Long Stories vs. Chapters

[EarlyDawn1973]

Hi, I'm not sure if this has been discussed recently. I was just trying to get an idea of which type of story telling is more popular. Do you perfer long complete stories or stories that are broken down into chapters?

 

[Bazzle]

I personally prefer to put it all out there. Give the reader a chance to read it.
I would always be worried that they would not come back!
If publishing on a message board like this, chapters is fine, because you bump your story back to the top. However with lit, you are relying on the reader checking back to find the next chapter?

 

[EarlyDawn1973]

Ah, very good point! I did my first story as chapters figuring it would keep readers intrigued with what happens next. Views dropped off quite a bit as the chapters went on so I am thinking about doing my next as one complete story....

 

[SyleusSnow]

This has been asked over on the Writer's Hangout a few times.

From what I've seen, Lit readers prefer complete stories that are 4-5 Lit pages long (a Lit "page" being around 3750 words).

As you've discovered, reader views tend to fall off with each chapter, but on the other hand many readers won't touch single stories with high word counts... too much time investment and some writers just love to ramble.

I think it comes down to the story itself, whether it can be told well in one page or 20, but if a story can be broken into chapters, each one ending with a suitable hook to interest the reader in more, I'd tend to go that way.

 

[EarlyDawn1973]

I did try to end each chapter with a bit of a "what happens next?" ending. It did seem to work by some of the comments I received. I like the chapters because I like the build up to the climax. Maybe it's not about pleasing everyone but what the writer likes to do.

 

[WillyBoyIsHere]

Are we allowed to publish instalments, and then when the story is complete - repost the whole thing?

 

[EarlyDawn1973]

I'm really not sure..I was actually wondering that myself with the story I posted but after it was done I kind of just let it be.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I prefer really long stories. Ones where you can develop the characters, the world, the plot. With that approach I feel I am most comfortable doing chapters that are usually 10-12k words long. That way I give myself the time to think about the whole story, change/evolve some initial idea and so on. That way also I can leave the story open for later additions. I understand that isn't ideal for the people who want to experience the whole story right away, but it is as good as it gets.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Maybe it's not about pleasing everyone but what the writer likes to do.

You can't please everyone, so don't try. Some people only read short stories, others only read long ones.

The longest stand-alone story I've seen here (since taken down and published commercially) was around 80 Lit pages, about 300,000 words. I personally would have chaptered that one to make it easier for readers to navigate, but the author chose not to.

As mentioned above, whenever this is discussed over in the Authors Hangout (which it is, often), the consensus is that an optimum chapter length is around 2 - 4 Lit pages (around 8000 - 10000 words). It seems to be a sweet spot.

There are pros and cons of releasing chapters as you write them, versus writing the whole thing and then publishing, but with regular gaps between each chapter. Both methods work.

Finally, chaptered stories nearly always have a drop off in Views - my experience is, you'll see a fifty per cent drop in Views between chapters one and two, and other drop by half by chapter three. At that point, it's usually steady state(ish) to the end, where you have readers loyal to the story. This also gives you an idea how many people are actually reading the whole story - don't ever think Views in a stand-alone equates to Reads.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Are we allowed to publish instalments, and then when the story is complete - repost the whole thing?

You don't need to bother - the site automatically joins chaptered stories up so that they link together - all you need to do is put Ch.01, Ch.02 etc in the heading, and the site does the joining up.

 

[KeithD]

Are we allowed to publish instalments, and then when the story is complete - repost the whole thing?

No. The site permits only one version of the story to be posted. It may get posted but only if the site doesn't realize a chaptered version already exists.

 

[Bazzle]

I find my shorter stories get higher number of votes...I guess that is because people actually finish them to give them a vote.
My longer form stories have the same number of readers, but far less votes!

 

[TheRedChamber]

I find my shorter stories get higher votes...I guess that is because people actually finish them to give them a vote.
My longer form stories have the same number of readers, but far less votes!

Yep, I think this is pretty common phenomenon. It's a fairly depressing reminder that not every view actually means a read.

 

[Bazzle]

@EarlyDawn1973

I've now read your story. Its a lovely little story and has taught me about wrestling moves

Thanks again,

B

 

[EarlyDawn1973]

@EarlyDawn1973

I've now read your story. Its a lovely little story and has taught me about wrestling moves

Thanks again,

B

Thank you! Now I feel like I have accomplished something today!!!

 

[Bazzle]

Thank you! Now I feel like I have accomplished something today!!!

I have left some feed back in Chapter 4...they are mainly questions. I hope not to be too critical. I like to work on the reverse of the saying "a painting writes a thousand words." So we need to write a thousand words to draw a painting. My questions related to what I think are holes in the painting. However those holes could be purposeful holes. So you can tell me to but out!

The plot is different and exciting. Well done!