Okay, so. A few times now I've gotten the feedback that readers would like my stories to be longer. Now, aside from the fact that I wondered why they don't just read another one, I'm also wondering what the best length of a story would be.
Mine are usually between 2000 and 3000 words long, which, at an average reading speed, would take about 10 minutes to finish. That's enough for myself to come at least once, so I figured it'd be sufficient. But I've seen stories that are much much longer than that (and I personally don't have the patience to read through them), so I was wondering: What would be the optimal length of a story, like in reading time, or word count?
Join the best erotica focused adult social network now
Login
How long do you like it to be? I mean the story, of course...
last reply
7 replies
1.5k views
0 watchers
0 likes
Advanced Wordsmith
Think length is an odd criticism. Maybe they are looking for a depth of detail. The optimal length of a story is how ever long it takes to tell the story.. whether that be 10 minutes or 10,000 words.
People say, "I wish it were longer" and it could be good or bad.
If they love the setting, situation, characters - it means they just want to stay immersed in that world longer. Maybe they thought the character was fascinating and if you wrote novel they might love to read it. This is actually what you want to hear as an author time to time - even if you have written a novel or a series, this means you've created a fan of your work.
If it's because they feel you skimped on detail or didn't give a proper ending then it's a problem. This means that the next time perhaps you should spend more time building setting and characters - etc.
I'm sure there are other ways it can be interpreted - clarity is helpful such as, "I wish your comment was longer - so I can understand what on earth you mean."
If they love the setting, situation, characters - it means they just want to stay immersed in that world longer. Maybe they thought the character was fascinating and if you wrote novel they might love to read it. This is actually what you want to hear as an author time to time - even if you have written a novel or a series, this means you've created a fan of your work.
If it's because they feel you skimped on detail or didn't give a proper ending then it's a problem. This means that the next time perhaps you should spend more time building setting and characters - etc.
I'm sure there are other ways it can be interpreted - clarity is helpful such as, "I wish your comment was longer - so I can understand what on earth you mean."
Rookie Scribe
long!
Quote by MiliI suspect a young person can "get off" quite quickly hence a short story. Old "geezers" need a lot longer stimulation sic longer stories.
Okay, so. A few times now I've gotten the feedback that readers would like my stories to be longer. Now, aside from the fact that I wondered why they don't just read another one, I'm also wondering what the best length of a story would be.
Mine are usually between 2000 and 3000 words long, which, at an average reading speed, would take about 10 minutes to finish. That's enough for myself to come at least once, so I figured it'd be sufficient. But I've seen stories that are much much longer than that (and I personally don't have the patience to read through them), so I was wondering: What would be the optimal length of a story, like in reading time, or word count?
Advanced Wordsmith
Too long and I get bored! Not reading a novel! If I wanted to read a long story I would either buy a book or down load one. If I'd finished a long story on here it would have to be well written. Just my 2 bobs worth!
Wouldn't you rather have a nice cup of tea?
Quality over quantity.
It takes a lot of skill to write an engaging story. I don't like stories where two random people are suddenly having sex - as a general rule, if they're screwing in the first 500 words, I won't bother reading it. I find that boring - I'm one of those people who actually enjoys a plot to set up the sex. On the other hand, a lot of stories introduce characters, and then do nothing with them for several thousand words before they spontaneously end up having sex. A well-paced story should give the sense that it's building towards some inevitable climax, and focus more on the journey (the suspense, the tension) instead of the destination. If you can do that, then I'll stick with the story whether it's 2000 words or 10 000 (or more).
It takes a lot of skill to write an engaging story. I don't like stories where two random people are suddenly having sex - as a general rule, if they're screwing in the first 500 words, I won't bother reading it. I find that boring - I'm one of those people who actually enjoys a plot to set up the sex. On the other hand, a lot of stories introduce characters, and then do nothing with them for several thousand words before they spontaneously end up having sex. A well-paced story should give the sense that it's building towards some inevitable climax, and focus more on the journey (the suspense, the tension) instead of the destination. If you can do that, then I'll stick with the story whether it's 2000 words or 10 000 (or more).
Don't believe everything that you read.
Advanced Wordsmith
To Mili actually I would say write the way you feel comfortable with doing, Not everyone is going to like it. they can lump it if they don't. If my chapter or story is long i usually split chapters in two parts depending on how many words. or material i can get in.