Story length and reading habits

[Writer61]

I mostly read on desktop, occasionally on phone or tablet.

3-5 pages (10-15k words) is the length that works best for me. I don't mind multi-part stories as long as each chapter is approximately that size.

My own writing tends to be shorter, about 6k words on average, but that is rising. My next story is 23k in total so I am considering splitting it; the only problem the only good breaks are 6k in and 6k from the end.

 

[Helen_Highwater]

Hi everyone - I'm new here having recently discovered I love both reading and writing smutty stuff. This is definitely my new favourite hobby.

I'm curious how most people read stories. I've only ever read Lit stories on my phone and maybe have a short attention span, so I usually like things that are between 1-3 pages on the Lit site. (So maybe more short stories?)

But I see there are lots of stories that are much longer and there are tons of extended series as well. Are people reading on Kindles or other devices that make reading long stories and saving progress easier?

And as a related follow up, do you have favourite story lengths? I searched and saw forum discussions about chapters vs single posts, but I'm curious if there's an overall length sweet spot that anyone as found.

Thanks!

Hi, WanderForLust, I'm very new here although I've been writing all kinds of stuff for years.

I've noticed that many of the stories here are very long and in multiple parts. Is that what the Lit readers here go for? It's not really my style. Like you I prefer a shorter story, both to read and write. For writing, 5,000 words is the most I usually do.

Helen

 

[NuclearFairy]

Hi, WanderForLust, I'm very new here although I've been writing all kinds of stuff for years.

I've noticed that many of the stories here are very long and in multiple parts. Is that what the Lit readers here go for? It's not really my style. Like you I prefer a shorter story, both to read and write. For writing, 5,000 words is the most I usually do.

Helen

Longer stories take longer to write, so most of my stories are actually on the short side (Somewhere around 3k words) There is an audience for different kinds of stories. Some people only like the longer ones, other people only like the shorter ones, and some people will only read the longer ones if it's published all in one block, whereas others will only read them if it's broken up into parts. Just ya know, write how you like and you'll find your audience.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

PC only ... 24" screen

I care barely see the mobile screens let alone read anything on them.

If a story has more than 4 or 5 pages, I back out.

 

[Helen_Highwater]

PC only ... 24" screen

I care barely see the mobile screens let alone read anything on them.

If a story has more than 4 or 5 pages, I back out.

I entirely agree.

I never saw the point of making everything small and fiddly. Especially keyboards. And screens.

Is it also really weird of me that I hate keys that give no positive physical response? Or that I prefer clicky, buzzy things with knurled knobs, chunky switches

 

[ElectricBlue]

I've noticed that many of the stories here are very long and in multiple parts. Is that what the Lit readers here go for? It's not really my style. Like you I prefer a shorter story, both to read and write. For writing, 5,000 words is the most I usually do.

You'll find all sorts here, but the "traditional" short story rules don't always apply. There's a general consensus that a good chapter length for those longer stories you mention, is 2 - 3 Lit pages (7k - 10k words), and yes, there's an appetite for long stories. Much longer stories!

The longest single submission I've seen was 80+ pages, up around 300,000 words. There are also very long multi-chapter stories, anecdotally, a million words or more.

The thing new erotica writers often overlook is that a primary purpose of an erotic story is arousal and release. To do that you've got to give readers time, and obviously the right content, to get on with it, to get there. An unsatisfying too short story can be, well, disappointing. Your story might not get the comment, but maybe the next one will.

The trick is to mix the right content with good timing, but not worry too much about the length...

 

[Dearelliot]

I'd love to read hard cover porn but not likely...I used to love "Travellers Companion" soft cover ...not sure they still print them

 

[dirk2024]

Hi everyone - I'm new here having recently discovered I love both reading and writing smutty stuff. This is definitely my new favourite hobby.

I'm curious how most people read stories. I've only ever read Lit stories on my phone and maybe have a short attention span, so I usually like things that are between 1-3 pages on the Lit site. (So maybe more short stories?)

But I see there are lots of stories that are much longer and there are tons of extended series as well. Are people reading on Kindles or other devices that make reading long stories and saving progress easier?

And as a related follow up, do you have favourite story lengths? I searched and saw forum discussions about chapters vs single posts, but I'm curious if there's an overall length sweet spot that anyone as found.

Thanks!

I read mostly on a Kindle, making use of the +3 font size and grey background options. I occasionally read on my laptop as well.

I prefer stories that are 3-4 Lit pages long. I do read some that are longer, but I break those into multiple sessions, which is a little annoying.

This question turned out way more interesting than I expected. Can you say more about re-reading stories? Do you re-read many? For me knowing the resolution of the story takes away some mystique or someething like that. Do you try to forget what's going to happen? Or do you like knowing what's next?

I don't re-read many, though I haven't been a member long. Perhaps a few years down the road, I might intentionally re-read some of the more desirable stories, after my memory has deleted many of the pertinent details.

 

[GrantBricksly]

I mostly read on my phone... occasionally on my PC, or laptop.

I have never read a 1 page story that I truly enjoyed. It's just too short to have any sort of story/character development.
Most of my stories are 6k+ I try to hit around 10k (my current series, that is my minimum threshold before I'm willing to submit/publish. I have written a few (not all published) 30k stories that I'm quite happy with.

In general, I find that the longer they are, the better. But I don't just write or read for physical pleasure. I write and read for the plot, for the story. If the story is nothing but a stroker...I'm not really interested. I want details. I want plot. I want characters that I care about.

 

[BeautyInTheStruggle]

I'm new to being a member but I've been reading for years, I will read any length if the subjects are right and it "feels" right to me, easy to tell usually in the first chapter or definitely by the first sex scene.

I read on desktop and laptop computers, tablet and phone, I personally probably prefer on the computer. When I'm looking for something to read I do like someone mentioned above, open all the likely suspects in different tabs and then look through them to find one I like and read it, closing the rest. If I find more than one I like Ill save the others in my links to read later.

I do go back and reread the few stories that I really liked / were exactly what I was looking for.