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Let's talk about size.

Discussion in 'Fanfic Discussion' started by Jon, Jun 10, 2015.

  1. Jon

    Jon The Demon Mayor Admin DLP Supporter

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    [​IMG]
    Is bigger always better, or is there a perfect snug size that satisfies in just the right way?

    I am of course talking about chapter size and story size!

    I've gone from 5k chapters average to 10k chapters average for my fanfiction over the course of the last ten years. Some argue that 10k is too long, and others feel that 5k is too short.

    Everyone has their own tastes though, and it really comes down to what happens inside the word count, but let's try and get a discussion going and come to a consensus for the perfect size. ;)
     
  2. Republic

    Republic The Snow Queen –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    My chapters tend to fall somewhere above 10k, but it just so happens that I misjudge the wordcount necessary to write what I want for each chapter, not that I actively make it that way.

    Still, I am of the belief that very short chapters take away from immersion. A good chapter should be upwards of 5-6k, at least.

    Perfect size, I think, is somewhere in the low 10k. Long enough to provide an extended immersion experience, not too long to become a slog.
     
  3. Sauce Bauss

    Sauce Bauss Second Year ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    For years, my minimum to open a story was 2k words per chapter. Now, I won't open anything under 4k words per chapter unless it's been specifically recommended to me or I have previously read and enjoyed an author's work. Ideally, I'd prefer 7-12k chapters since they're long enough to get some real progress in the story without being so long that I see one update a year.
     
  4. Nuit

    Nuit Dark Lord

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    I tend to prefer them anywhere between the aforementioned 5k and 10k word counts. However, as long as it's greater than ~2k and less than 15k I'm fine with it.

    Edit: So far, the right range seems to be 7-10k.
     
  5. Sesc

    Sesc Slytherin at Heart Moderator

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    The perfect chapter length is storylength/20.

    Because I like having around 20 chapters in a story.

    (Seriously, when stories start to close in on 100 chapters, I tend to skip them. The numbers are just starting to get silly. Keep it around two or three dozen and you're fine.)
     
  6. Dark Minion

    Dark Minion Bright Henchman DLP Supporter Retired Staff

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    I prefer a steady update rate over chapter length, but I usually don't open stories below 3k per chapter.

    More important is story size, though. My main ff.net filter is "> 40k Words". I don't bother to open works in progress below 40k, because the majority of them gets abandoned beforehand. And at that size you already have something to read and to judge.
     
  7. Download

    Download Auror ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    I my experience people who write very short chapters are also generally shit writers. Of course, there are some people who are capable of writing copious amounts of shit so it doesn't really work the other way around.

    It's very rare for me to open a story that has less than 2k words per chapter. Most good stories are around the 6k to 12k mark. A few are larger than that.

    ---------- Post automerged at 14:13 ---------- Previous post was at 14:12 ----------

    I think people who write short chapters also have difficulty linking chapters together.
     
  8. Styx0444

    Styx0444 Minister of Magic

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    It depends largely on the type of story you're writing, of course, but 7-10k is usually optimal. When I'm looking for something, if chapter length is less then about 6k, I almost never bother. On the other hand, if chapters are more then about 15k, I know I'm looking at a slow update rate, so I don't bother unless a lot has already been written.

    When I'm writing, I tend to aim for about 10k a chapter. If I end up with less then 7k, I read over it to see if anything should be elaborated a bit more, or if I forgot a scene.
     
  9. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    With me it depends heavily on update rate for established stories. If it's someone who updates regularly or on a schedule, then chapters as short as 2k are fine. But most fanfic authors don't update regularly, or even very often. So I tend to prefer longer chapters, a solid 10k or so, because it lets me sink my teeth into the story again. Shorter chapters often don't feel 'worth it' for a story that hasn't updated in the last six months, because it takes time to remember what's going on.

    And as others have said, I rarely start a new fic unless it's got at least 40k words. Often it takes that long for the story to get going, and many finish the 'intro chapters' then abandon them, as someone else said.
     
  10. T3t

    T3t Purple Beast of DLP ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    It's interesting how there's a discrepancy between preferred chapter sizes in fanfiction, and actual chapter sizes in most published novels (3-4k, if memory serves). It might just be the expected update rate, though...
     
  11. Alindrome

    Alindrome A bigger, darker mark DLP Supporter Retired Staff

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    I can't say I have a preferred length for reading chapters, because I don't beyond them not being too long that you lose your place when you have to stop reading.

    But when it comes to writing chapters, which admittedly I'm not very good at because I'm slow as shit, I much prefer to go short and wrap it up as a chapter as soon as it's reached some sort of conclusion or transition, which usually seems to be 4k. In the past when I've tried writing I wouldn't call anything under 8k a chapter, but I found forcing myself to get that much out really killed my motivation to progress.

    I don't think I'm technically a shit writer, as people seem to like the things I post, but I'm definitely shit at the most important part, which is getting a lot done. Still, wouldn't you rather have quality over quantity in this day and age?
     
  12. Genghiz Khan

    Genghiz Khan Headmaster

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    "It's not the size, it's how you use it." Cliched, yeah, but perfectly valid even for fanfic. For a long fanfic, I feel that a chapter size of around 6-10k is pretty perfect. Any less, then it's difficult to immerse yourself in it, and more, then it gets tedious. If you can manage a good update rate, then yeah, go ahead with shorter chapters. But for authors who can't manage great writing, or for that matter, frequent writing, then a long chapter works the best. You need to be pretty good to wow with a small one.

    Even in fanfiction. ;)
     
  13. IBG

    IBG Seventh Year

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    I automatically think a fic is better subconsciously if the chapter is more than 10k, because I know the author didn't crank it out in one sitting and therefore it is likely redrafted and going to have a higher quality.

    Probably around 15k is ideal for me. Short chapters work in published fiction because it lets you set breaks and you can come back for the rest shortly anyway while it's fresh, but in fanfiction I'll only just be remembering the specifics of the story by the time I finish a 5k chapter.
     
  14. TheWiseTomato

    TheWiseTomato Prestigious Tomato ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    When I started writing longer works, I consciously kept my chapter sizes to about 5k. Nowadays, I aim for 11-14k. If I'm at that mark and I don't have a good place to finish, however, I'll keep going until I have about 18-20k and post it all at once, but separated into two chapters, so the slightly jarring end point of the first chapter isn't as bad.

    I feel a 10k plus update gives the reader enough time to sink their teeth into the story and become immersed. 6k isn't too bad, but anything under 5k ends before it really begins. In published work this isn't an issue, but in fanfiction it becomes aggravating, especially when you're following a WIP.
     
  15. Ched

    Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

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    For me it's the commitment. If I pick up a novel, I don't care how long the chapters are because I'm going to read the entire thing in the next 24, maybe 48 hours. Chapter size doesn't matter because I only have to get my head into the book a small handful of times over a small period of time.

    If it takes you 2 months to write a quality chapter that's 3000 words long, in most cases I'd rather wait 4 months and get a 6000 word long chapter. Quality is preferred, but IMO you can do both by taking twice as long to update.
     
  16. ScottPress

    ScottPress The Horny Sovereign –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    When writing, I aim for around 6-7k. I actually don't like humongous chapters. If I see a 10k monster, the first thing that comes to mind is "shit's gonna be tedious". For some reason my attention span dramatically shortens when reading. I can spend 2 hours in a long tutorial for a game, but if I'm reading (fanfiction or professional fiction, doesn't matter), I suffer from Instant Gratification Syndrome.

    Even so, immersion trumps everything else. If there are different scenes within a chapter and you have 2k words of witty conversation, it'll fly past quickly. If you have 2k of uninspired exposition, I'll feel like I'm slogging through mud.

    tldr: write well, or write less of bad stuff
     
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2015
  17. Skeletaure

    Skeletaure Magical Core Enthusiast ~ Prestige ~ DLP Supporter

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    Roughly 2500 words/chapter is the minimum for me to open a story, though if the fic is new I'll adjust that to take account of short prologue chapters.

    When writing, my stylistic preference is now for short chapters of around 3000-4000 words. However, I've never been able to do this for two reasons:

    1. Slow update rate means I feel like I have to have a substantial chapter when I do update.

    2. The idea behind a 3000-4000 word chapter is "one event, one chapter", but it's quite hard to get a single event into that range, with it often being either too short or too long.

    Still, I'm continuing to work at it.
     
  18. Anarchy

    Anarchy Half-Blood Prince DLP Supporter

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    3-5k is best for me. Short enough that I don't have to commit an hour to reading a single chapter and so it doesn't tire me out, and yet long enough to still have content in it to be interesting. Super long chapters tend to drag on a bit so it becomes a chore. Usually anything above 10k tends to be an effort in futility, or the author is durdling around too much with overcomplicated plots and a ton of filler prose.
     
  19. Shinysavage

    Shinysavage Madman With A Box ~ Prestige ~

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    As long as it needs to be. I normally aim for the 3-5k mark, but if I've covered everything I want to in that chapter and it's only 3k long, I'm not going to pad it out for the sake of it. Equally, if it turns into a 10k beast then - assuming I don't look it over and find stuff that doesn't work/isn't needed - I'm happy with that too.

    Edit: that's from a writing perspective. I don't read much fanfiction these days, but it depends on what I'm reading - I reread some of Nonjon's stuff recently, and was struck by the thought that he could have comfortably halved his chapters. Same on my Sacrificed Arc reread.
     
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2015
  20. ScottPress

    ScottPress The Horny Sovereign –§ Prestigious §– DLP Supporter

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    Sacrifices has got to be one of the most unnecessarily bloated literary creations ever, not just in fanfiction. IIRC, Year 4 is 500k and halfway in the plot is at Halloween.
     
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