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 Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 6:29 pm
Do you prefer reading/writing short stories? Or do you actually enjoy 20-30 chapters? Or do you not care as long as the story is keeping your attention?
I am currently in the middle of writing a chapter fic which has reached six chapters with a possible three more...
I would love to keep it under twelve or fifteen but it seems harder than it should be especially since I am still fumbling through some plot holes.
I want to add more characters and expand on the idea but the story technically doesn't NEED more since it was originally intended as a romance with a cheesy kidnapping under plot.
I feel that if I can't wrap it up under twelve chapters then I am doing it wrong. hah.
How about you folks?
How many chapters do you consider too long/short for a Fanfiction story?
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Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2014 9:10 pm
Black-Kat Jinx Do you prefer reading/writing short stories? Or do you actually enjoy 20-30 chapters? Or do you not care as long as the story is keeping your attention?
I am currently in the middle of writing a chapter fic which has reached six chapters with a possible three more...
I would love to keep it under twelve or fifteen but it seems harder than it should be especially since I am still fumbling through some plot holes.
I want to add more characters and expand on the idea but the story technically doesn't NEED more since it was originally intended as a romance with a cheesy kidnapping under plot.
I feel that if I can't wrap it up under twelve chapters then I am doing it wrong. hah.
How about you folks?
How many chapters do you consider too long/short for a Fanfiction story? One chapter is too short. Definitely. I'm even satisfied (or more satisfied) when a fanfic has two chapters, at least. But if they are going to be that short, I want a huge word count. When I was younger, I made some oneshots, but the words is overall nonexistent in my dictionary. Even if I wanted to make a oneshot, I usually end up adding onto it. It's just my nature... When I plot my story out, they can go for as long as...20 chapters. The most chapters I ever actually made it to in one of my own fanfics was 13 chapters. I really want to make longer chapters with huge word counts...
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Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 10:36 am
I feel that there is not really a thing as a preset requirement of chapters. A story only feels too short or long when the author does not properly execute their tale. I have read riveting one shots and deeply engaging stories that lasted until like chapter 80. Actually Crow in this very guild has a fanfiction that I deeply enjoy reading that is over fifty chapters at the moment and still very much on going.
You write however much you think is needed to make your point and to tell a riveting story. If you make it short, it is your job to make it flow and still give enough information in that small of a setting. If you make it long, it is your job to still keep everything interesting. There is no set chapter number.
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Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 1:38 pm
I have written a a few multi-chap fics that I have taken down (but one will be re-posted). One-shots are my forte for now. Like, most of them are fluff... but some are rather humorous. I am working on a few AU fanfictions, but I want to write a few chapters before I start posting, because I would like to update consistently.
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Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 10:38 pm
Night Kunoichi I feel that there is not really a thing as a preset requirement of chapters. A story only feels too short or long when the author does not properly execute their tale. I have read riveting one shots and deeply engaging stories that lasted until like chapter 80. Actually Crow in this very guild has a fanfiction that I deeply enjoy reading that is over fifty chapters at the moment and still very much on going. You write however much you think is needed to make your point and to tell a riveting story. If you make it short, it is your job to make it flow and still give enough information in that small of a setting. If you make it long, it is your job to still keep everything interesting. There is no set chapter number. It makes me slightly uneasy that you mentioned my story, but thank you. sweatdrop Let's see... On topic, I prefer to read multi-chapter fics (currently reading a story that's on the 75th chapter) but on the rare occasion I'll read a one-shot. However, I'll only read a one-shot if it has a nice word count. To me, a nice word count for a one-shot is 10,000+ words or 20+ pages. But, again, that's personal preference (which is the question) and I really enjoy reading rich, vibrant stories that take me on a journey. With writing, I also tend to stick with multi-chapter fics and as Kunoichi pointed out I have an active story that goes beyond 20-30 chapters. Although it may seem like I have a bias, I really don't. I've read some fantastic stories that are only about 18 chapters; it's all about how the author tells the tale. That being said, I don't think there is such a thing as too many or too few chapters as long as a story is still being told. I sorta feel like some people think that because it's "only" fanfiction, a story has no right to be lengthy and involved. I hardly think that's the case and I encourage all fanfic writers to let their imaginations run wild without thinking of silly things like chapter caps.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 9:52 pm
Chasing, chasing after the one in my dreams
That is like no one else
With a feeling that burns like it's kindling the dawn
♚ I tend to read fics with at least 15 chapters... I like long ones. But they tend to get boring after awhile. I have a multi-chapter that I've been working on (stuck because of writer's block) but it isn't super long... ♚
I don't know yet what the consequences will be
Instead of these boring times, it's gotta be dramatic
Until we achieve that, believe in wonderland!
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Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 1:54 pm
I tend to like at least fics of 10k or more, mostly because, if you've gotten that far it seems less likely to be a disaster.
I've been wrong before, though.
Rarely, very rarely, I find pretty much perfect ones under 1k.
I don't mind reading anything though, if it's well written. Length isn't the biggest criteria for me, you know?
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Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2014 9:13 am
It depends on the story and the writer, truthfully. If the story gets its point across in an engaging manner, one chapter will suffice. Likewise, sometimes a story needs many chapters just to get to a point where the ending is satisfying.
I personally have written stories with less than four chapters, as well as upwards of sixteen. It really depends.
Similarly, I don't discriminate based on chapter number. If the story is good, I'll read it regardless.
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Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2014 8:08 pm
Medium.
I prefer reading and writing medium sized fics. Not to short that you're left unsatisfied and wanting more. But still not so long that it feels drawn-out, overflowing with pointless filler, flat-line humor, and crappy OCs. Something longer than 3 chapters but shorter than 25. Usually, I will not read anything longer than 25 chapters.
One time I did read through a 40 chapter fic, but that was because I started it when it was still only 4 chapters and it just kept being updated and before I knew it, it was 800k words and 41 chapters.
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Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 7:02 pm
Honestly, I don't think length matter too much, so long as it's a decent plot, and the story doesn't stray from said plot too often.
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Posted: Sun Aug 24, 2014 2:16 am
Well, I'm going to talk in terms of word count rather than number of chapters, because word count is a much better point of comparison. There are a couple of fandoms I like reading fics from, and I've noticed that one tends to do shorter chapters (1k-5k words on average) while the other tends to do much longer chapters (3k-10k words on average). You wouldn't really get the scope of work by comparing let's say one 10 chapter story from one of those fandoms to one 10 chapter story from the other fandom - on the extreme end of it, that would be like comparing a 10k word story and a 100k word story, both 10 chapters long, and saying that you like them because they're 10 chapters. (On a side note, the shorter-chapter fandom is a younger crowd than the longer-chapter fandom, in case you're interested… perhaps demographics play a part in average story lengths in a fandom).
In my writing, I tend to do one-shots and poems. I've only got a small handful of completed chaptered fics. Everything that I've got posted online is complete. Everything else is in the works and I will be completing things from now on before I post them. I am working on more chaptered fics, and even more one-shots, but it'll probably be a while yet before I post anything again (well, maybe some of those one-shots will come on out sooner than later). Looking at my history, it seems that the majority of my one-shots are under 3k words (with a couple exceptions), and my poems are under 500 words each. My completed chaptered fics span from 6k to 60k words.
Most of my stuff online is years old (I haven't posted much in the past 7 years… only 5 one-shots). I expect that my newer work will actually be a bit longer (well, the chaptered stories seem to be heading that way… the one-shots still seem to be mostly in the under-3k crowd, with a few exceptions… I just know this one particular one is going to be a pretty long one-shot… I blame my best friend; whenever I discuss a story idea with her, it ends up becoming much larger than originally intended, but in a good way, 'cause she's really good at pointing out character development stuff that makes stories stronger…).
As for reading fanfics, it depends on what I'm in the mood for (and what I have time for). I like reading both one-shots and chaptered fics. Sometimes I'm in the mood for something really short (under 5k words). Sometimes I'm in the mood for around 10k words (short-medium). Sometimes I'm in the mood for 20-30k words (medium). Sometimes 40k (long-medium). Sometimes 60k (long). When it gets to 70k and beyond, I need a really compelling reason to read it: for example, if I saw someone highly recommend it, or it has such an interesting summary I can't resist, or I've been reading it since the beginning and I didn't notice it get beyond that point.
So, I have read some longer stories (a few around the 100k word mark, and one past a whopping 1million words! That one was because it was highly recommended, it is one of the top-ten faved stories in the fandom, had a ton of fanart, and was a decent read, etc, but honestly, I still think it DIDN'T NEED to be that long… seriously, at some point you've just gotta tell a more concise and focused story, because longer doesn't always equal better… in fact, I had a prof in university who discussed with us the difficulty and importance of writing good summaries, and how much of an impact you can have with such a small amount of words).
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