What's your preferred story length to read?

Following on from this topic, I'm curious (as an author) what your favourite word count is when reading.

Are super short stories over before you've had a chance to enjoy yourself? Or do you enjoy the immediacy?

Do shorter stories get you going, or do you prefer to immerse yourself in longer works so you can take your time?

Does it depend on mood or genre? Or author? Or is there a particular length of story you prefer all the time?

Does it make a difference if it's a multi-part piece? Do you like a few shortish chapters published close together, or one long story in a single hit?

Put your thoughts here please, and pick your most often read length of story in the poll.

Thank you.

Reading these comp entries has really turned me on the economy needed in telling a tight 2000 word story.

Personally, when I get over 5k, I start looking where to cut.

I read a lot of micros when I can only be on for a few minutes. I prefer the ones that tell some sort of story rather than paint a single scene, but I don't see too many of those. But when I have time, I really like the 2-4K stories now. I'm really looking for some plot development and depth of characters rather than just sex. And a storyline or character I haven't read before.

I definitely prefer short chapters vs one really long story as long as chapters publish somewhat close together. And I like it when an author has cliffhangers between chapters.

But for some authors, I'll read any word length. The right author can make a long story fly and a short one feel like more.

And I read all genres. Titles draw me in before I look at genre.

I have one genre/category that I will never read from & I have that hidden. Other than that, I don't tend to look at the genre/category.
I generally look at the title when looking to read a story from the home page.
It depends on a few things as to the word count that I like reading. If I have time, if my eyes are not tired or sore, if I am in the mood I love reading the longer stories. I love the plot & character development. However, there are times when my eyes are just far too sore or tired to focus on so many words, so I tend to love reading the micros, flash & poems.
Having said all that, I think the most often read length of story I read is micros & poems.
All in all, I love reading what is offered here in the land of Lush.

Really, anything from micro up to maybe 5K words. 2-4K is where you start to have enough room for some decent plot and character development, though. I don't read as much as I should on here. Hard to make time in my life these days so I might read comp entries or authors I'm fond of and not much else. And even those are kind of hit and miss.

Like Kimmi, I want plot and characters, not just a random scene of anonymous fucking. It takes an insane amount of skill and talent to do that in 100 words, or even 1000, so I don't usually bother with those stories. My lower threshold for reading is around 2500. After that, it's more about the quality of the story than the word count.

I am the other one that voted for Micros -- surprise, surprise. I do read longer stuff, but not for the sexy bits, which frankly bore me most times. I want to see the writer's clever and there is no sharper test than 100 words that truly add up to a whole and not just a hole. It's not a common thing, but it does happen and it's a humbling joy.

Kistin ... cover your eyes for this sentence: stories are like cocks, its not the size its what you do with it.

I think of writing a bit like cricket (just lost half my audience) T-20, 50 overs and test cricket are different games requiring different approaches though the basic mechanics are the same.

When I came to Lush I'd never written anything under 10,000 words, I thought that was a short story. I learn't (well shamelessly imitated Wannabewordsmith) to write flash and got into micro when it became a category. I like them but they are specialist skills and I so admire those like Kistin and WW who can nail the shorter forms. But in terms of relaxing with a good book, I also like length as it gives the reader time to savour the development of plot and character.

That said around 3,500 words is a sweet spot on Lush, readers stay and its enough words to develop what I want to develop. Competitions are interesting and enjoyable as length becomes part of the challenge. I'm amazed how much harder the Free Spirit competition at 2000 words was compared to the Masturbation one at 2,500 words. But I loved doing both,for their unique challenges (and the even more radical Blue one a few competitions ago which was 500 words.)

My reading of late reflects my current status ... I will dip into stories not sure I can stay for long and in that case short is best. I'm also trying hard to support the competitions by reading them as a priority - and can I say I will read all the stories in this one which I haven't done in ages as the story length is shorter.

Echoing other comments so far, I think the sweet spot for most stories really is 2-4k words. That’s enough to develop a real story with details and desires that entice me as a reader. I will admit that when I see that a story is over 4000 words, or even much over 3000, my eyes sometimes glaze over or I try to find something shorter to read.

I think the current competition solidly anchored the low end (except maybe for chapters in multi-part stories). It’s just enough to tell a truly compelling story. But doing so within that constraint requires a lot of careful writing for clarity and economy, which may be why we are seeing such amazing entries in this round. Seems like a sweet spot, though there will always be a call for the occasional Flash competition or epic, as we had with the Noir one.

I should point out that although the Noir entries were fantastic, sadly months later these 10k-word masterpieces don’t seem to have racked up that many views. There’s a lot of value in balancing the need to fully and vividly tell a story with the need to do that in as few words as possible.

The poll is an excellent idea, I think this should be pinned at the top as it is very helpful for me. I do write for myself, however, I love feedback, and love an audience too.

Ideally, I try to aim for 3 to 4,000 words and in the early works, keeping it focussed was very difficult. I did enter the Free Spirit competition and 2,000 words to tell a story with something smutty in it was difficult as hell. I will write more, but when it gets to 7,000 editing is so hard, and I know words have to go. It is an exquisite form of torture.

What I did not expect is I love micros because they have really helped to expand my vocabulary. I must find words that could remove two or three and get it under the magic hundred.

Micros to 4,000 is my preference. It has to be very compelling and intriguing to hold my interest beyond that. I prefer to keep stories under 4,000, both for time it takes to read and to try and keep it interesting, although I have been asked to make my stories longer on occasion. I enjoy the series format, with a longer story broken into chapters. I find it easier to write, read, and develop in that format - and it makes me keep looking for next chapter! The quality of the micros and flash found on here is very high, so that always piques my interest as well. Great question 😎

As a writer the fewer the better. As a reader, I have no preference whatsoever. Stories like a man’s penis should not be judged by their length just by what is done with what you have.

10k+ for me.

Quote by joe71
I should point out that although the Noir entries were fantastic, sadly months later these 10k-word masterpieces don’t seem to have racked up that many views. There’s a lot of value in balancing the need to fully and vividly tell a story with the need to do that in as few words as possible.

Reading 10k words at the speed of speech takes about the same time as many film noirs from the 1940s. Some comp entries were written in a way that put a complete film noir in the reader's mind. Reading literature is not a race against time. If I'm to write a story-movie, then I'm going to land in the 8-10k range. If it's to be read more like a Dragnet episode, then it's going to be 2-4k. (Yes, I can imagine a lady-bandit falling for Joe Friday.)

Longer stories have the most complex plots and also tend to have more characters, each of whom is developed at least to an interesting extent. Besides, I don't find 10k words that long a read, certainly not when the story is interesting and the sex scenes are well written.

Quote by KimmiBeGood
And a storyline or character I haven't read before.

Don't we all... The problem is, that there are only so many new plots in the naked city.

Quote by Kee
there are only so many new plots in the naked city.

True...ish. There's always a way to put a fresh coat of paint on an old plotline though, to make it more interesting. I've done that a few times.

Of course, "more interesting" is subjective, and maybe my treatments aren't all that good given the low read counts and lack of general engagement 😂 But what the hell. I enjoyed writing them, and that's what matters to me most.

Thank you to everyone who's responded so far, btw. Although there's a clear preference for length, the diversity in results and comments are not what I expected, which is a good thing.

Hopefully, as more people weigh in and cast their votes, the results will help authors shape their work to cater to the varying audience preferences.

Quote by joe71

Echoing other comments so far, I think the sweet spot for most stories really is 2-4k words. That’s enough to develop a real story with details and desires that entice me as a reader. I will admit that when I see that a story is over 4000 words, or even much over 3000, my eyes sometimes glaze over or I try to find something shorter to read.

I think the current competition solidly anchored the low end (except maybe for chapters in multi-part stories). It’s just enough to tell a truly compelling story. But doing so within that constraint requires a lot of careful writing for clarity and economy, which may be why we are seeing such amazing entries in this round. Seems like a sweet spot, though there will always be a call for the occasional Flash competition or epic, as we had with the Noir one.

I should point out that although the Noir entries were fantastic, sadly months later these 10k-word masterpieces don’t seem to have racked up that many views. There’s a lot of value in balancing the need to fully and vividly tell a story with the need to do that in as few words as possible.

I just got a )very nice) comment on my Noir story and so went and looked - I think the votes are in the low 30s, and that is after taking third place. Those stories got so few reads! Some real masterpieces lurking in the top ten, and beyond, too long to get many eyes.

I prefer stories around 6-10k, but I'm looking for character development, plot and a reason as to why the characters are interested in each other. Hooking up, just because, doesn't grab my attention. I'm a huge sucker for romance k-dramas, webcomics etc which generally don't include sex because I enjoy watching/reading the development of a relationship.

I have one, it's about 1200 words. too many?

I'm cutting a lot out. don't want to bore.

here's the first part. I don't know, you guys seem to like more direct to the action thing.

hey, there's that knock on my door - I'm all happy.

I open it, 'come on in' I'm all smiles.

'room service' can't see him, but I attach his smile with that.

oh - he's carrying a big tray of goodies and the door swings outward - I have to push it out so he can come in. it's ok, I'm in my robe.

I follow him in - 'lets eat out on my patio - look at that view!'

I go 2-4k just because I'm looking to get straight to the smut. Story is great and all but ultimately I'm reading for one thing and one thing only—sex.

I like a buildup. Even a slow burn. It makes the sex scenes more enjoyable. So, I prefer 4-6k length.

Length in cocks and stories should never be the issue. Several authors have written stories you wish would never end others after a few sentences make you stop reading.

I enjoy reading stories up to 4000 words. Techgoddess's Mac and Grace novels often have more words, but each part is divided into 3 chapters which gives a chance for small pause when reading. Micro's are always fun to read.

In the real world (outside LushStories) I would never consider reading anything shorter than 50,000 words, so a book, with a start, middle and end. This is what I like writing here too, long stories, three-dimensional characters which evolve, plot twists etc. etc.

I ticked the 6-8k box thinking that would be just for a Lush novel chapter.

But my view on story length matches the pole, anything longer than 5k words and you have lost at least half your audience. I think the number of words in popular stories has slowly reduced since I joined here, many years ago. There are so many stories here now, and the volume of new stories that appear here every day seems to be on an ever-increasing curve. The reader has so many choices, why would they invest their time in one long story when they can read several short ones?

Great pole WW btw.

Quote by redcaramel01

I enjoy reading stories up to 4000 words. Techgoddess's Mac and Grace novels often have more words, but each part is divided into 3 chapters which gives a chance for small pause when reading. Micro's are always fun to read.

Thank you for referencing my series. I appreciate it, and I'm glad you enjoy Mac and Grace.

Cheating on this answer; the correct length. I’m not so interested in word count as feeling like the story continues to be fulfilling. Also don’t want a story that I feel cheated and left blue balled because it was indetailed or skipped over important events.

Most days I just read the titles.

Quote by kistinspencil

Most days I just read the titles.

Haha -I read that as "just read the titties" - you have the the braille version?

12"