Keeping it short

Hi guys,

Over the years I've jotted down the odd tale for my own entertainment (never published). Apart from noticing that my own drivel is not as good as what is published here, I see a difference in the length of the tales: many stories here are kept quite short - a couple of thousand words - whereas mine tend to waffle on much longer.

Reading on this site, I'm starting to learn the concept of keeping it short and to boil stories down the bare essentials.

What experiences do you guys have in finding the right story length? Is less more? And / or does the reading public demand a shorter story?

I've written a number of epics that have done well here. If you write a good story people will read it to the end.

Don't be so sure! Most of us are rank amateurs.

OK, here is my take:
I've seen notable exceptions, long stories that have done very well, but I think that 5000 words is a good maximum for the LSF. My first stories, written for no particular audience, tended to be endless monsters. Now I write a story, and then go back and cut...and cut.

Here is how I do it:
I let a story "soak" for a couple days, and then go back and read it word-for-word. Almost always, I can find shorter ways of saying things, and cut at least 10% of the words out of my stories on the first proofreading. After I've proofread & re-written my story, I let it "soak" again and repeat the process. Almost always, errors and wordiness jumps out at me. Typically I repeat the process three times before I publish.

Speak for yourself!


I've found that readers are more, not less, likely to read a somewhat longer story than one of, say, only 1,000 - 1,500 words. I think, though, that Guy may be right that anything much over 5,000 words will receive diminished attention, which is why such stories are often divided into segments for posting.

When I write, I go until I've said what I've had to say. I think a tight shorter story of 1,000 +/~ words still can and should have some character development and plot, rather than merely a description of a spanking. I write many short stories that accomplish this, IMHO. There are certainly longer stories waiting to me told, some of which I've even tried my hand at.

I say - write what pleases you, rather than aiming for a particular length.

ErikSisd;

I don't write, I read, but I read a lot. As a reader my advise is, don't try to write what I or any other reader would like. Write what you would want to read. If it works for you, it will work for someone here. We all have such varied tastes, you can't try to fit us all.

Just the opinion of a reader.

I do the same thing as Guy does. When I published my first story in an anthology, I learned from the publisher that it was accepted, but some paragraphs could have been said with much shorter wording. After being published six or seven times, I kept that idea ever present. I did the same with my first two published novels, too. Over and over again I read each chapter and edited out what wasn't really needed. The sky is blue and the grass is green becomes boring real quick.

When I write something lengthy from now on, I tend to write it in parts. I keep each part a bit over 2K or under. Every publisher I've worked with says the same thing. Less is better. However, the length of the story is as long as it takes to tell it. A little plot behind the spanking story doesn't hurt. I like to know the where's and why's myself. I've learned a great deal here at the LSF and I keep on learning as I go along.

As a published author, I feel I'm a good writer, but I've learned here at the LSF that there are some tremendous writers here that make me shake my head in amazement. I think most of the readers here at the library are looking for, not only spanking stories, but a well written story. A story that keeps them scrolling down for more. I not only toot my own horn here, but others as well. They're well deserving to hear that horn blast.

catmama
"As a reader my advise is, don't try to write what I or any other reader would like"
Always excellent advice.

However, as someone who is paid essentially to write (although not fiction) I find Guy's advice useful. I have editors, in academic and journalistic contexts, tell me that almost all writing can be trimmed by 10% without harming content at all. I frequently shoot for that myself. There are certainly authors who tend toward the terse, who could do well to add more elaboration, but I find if I cut some of the adjectives and atmosphere, I convey the same meaning more efficiently.

Of course the other part of this is, if your writing can be broken into smaller parts, one can always do a serial of stories. I have written some stories with 2 parts and then some with 10 parts. As the serials gets longer the number of views will drop off, because most viewers will not read part 7 if they have missed the previous parts and generally will not seek out part 1 on their own.

You can also write in a series, which can be stand alone stories with a note on top saying they are related to the same characters or circumstances as the other stories. For myself I have found these type of stories much more successful then a serial but many writers may argue that fact.

The best advice is already given, no matter how you decide to write, do it to make you happy. Don't worry about the rest of us, we always appreciate and know the hard work it takes to write any story. I do believe the vast majority of writers on site would tell you they never thought their writing was good enough to be on site when they first submitted a story. If it makes it past the admins, and they are easiest on new writers, it is certainly good enough for the rest of us.

Looking forward to your stories, and remember, have fun.

CS

I find that for most of my writing,. 2000 +- 200 works.
In that time, I can do some creative writing as an introduction, get one or two spanking scenes, a storyline and a F/F love scene in. For M/F, the love scene could be 100 words shorter .....or the whole episode could perhaps end prematurely

Pick a favorite accomplished author that inspires you and see how they do it.

As I rarely doing anything under 2,000 words I must be in the minority here.