How Much Is Too Much Story?

[Maximillian_Excaliber]

When I first started writing stories for submission, I began with the intention of using this medium as a forum to develop both my writing and story telling skills.

What I have noticed is that my stories are becoming increasing longer and plot driven. For example, I am working on a novel that started out as a single short story but has become a five part series of interconnected, short stories. Each part recounts an attempt by 'The Matchmaker Bandits' to acquire a particular erotic collection. I find now that 75% to 80% of the stories are plot, character and background, with the remaining being sex.

When I first started writing, my stories were about 8 pages long and now they are as much as 40 pages in length.

No body likes rejection and I am not sure how well these longer, more plot driven stories will be received. I do know that this is a unique medium to write for and the people who read it have varying taste and wants. Some expect their adult stories to be like porn movies, little to no plot and get to the sex as fast as possible! Others want something more.

Should I continue writing for this medium or move on now. It's just so easy for me to image a characters in a sexual situation and then write to the story to get the characters there but I really do not want to write 'porn' but rather good stories with erotic, explicitly sexual content in them that eventually have the potential to move into main stream publishing market.

Any advice?

 

[TheeGoatPig]

A story is exactly as long as it needs to be. The only way for it to be too long is if you add parts that don't belong.

 

[oggbashan]

40 pages isn't long unless it's 40 Lit pages.

If the length is right for the story, 40 A4 pages is OK to post here.

If the whole story extends to 50,000 words or more then it might be better in Novels and Novellas.

Og

 

[damppanties]

When I first started writing stories for submission, I began with the intention of using this medium as a forum to develop both my writing and story telling skills.

What I have noticed is that my stories are becoming increasing longer and plot driven. For example, I am working on a novel that started out as a single short story but has become a five part series of interconnected, short stories. Each part recounts an attempt by 'The Matchmaker Bandits' to acquire a particular erotic collection. I find now that 75% to 80% of the stories are plot, character and background, with the remaining being sex.

When I first started writing, my stories were about 8 pages long and now they are as much as 40 pages in length.

No body likes rejection and I am not sure how well these longer, more plot driven stories will be received. I do know that this is a unique medium to write for and the people who read it have varying taste and wants. Some expect their adult stories to be like porn movies, little to no plot and get to the sex as fast as possible! Others want something more.

Should I continue writing for this medium or move on now. It's just so easy for me to image a characters in a sexual situation and then write to the story to get the characters there but I really do not want to write 'porn' but rather good stories with erotic, explicitly sexual content in them that eventually have the potential to move into main stream publishing market.

Any advice?

Are you losing readership or getting bad feedback? As you said, there are readers with various preferences on Lit. Perhaps you might have difficulty moving from one kind of writing to the other and lose some readers if you have established a fan base. But I would suggest writing what you consider advances your writing. I consider Lit a place of learning and whatever path makes you think will further your learning and writing abilities is the path worth following, IMO. On Lit, you will find readers with whatever you write. Consider what your writing is giving to you, not what you are giving to your readers.

Also, if you fear rejection from your current readers, consider making another id for writing the more involved stories.

Luck.

 

[jomar]

What I have noticed is that my stories are becoming increasing longer and plot driven.

Any advice?

I think that is your evolution as a writer. Embrace it and write. Then publish on eXessica or somewhere.

 

[Stella_Omega]

You know there is a pretty decent market for genre books that include explicit sex-- adventure, fantasy, romance, thrillers...

If you find you have a talent for real plots and development, you might be better off looking at polishing these longer works and submitting them for publication.

 

[SavannahMann]

There are times for each

The story drives the length in my opinion. There are those who won't read anything besides the stroke stories.

See Dick and Jane
See Dick and Jane fuck
See Dick and Jane come
The End.

Now there are times when I like the stroke story, but I'm a mentally driven person, I want to know something about the subject. I want to know what they're thinking, and what they're fears are, and their desires.

I want to understand the anxiety and the strength they need to overcome an obstacle. I love a story about people who seem and feel real. That's what I try and write. Don't worry about it, and embrace the interesting read.

 

[oggbashan]

The story drives the length in my opinion. There are those who won't read anything besides the stroke stories.

See Dick and Jane
See Dick and Jane fuck
See Dick and Jane come
The End.

Have you been reading my How-To entry?

Og

 

[Emerald_Dragon]

I know for me it isn't a drawback to reading a long story. You can break it into chapters to make it more "readable" if people bitch about length. I haven't delved much into the Novella/Novel catagory simply because it is to hard to get a handle on what the story is about. It would be nice to have a subcatagory under Novella's that would let you skim the Scifi or Nonhuman Novels for example, so it would be easier to find what you like.

 

[DeeZire]

If the story holds the readers attention, it doesn't matter how long it is. If the reader is skipping ahead to find the interesting parts, you either have the wrong reader or the wrong stuff in your story. Since readers are all different, I guess it comes down to developing your own style and hoping others like what you're doing.

Personally, I prefer plot and character development. I think writing porn is a (enjoyable) dead end, while writing plots and characters could lead to print publication, movie deals, Oscars, drug addiction, divorce, bankruptcy.

On second thought, perhaps writing plot and character development is not such a good idea.

 

[Stella_Omega]

If the story holds the readers attention, it doesn't matter how long it is. If the reader is skipping ahead to find the interesting parts, you either have the wrong reader or the wrong stuff in your story. Since readers are all different, I guess it comes down to developing your own style and hoping others like what you're doing.

Personally, I prefer plot and character development. I think writing porn is a (enjoyable) dead end, while writing plots and characters could lead to print publication, movie deals, Oscars, drug addiction, divorce, bankruptcy.

On second thought, perhaps writing plot and character development is not such a good idea.

I sense a good plot there...

 

[MarshAlien]

If it's a good story, and well-written, people will persevere no matter how long it is. And then you get comments like this:

Jesus Christ it's late
03/08/08 By: Anonymous in Kentucky
It's freaking 4:15 in the morning. I just finished your story. Novella. Thing.​

So stick with it. Keep honing your craft. Good luck.

 

[TxRad]

The top line in my sig will give you my opinion on character and plot development.

When I look over my story list, the one thing that I notice most is the longer stories have higher ratings and hold up better over the long run. anyway, I never have been able to write anything worthwhile that was short.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Crimonie!

The best length is whatever the publisher says it will be.

 

[lilgrasshoppah]

and i read somewhere that bigger is better?

where was that? Oh yat, the enzyte email...