each is a separate story and no chapters.

 

[yukonnights]

it's a good question

we are just starting to write and post here. we thought our first story was getting too long at four typed pages, but when we finally saw it posted it was only one page and wasn't too long at all (actually, we had cut it too short)
SO, how many words typically fit onto a page on this site?
our personal taste is the 2 or 3 pagers. much longer and it gets hard to read on a screen.

 

[starrkers]

One of my longest is 7,750 and it makes it just over a screen full onto a third page.
So I guess around 3500 to a page.

 

[JamesSD]

One "Lit Page" translates to 3,000-3,500 words, at least with the amount of dialog I use. To me this translates to about 7 pages in MS Word (12 point font I think, single spaced, with line breaks for paragraphs).

It's my firm belief it's impossible to tell a satisfying sex story with less than 3,000 words. Every chapter should have at least some sort of sex scene too it, even if it's brief or mostly a tease (like an interrupted Blowjob). Readers tend to lose interest in serials very quickly, especially if it lacks a regular posting schedule. When I skim the page of new stories, I almost never click on "______ Ch. 03" unless I remember reading earlier chapters, or it catches my eye enough to go start from the beginning.

 

[PAUL C]

as long as it takes

mine range from 3,000 to 150,000.

each story should have its own life. it starts, it goes on and then it ends.

trying to artificially stay within someone else's rules can ruin what you have to say.

you set the length.

 

[duke9555]

I can't masturbate successfully
to any story less than two Literotica
pages long ............and 99% of the time
this is how i judge a story's value ...

am i so out of step?

if i pop on a story it automatically
getz a 5

 

[Penelope Street]

I can't masturbate successfully
to any story less than two Literotica
pages long ............and 99% of the time
this is how i judge a story's value ...

am i so out of step?

if i pop on a story it automatically
getz a 5

It's good to know there are readers who have an objective means of measuring a story's value.

But what do we get if he stays softer than uncooked dough?

 

[drksideofthemoon]

For you series, do you have a seperate plot for each chapter or an overall arc for the series?

There's a main plot and a series of sub-plots here and there....I set out goals for each chapter, and then write to achieve those goals in the overall scheme of the main plot.

 

[drksideofthemoon]

But what do we get if he stays softer than uncooked dough?

Oh thanks, I just spewed Pepsi....

 

[Penelope Street]

Oh thanks, I just spewed Pepsi....

Hey- someone had to ask! You're welcome, of course.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

I can't masturbate successfully
to any story less than two Literotica
pages long ............and 99% of the time
this is how i judge a story's value ...

am i so out of step?

if i pop on a story it automatically
getz a 5

We gotta do a better job of screening these people

 

[Penelope Street]

We gotta do a better job of screening these people

Am I to understand you have an issue with this reader's voting criteria?

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Am I to understand you have an issue with this reader's voting criteria?

Yeah. There ain't hardly no sex in my stories

 

[MarshAlien]

Am I to understand you have an issue with this reader's voting criteria?

I think it's nice to find a guy who's this interested in foreplay. Do you think I can just get away with a few pages from the New York Times and then a naked picture of Paris Hilton?

Duke old buddy, you've been a member for over a year and this is the first thing you've ever deemed worthy of posting about?

 

[fluidmingle]

It'snot so bad...

I think it's nice to find a guy who's this interested in foreplay. Do you think I can just get away with a few pages from the New York Times and then a naked picture of Paris Hilton?

Duke old buddy, you've been a member for over a year and this is the first thing you've ever deemed worthy of posting about?

Well, I think it's a valid enough contribution. People write for all sorts of different reasons. If you write to be read then Duke's contribution could be valuable - you have to know your audience right?

And then there are others who write to be different, new, artistic, original etc. And others will comment / discuss as appropriate no doubt. The former might be considered a bit base by some and the latter more 'academic' but that's all down to perception.

 

[Penelope Street]

Well, I think it's a valid enough contribution. People write for all sorts of different reasons. If you write to be read then Duke's contribution could be valuable - you have to know your audience right?

I thought there was something refreshingly honest about Duke's post and I don't have any issue with his outlook. While I don't imagine I'll change one word in any story based on his answer, I'm still curious about whether he votes at all on stories that don't help him achieve his stated goal.

 

[starrkers]

We gotta do a better job of screening these people

Why? This is an erotica site after all.
A lot of what I write is aimed specifically at helping him achieve that goal.

Never ceases to amaze me that people bitch and moan about readers voting on the sexual content of stories. I'm damned sure the vast majority of readers don't come here for the literary content! (Which in my case, is just as well)

 

[drksideofthemoon]

Why? This is an erotica site after all.
A lot of what I write is aimed specifically at helping him achieve that goal.

Never ceases to amaze me that people bitch and moan about readers voting on the sexual content of stories. I'm damned sure the vast majority of readers don't come here for the literary content! (Which in my case, is just as well)

What? They don't come here for the literary content? Why didn't someone send me the memo?

 

[cloudy]

Why? This is an erotica site after all.
A lot of what I write is aimed specifically at helping him achieve that goal.

Never ceases to amaze me that people bitch and moan about readers voting on the sexual content of stories. I'm damned sure the vast majority of readers don't come here for the literary content! (Which in my case, is just as well)

You may write with that goal in mind, but not everyone does. I don't - and if my stories were voted on strictly by stroke content, I'd have stopped writing long ago.

I don't read with that goal in mind, either. Different strokes (pun intended) for different folks, and all that.

 

[elfin_odalisque]

What? They don't come here for the literary content? Why didn't someone send me the memo?

drk, I think you had your hands full at the time!

 

[drksideofthemoon]

drk, I think you had your hands full at the time!

LOL!!!