Desiderius Price

Alas, we both kinda agree 109kwords (about the same length as JKR’s third NOVEL) is generally excessive for a single chapter? Current rewrite has 170 chapters where there used to be 44ish of those older 108, so it’s definitely way more detailed and enjoyable now, with 6-7k averages, and I’m having to mix the two versions as there were some good ideas in that previous rewrite. So, 50 might’ve been better, but I agree the execution was dumb. Hey, making mistakes is how we get better at writing, right?

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Ages ago, I thought longer chapters were better. So I took my potter fanfic, then around 108 chapters and 660+k, and during a rewrite condensed it down into 11 chapters, but the result was one of those chapters was around 109kwords! Two others were 91k & 70kish. That ... was … horrific. Individual scenes get lost, run together, etc. And I’m still detangling that mess!

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Aw, the eternal debate on “size” Shorter generally means a faster tempo, but you cover less. Longer means you can get into more detail, but can be a slower read too. Also, there’s the attention span of the reader to consider, and giving them natural “stopping points” to come back later. I’ve tried short chapters before (2K) and that was faster to write that story. OTOH, I tend to go for 7-8k averages for the contemplative/serious writings. However, if a chapter hits 10kwords, that’s when I’m looking to split (even if it goes “part A” and “part B”).

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I’ve tried SFW… one reason why my Halloween story’s stalled. Nah, I’m not here to collect a paycheck, that’s what the day job is for. I’m trying to hone my craft of telling tales, with the sexual aspect as a garnish not the main goal of my art. Publishing (whether self or via traditional) would be more of a right-of-passage/badge-of-honor than a career change. As you’ve seen, the terms of a lot of these places are okay with adults having sexual thoughts, but it’s gotta be puritanical and be totally devoid of naughty thoughts until their 18th birthdays which is too unrealistic for me.

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4+1+1+8+8 = 22