Story Too Long?

[3113]

Right now, I'm not sure how to go anymore. In the past I followed the rule of splitting longer stories up into chapters of 3-4 lit pages when I can and I've gotten roasted by some of my readers for splitting up the story

I find that really strange. I've written three stories that were two-parters and no one ever said a word about it. I've read other writers who broke up stories into several chapters and every time the only comment I've ever seen is "Can't wait till the next chapter" NEVER a comment "roasting" the author for breaking it up.

Ooops, wait...almost all your stories are "Loving Wives" aren't they? Okay. THat explains why readers would want a non-stop, 10-lit page story. Sorry, capecodmercury, but LW readers are a different breed (*cough* obsessed! *cough*). You CAN get readers like that in other categories, but they really flock to LW in droves. They want the whole story and they want it NOW!

To continue: Yes, some stories are gripping and keep us up late at night and we want to read it all. I'm saying this from the persepective of a reader who plows through 300 page novels sometimes in a day--staying up late to read the end. But keep in mind that most readers haven't that kind of need to read. Even those who like to read sometimes get distracted, or easily put off when they feel they have to committ themselves to something long rather than short--especially on the internet.

So from the perspective of a WRITER, I believe it is a good thing to give readers chapters and breaks--whether they like it or not. Cliff-hangers even. Writers often dont' think about this, but really, chapters create a way to keep the story and the reader energized. This is one of the reasons people found Harry Potter so irresistable. It was very cleverly broken up into chapters--each one gave you a story--but also, usually contained a mystery to be solved later. Some contained a larger mystery as well that related to the novel's entire story and some an even larger mystery that would be solved in another book.

If Harry Potter had been one long read, no chapters, no breathers, no cliff-hangers, then readers would not have been nearly so hyped. Those chapters are what made people who didn't like to read, keep reading. They weren't too long, they satisfied, and yet they also left the reader wanting more. Hence...LOTS of readers for Harry Potter.

That my humble opinion on the subject.

 

[Huckleman2000]

First sentence- right in the middle of the sex! Then you backtrack, and tell it all over again.

Hehe, now THAT's a useful tip. Suckers me in every time!

 

[MagicaPractica]

I tried to go check it out but it isn't under your user name. Did you post it under a different name?

 

[Oblimo]

First sentence- right in the middle of the sex! Then you backtrack, and tell it all over again.

I've heard of in medius res but in medius coitus? Wouldn't that be in medius don't-you-dare-interrupt-us?

 

[Weird Harold]

Right now, I'm not sure how to go anymore. In the past I followed the rule of splitting longer stories up into chapters of 3-4 lit pages when I can and I've gotten roasted by some of my readers for splitting up the story. My last story I posted as a one shot deal (10 lit pages & 70 single spaced manuscript pages) and I've gotten a bunch bout of the readers thanking me for posting it in one shot and another bunch telling me I should have split it.

3113 makes some good points about breaking up your stories into chapters.

Here at Lit there is one additional argument for breaking your story into multiple submissions -- it keeps your story on the new stories list longer.

Still, some stories lend themselves to serialization and others don't. If you serialize your stories, the breaking points for the episodes have to be based on more than word or page count. You need to take into consideraion that by serializing your story you're going to pick up new readers in the middle of the story who have no idea what happened in the previous chapters and you have to leave each chapter with some suspense so the readers will look for the next chapter.

That need for a cliff-hanger ending is a bit more urgent here at Lit because it's not just a single click to get to the next chapter as it is at some other sites. You have to inspire the reader to take the extra few steps required to find the next chapter.

 

[AchtungNight]

Harold: {nods} I've tried hard to keep that in mind with the series I've posted here.

 

[Weird Harold]

Harold: {nods} I've tried hard to keep that in mind with the series I've posted here.

I've actually toyed with writing a "Saturday Morning Serial" along the lines of an XXX-rated "Perils of Pauline." That format would be nearly perfect for Literotica, but I'm absolutely lousy at meeting deadlines.

 

[gauchecritic]

I've actually toyed with writing a "Saturday Morning Serial" along the lines of an XXX-rated "Perils of Pauline." That format would be nearly perfect for Literotica, but I'm absolutely lousy at meeting deadlines.

Write them first H, then when others get the idea it can become a regular chain/serial.

 

[golfadikt2]

rewriting

I've been utilizing the feedback in here to rewrite my story.

After I submitted it, I realized I had 1 underage person in the story and it was rejected (with good cause) (MAN! *I* missed it in typing it, those editors do a good job! KEEP IT UP!)

I'm working on redoing chapter 1, but it seems so damn long. I broke the entire thing up into 5 BIG chapters.

Chapter 1 deals with MM, MF, possible incest (that's the cliffhanger)
I should probably break this into 2 chapters, its so long

Chapter 2 takes place just after chapter 1 and it's the brother and sister cleaning up after the party. There's no incest in it, just the brother and sister telling each other about their 1st times having sex.
- this chapter should also probably be broken into two chapters...
-I'll post both of them in here before I resubmit them to the board and get y'alls opinions

Chapter 3, i'm thinking of deleting because after re-reading it, I just hate it... feels like it was written too fast
Chapter 4 deals with the male going off to basketball training for college and meeting the love of his life.
Chapter 5 is the actual 1st "real" date his love and he have.

 

[Aurora Black]

As long as it takes to tell the story, that's my motto.

I write serious pieces and smut pieces. My smut gets more reads and votes for obvious reasons, but my longer stories (4 pages minimum) are the most successful by far.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

I have two stories that are nine pages, and they are very successful. (60k and 75k views and lots of votes and comments.) One thing I do is include a little forward that "discloses" some things a reader might want to know. Here's the first thing a readers sees on opening my lesbian incest story:

Preface: The sex in this story begins on page three, in the section titled, "Mom's seduction," and the mother-daughter incest begins on page six, in the section titled, "The most forbidden fruit." Between these scenes is one called, "I'm going to fuck your daughter now . . ." The first two-and-one-half pages are a fantasy of a different sort and contain no sex.

That said, the next time I write a very long story it will be posted in chapters. However, I won't post the first until the entire thing is complete, because I would not want the writing to turn into a "duty" hanging over my head.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

I knew that my incest sega would take months ifnot years to finish, so as soon as I was finished with the first chapter I posted it, while working on the second chapter, and so on (I'm simultaneously working on chapters 4, 5 and the sequel, dumb).

I did that because I wanted to pad my story list, and so that I could get some feedback on it right away (I'm a whore for comments). However, I want to release the sequel of about elqual length in one big chapter. I want to have it be a dozen pages as one story and release it in one big heap of sex (sex scenes from the first page to the last, an all out fuckfest of gluttony).

On the other hand, I will only be releasing my tentacle sega as eppisodic content. I don't want any of it to be much longer than 2 lit pages. It doesn'tneed to be. A celebrity stumbles on a tentacle monster, she gets fucked silly, end of story (well, some will be a little more complicated, but not by much).

So, I don't know what to tell you. To each his own, even if that one person wants two different things.

 

[golfadikt2]

Edited

OK. i have RE and RE edited Chapter 1.
I'm looking for someone to proof-read it and tell me where I can break it into 2 parts. I'm having trouble figuring that out.

The story involves MM, MF, and a group orgy. A brother and sister see each other naked but thats about as far as the incest goes, or is it?

PM me with your email address and I'll shoot off this Word Document to you to proofread for me and give me suggestions. It's 31 MSWord pages long in 12 point type.

It just seems like that would be too many Lit pages for someone to sit and read....
Like you, thats too long. I'm a "whore" for feedback too and *I* wouldn't leave feedback for a story that long!

 

[Weird Harold]

I've actually toyed with writing a "Saturday Morning Serial" along the lines of an XXX-rated "Perils of Pauline."

Write them first H, then when others get the idea it can become a regular chain/serial.

I would indeed write at least 13 episodes before posting, but other than the basic concept, I haven't found a "plot bunny" that would work yet. Writing a parody of The Perils of Pauline wouldn't be all that difficult, but I had in mind something a bit more serious than a simple parody.

It's 31 MSWord pages long in 12 point type.

It just seems like that would be too many Lit pages for someone to sit and read....

How many words?

MS Word pages don't convert well to "Lit pages" because Word cares about how many paragraph breaks are on each page, where Lit breaks stories into pages based on the number of characters -- somewhere around 14,000 -15,000 characters -- to produce a page that is no bigger than 25KB.

The number of words is an easier approximation to compute. Each Lit page averages 3,767 words; figure 3,500 words/Lit page for easy computations.