New writing

Hi everyone. I'm writing a story about myself. It happens over a 6 week period, 4.5k words now. When finished will be around 6.5k. Should I write it as one long story or break into chapters. New and learning, any comments appreciated.

I think it really depends on the story. If you think that having a break into the story feels right at a specific place, like to have a cliff hanger or there is a period of time between two scenes, it might be right to have chapters. It's really up to you in the end and how your story is built. Personally, for a 6.5k story, I wouldn't break it unless I have a very good reason to do so, like a cliff hanger.

The only thing I'll say: if your story is longer than 10k words, it will need to be broken up in chapters. Stories on Lush cannot be more than 10k, as it is already a 45-60 minutes read, the reader attention span will not last more than this.

Keep it simple, don't over-complicate your story with chapters unless it feels right. Hope this helps.

Thank you so much for your input. I didn't feel like it should be in chapters, unsure of the proper format. I've still got some editing to do, would love your opinion.

What Whia said, plus this:

The longer the story, the fewer readers you'll get. If you're writing for accolades, then definitely break it up into succinct chapters where each section has its own plot arc and steamy action. If it's one, long event then a longer story would be the way to go.

I write lots of mini-series, and they're a double-edged sword. The more chapters one writes, the lesser the response your ensuing chapters receive.

My best advice is to write it how you envision it...follow your heart (as my husband always says). For me, if the story is well-written, flows smoothly, and is both hot and gets me emotionally invested in the characters, I'll read and love it if it's 100 words or an X-rated War and Peace.

Thanks Krystal. Very good points I never considered. I'm learning 😘

We're all learning. Anyone that claims otherwise is just stagnating.

For new writers (and I'm fairly new myself) my best suggestion is to write what you want, how you want, and please yourself, first. If you don't like it, don't expect anyone else to, either. such things as length, episodic or not, flow, personal writing style, etc can all be worked out as you write, practice and grow in both skill and confidence. Such integral things as proper grammar and punctuation can be learned.

I'd say write your story as you envision it and whether or not you need to break it up will reveal itself to you in the process. Whatever happens, though, keep writing.

Fully in agreement with Krystalg, write for you, not for others. Write it how you want it and feel comfortable, trust your own intuition to take the right decision. If you feel like it doesn't need chapters, don't use chapters. It's as simple as that. There is no right or wrong answer, just the one that make sense to you.

You will learn as you publish new stories, it's part of the fun of it, of the discovery you make through your writing.

Thank you for your encouragement. I've been an avid reader all my life. Always thought of writing. I now feel an urge to share.

I will upload it when I'm finished. Would love opinion, criticism.

Have a great night and thanx again for your support.

Hi, all. How do I find a Draft of a story when I sign back in to the site? Thanks.

Quote by RussMark

Hi, all. How do I find a Draft of a story when I sign back in to the site? Thanks.

Hiya. If you click on your stories tab from your profile, you should see a button on the right hand side that says 'unpublished'. All drafts will be saved in there.

Thanks

I've tried to keep even the longer standalone stories under 4k or so, though the story I'm working on for the Noir entry is looking around 6k.

Once I've made the decision to split into a series, though, I'm finding I like to make the individual chapters under 2k or so. I think people's eyes glaze over otherwise.

I think that, because of the moderation process, you should submit in as few parts as possible. It makes the mods life easier and gets your story out quicker

There's nothing more frustrating than having a three part story ready bro go, but you want part 1 to clear before you submit part 2 etc.

Teri2022, Hi I'm still a very novice writer. Maybe write your stories as how you would like to be reading them. Does that make sense?

All the best with it.