Story Lengths

I agree. You just have to hold my interest. If you don't I throw it back as I have a reading list at least 3 feet deep and hold list at my library that is as long. I never think that I'm obligated to finish anything if you as writer can't hold me. Life is too short and I no longer have any professors, paddle in hand, to force me to finish anything I'm bored with.


I suspect that this is all to true and it's a very sad truth.

I've read novels in a single sitting, and not short ones either. But that was when I had more time.

If you think about the books that you read and how you read them it will give you a pretty fair idea on how to post your writings here. Through trial and error Adam and I found that most people are good with around 5,000 words at a go. Since our stories tend to run to millions we have to break them down into bite sized peices and all I can tell you about where to break them up is the old "leave 'em wanting more" adage. If you give people what they want and then end it they won't come back for more but if you give them what they want and then dangle more in front of them they will.

The problem with so many stories is that people tend to write for others. Write for yourself and the rest falls into place. All those things you learn in creative writing classes and later on journalism tend to hold water. Write what you know, write what you love, write for you. The rest is gravy.

I tend to agree, with Linda and Flopsy, that it takes quite a lot for any story with a word count of more than (say) 4000 to be sure of holding my attention. Perhaps, though, this is because I am learning that there is an optimum length for validating!

I'm sure you'd all want the validation process to continue as efficiently as at present.

It must be said, though, that I don't find it daunting if it's flagged up as a part of a serial - usually I am delighted to know that, if I like it , there is even more to come!

Thanks for all those comments! I didn't expect so many! It is good to get a view from others and I think my own instincts are in tune with the majority of the comments here.

xxxx

As Robert Cecil said to James I and VI when the Gunpowder Plot was folied: "The ending is a bit messy, but it's a good plot."

I write a fair number of the longer stories here. I know it puts some people off, but I want to establish atmosphere and character, and when I write with a broad outline in my mind I think of new twists I don't want to exclude. Personally I'm as likely to embark on a longish story as a short first episode of a serial: either way, I feel I ought to read the whole thing (unless I'm thoroughly bored or disgusted by the opeing bits) and when trying out a new author to me, I do tend to go for shorter submissions as a taster.

In answer to Jacqueline's original question, I think if you are going for episodes, 3-6,000 words makes sense. However, some stories can be broken up into episodes quite easily and others not. This is a matter of all sorts of things - some exciting, sexy action in each bit; natural shifts like the action moving from New York to Yorkshire, or from John's story to his daughter's; being able to end a part with a cliffhanger (something that makes the reader want to move on to the next part) are just a few. I would have been reluctant to have broken up my long story "For a Fistful of Knickers", for example, but "Parslow and the Policewoman" fell quite happily into four parts.

To me another issue is "Parts" verse "Chapters".

To me each Part should be a self contained story. Like when you pick up book five in a series and somewhere in the first couple of chapters you get a broad overview of what has gone before. In theory you should read those first four books but if the author's a pro then you can enter the series at anytime.

Chapters are just that, chapters of a longer story. When you get to chapter 5 the author assumes you got there by starting at page 1 and going forward and doesn't do any recapping. If you're one of the people who looks at a summary of where the good parts of a book are (say by reading one Steve Richardson's guides) then you are missing the plot and have to wonder about the physical descriptions of the characters involved.

I've seen some spanking stories in chapters and I've seen some spanking stories that are part of a series, and I'm torn over which is better. I'm currently working on two very long stories (one of which has taken a backseat because I need to finish the Christmas themed other) and while I've broken one into parts (at least two, but now I'm thinking three) the other could only be broken into chapters. Adding a "what came before" or "how we got here" bit would just interrupt the flow of the story too much...

But now I'm thinking episodes and how they fit in the Parts vs Chapters paradigm...

Goodgulf

I remember skiving off Uni for a day (in 1966), and lay on my bed apart from a pint and a pie at lunchtime,-(well, I knew my priorities!), to finish off Catch-22.
Which is one of my all time favourites-shame about the film.