Oggbashan's Revenge

[Rumple Foreskin]

The Great Oggbashan has a well-deserved reputation for both the quality of his submissions and for their substantial length. In the past, AH folks have wondered whether mulit-page stories get fewer and lower votes because readers were, presumably, less likely to start and finish these epics and those that did might be just a tad surly.

Turns out the reverse may be the case. I checked the Top Lists for most of the major Lit categories (EC, Incest, Loving Wives, etc) and, to my surprise, multi-page stories dominate these lists. In Lesbian, for instance, only two of the top 25 stories are single pagers. Some of the others categories had no single page stories in their top ten.

I have no idea how valid or useful this information is or how it might relate to Lit writing contests. But just FYI, I'm passing it along.

Rumple Foreskin

ps: The longest story I came across was a 17 page behemoth.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

All of my stories are pretty long, with rare exception 3 lit pages. I don't dominate the top lists, but the do pretty well

-Colly

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

All of my stories are pretty long, with rare exception 3 lit pages. I don't dominate the top lists, but the do pretty well

-Colly

Mama told me never argue with a lady, ('cause I was bound to lose.) So let's just say that with 5 of the top 21 stories to your credit, if you don't dominate the Lesbian list, you sure do exercise a strong influence.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[oggbashan]

I wouldn't call it my revenge.

Many of those top multi-part stories take the same characters through mind-boggling sex over and over again in each episode. Each 'Chapter' can be read as a single sex scene. Some writers are brilliant at producing erotica sex with subtle variation.

My stories try to be stories with some sex, even if only implied. Sometimes that works. 'Brigit' is highly rated yet the sex is infrequent and fairly bland by Lit standard. If I was to cut and paste some of the sex scenes from the top rated chapters mentioned I might get higher ratings but I'd be cheating.

I envy the skill shown by some of those consistently in the Top Lists even if I wouldn't want to emulate them. They are writing what the majority of Lit readers seem to prefer. I know I have a limited audience that I appreciate. I would never accuse the others of prostituting their art because they are not. They are writing with skill and finesse in a genre I can't do. If I tried to do their genre I would fail. What makes me try to do improve is that some of them can write my genre better than I AND they include fantastic sex.

Multi-parts work if each episode stands genuinely as an entity. If you need to have read Ch. 01-15 before reading 16 then reads, votes and ratings will drop. When I write 5 Lit pages for a chapter the chances of a reader surviving to read Chapter 12 are remote.

Og

PS. Colly deserves her ratings. Her stories are good reads even if Lesbian isn't your thing.

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

Og,

I agree, approximately 100%, with what you said about multi-part stories and the quality of Colly's work. However, strange as this may seem, (and hard as it is for me to communicate clearly,) most of the stories in question, those in the top ten list of various categories, were stand-alone stories with anywhere from two to severnteen pages in length.

I wasn't trying to do a scientific, item analysis, so I can't quantify the details. However, I do remember that most stories were over two pages in length, with five-to-seven pages about average.

I started checking because my holiday contest entry. a Lesbian story, has over 200 votes but a score of 4.37 that's gradually falling. Colly had indicated it might be a tad skimpy of the emotional side so I decided to see what was the typical length of a successful Lesbian story. That all but two of the top twenty-five were multi-page, whether single-entry or multi-part, that seemed to confirm my assumption. I'd been too brief.

Just to compare and contrast, I began checking other categories and discovered the same outcome. Multi-page stories, both single-entry and multi-parters, dominated the top lists.

I'm just sharing this as a "for whatever it's worth" item.

Rumple Foreskin

 

[Quiet_Cool]

Mama told me never argue with a lady, ('cause I was bound to lose.) So let's just say that with 5 of the top 21 stories to your credit, if you don't dominate the Lesbian list, you sure do exercise a strong influence.

Rumple Foreskin

Gotta appreciate a woman who can influence lesbians...



Q_C

 

[Goldie Munro]

You sure do!!

 

[Weird Harold]

those in the top ten list of various categories, were stand-alone stories with anywhere from two to severnteen pages in length.

I wasn't trying to do a scientific, item analysis, so I can't quantify the details. However, I do remember that most stories were over two pages in length, with five-to-seven pages about average.

I think what you're seeing is simply a confirmation of the adage that "It is harder to write a short story than a novel."

A Lit page runs 3500-4000 words -- in main-stream publishing, what is considered a "short-short story." When you're trying to tell a story in 4000 words or less, each word has to be perfectly chosen and it takes more skill and/or talent to tell a story that grabs the reader and moves them to vote on it in that few words.

The story length you're seeing are the equivalent of 15,000 to 24,000 words -- what main-stream publishers consider a "Short Story" -- short enough toe be comfortably be read online but long enoughthat every word doesn't have to be perfectly and precisely chosen.

In short, the lengths you're seeing are simple easier to write well enough to grab a reader's emotions and move them to vote.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Og,

I agree, approximately 100%, with what you said about multi-part stories and the quality of Colly's work. However, strange as this may seem, (and hard as it is for me to communicate clearly,) most of the stories in question, those in the top ten list of various categories, were stand-alone stories with anywhere from two to severnteen pages in length.

I wasn't trying to do a scientific, item analysis, so I can't quantify the details. However, I do remember that most stories were over two pages in length, with five-to-seven pages about average.

I started checking because my holiday contest entry. a Lesbian story, has over 200 votes but a score of 4.37 that's gradually falling. Colly had indicated it might be a tad skimpy of the emotional side so I decided to see what was the typical length of a successful Lesbian story. That all but two of the top twenty-five were multi-page, whether single-entry or multi-part, that seemed to confirm my assumption. I'd been too brief.

Just to compare and contrast, I began checking other categories and discovered the same outcome. Multi-page stories, both single-entry and multi-parters, dominated the top lists.

I'm just sharing this as a "for whatever it's worth" item.

Rumple Foreskin

Hey rumps, I'll offer a partial explanation. Men, by and large, are more visual in their enjoyment of erotica. Women seem to enjoy written erotica more than say, the big sites with tons of pictures and streaming video.

Working on the assumption that as many of the readers here are women as men, the trend among women is to want something a little less shallow. that's not to say women don't read stroke, looking for that little extra mind candy to help the vibe or fingers along, but it is to say most women readers want to know a little more about the characters than 44DD tits or an 11 inch rock hard erection.

Developing any depth of character in a one page lit story is something only the truly gifted can do, as OG says each word has to be chosen carefully. Those writers who add the extra words and scenes to develop characters will generall go to multiple pages and with developed characters probably garner better votes.

Random thoughts from a drugged up Colly.

p.s. Thanks to both you and Oggs for the votes of confidence

 

[mtnman2003]

Short versus long....

Short can be good, if used correctly. But bigger is better!

In writing my stories, I have found that chapter length allows me to finalize the current "story" where more may come in the next chapter.

As Og indicated, with great length, the sex must vary, and typically gets done with little variations.

The ones I get tired of reading are the ones that ramble between many lustful partners, all wanting the others partner, without even developing some cohesion between the primary persons in which the story revolves.

My nickels worth.