Writing When is it too much or too little words?

[TotallyHuman]

I've been wondering ever since I started working on my novel, what is the line that is considered too much when it comes to chapter lengths?

I'm used to writing between 3K and 5K words depending on the chapter and I feel that it can be too much for a reader, but I saw a lot of other chapters saying that anything above 2.5ish K is too much?

What is the general consensus of that ?

Too little is when
Too much is when you convey excessive information that is not necessary and will not be used because it's excessive

 

[OokamiKasumi]

I've been wondering ever since I started working on my novel, what is the line that is considered too much when it comes to chapter lengths?

I'm used to writing between 3K and 5K words depending on the chapter and I feel that it can be too much for a reader, but I saw a lot of other chapters saying that anything above 2.5ish K is too much?

What is the general consensus of that ?

For published novels, 2500 to 3000 is the preferred length, according to my editor.

For POSTED Online Chapters, I personally prefer longer chapters; 3000 to 5000 words, simply because there is a time lag between chapters.

In the period of time between chapters; a week, a month, years, most people Forget bits of the story, or the whole story, and have to go back and reread the previous chapters just to get back into the story.

I don't know about other readers, but if the following chapter is Short; under 2000 words, I feel like I did all that re-reading for Nothing. Seriously, what's the point in spending my time to re-read three or four chapters, or even a whole story, only to get a Teaser of a chapter? It's better to wait until there's a solid chunk of text; 5000 to 10,000 words or more, so that I can Stay in the story long enough to actually enjoy what's going on.

Short chapters = massive frustration for me. I can't tell you how many short-chaptered stories I've Dropped to wait until the damned thing is Complete before I bother reading it.

But that's just me.

 

[BearlyAlive]

1.5k to 2k seems to be the most common ground for here and similar sites like RR. I personally prefer longer chapters, but I can understand why people could want shorter ones.

 

[OokamiKasumi]

1.5k to 2k seems to be the most common ground for here and similar sites like RR. I personally prefer longer chapters, but I can understand why people could want shorter ones.

Some of the stories on sites like RR also make you pay per chapter.
Shorter chapters = More Money per story.

On almost every pay-per-chapter story I've read, it's painfully obvious that most of those chapters were originally Longer and clearly Cut then posted piece by piece.

As far as I see it, it's a frikken Scam that's being copied by writers that don't know any better -- or because the writer thinks it's Easier.

 

[BearlyAlive]

Some of the stories on sites like RR also make you pay per chapter.
Shorter chapters = More Money per story.

On almost every pay-per-chapter story I've read, it's painfully obvious that most of those chapters were originally Longer and clearly Cut then posted.

As far as I see it, it's a frikken Scam that's being copied by writers that don't know any better -- or because the writer thinks it's Easier.

That's the dark side of freeware. Whenever there's free stuff there's people that want to monetize it.

I was thinking more along the lines of a 1.5 to 2.5k chapter being just the ideal length for having a coffee or a snack, or taking a dump while reading it.

 

[J_Chemist]

I've been wondering ever since I started working on my novel, what is the line that is considered too much when it comes to chapter lengths?

I'm used to writing between 3K and 5K words depending on the chapter and I feel that it can be too much for a reader, but I saw a lot of other chapters saying that anything above 2.5ish K is too much?

What is the general consensus of that ?

As mentioned, it depends on your upload speed, your personal writing and editing ability, and your free time. Post what you can and set your standard. Daily Chapters I can see being sub 5k, whatever that number is. Every other day, maybe 2k-7k. Once a week? Better be a dense boi.

I post weekly and my chapters can range from an abysmal 3k if it's super short for some reason up to a max of 12k. I try not to go over 12k because by then, I'm likely bleeding into content I can save for the next week. Your pacing matters. Your story structure matters. And what you can write about, detail out, and include, are all dependent on your ability as a writer.

So, set your standard. Know what you can produce comfortably and use that as your yardstick. I know that if I'm not hitting between 4-7k, I've got a problem. If I go over 7k, I'm not upset or worried but I start to wonder if I'm oversharing. However, I also think using wordcounts as any kind of gauge of story writing as retarded and try to avoid it.

But my readers like the big thikkums so here I am, grinding away every week for these greedy leeches.

 

[OokamiKasumi]

That's the dark side of freeware. Whenever there's free stuff there's people that want to monetize it.

Sadly, that is very, very true.

I was thinking more along the lines of a 1.5 to 2.5k chapter being just the ideal length for having a coffee or a snack, or taking a dump while reading it.

The problem with this is, keeping the Readers' interest long enough to get to the next chapter, then the next, and the next -- until the story is Complete.

Think:

• How much story can you tell in 1500 words, seriously?
• Can you make that chapter so fascinating that the reader absolutely must read the next one?
• Now, can you make that happen in Every Single Chapter that follows?

To put this another way --

There's a reason why the shortest TV shows in the USA run for half an hour segments (plus commercials,) and No Shorter. This reason is also why half-hour family shows tell a Complete Story in each episode. For this same reason, drama programs, soap operas, and evening adventure programs tend to run for an entire hour (plus commercials,) with the occasional two-hour programs.

Audience Attention Span & Memory

Add to that:​

Fierce Competition for that same Audience.

A TV program has a time lag of a week or longer, very like a story posted chapter by chapter. These TV producers need to not only Grab the audience's attention, they need to make each episode so memorable that it KEEPS that attention long enough to get those viewers to skip other programs in the same Time-slot.

Consider this:

• How much story can You read in one TV program Chapter; half an hour to an hour?
• How long does it take to read 1500 words?

Now consider this:

• Do you have the writing skills to make every 1500 word chapter compelling enough to make your readers satisfied enough to wait a week or longer for the next spoonful of story?
• What parts of the story will you need to sacrifice (chop-out) )to make each spoonful compelling?

Yes, I am arguing for longer chapters.

I am sick and tired of all these teeny-tiny chapters being dribbled out by the spoonful, and I REFUSE to read stories done this way anymore. Too many of these short-chapter stories cut out description and character development to add in action scenes, or fluff scenes, or sex scenes that Do Nothing for the story but add chapters.

Please don't be yet another one of them.

 

[J_Chemist]

Sadly, that is very, very true.


The problem with this is, keeping the Readers' interest long enough to get to the next chapter, then the next, and the next -- until the story is Complete.

Think:

• How much story can you tell in 1500 words, seriously?
• Can you make that chapter so fascinating that the reader absolutely must read the next one?
• Now, can you make that happen in Every Single Chapter that follows?

To put this another way --

There's a reason why the shortest TV shows in the USA run for half an hour segments (plus commercials,) and No Shorter. This reason is also why half-hour family shows tell a Complete Story in each episode. For this same reason, drama programs, soap operas, and evening adventure programs tend to run for an entire hour (plus commercials,) with the occasional two-hour programs.

Audience Attention Span & Memory

Add to that:​

Fierce Competition for that same Audience.

A TV program has a time lag of a week or longer, very like a story posted chapter by chapter. These TV producers need to not only Grab the audience's attention, they need to make each episode so memorable that it KEEPS that attention long enough to get those viewers to skip other programs in the same Time-slot.

Consider this:

• How much story can You read in one TV program Chapter; half an hour to an hour?
• How long does it take to read 1500 words?

Now consider this:

• Do you have the writing skills to make every 1500 word chapter compelling enough to make your readers satisfied enough to wait a week or longer for the next spoonful of story?
• What parts of the story will you need to sacrifice (chop-out) )to make each spoonful compelling?

Yes, I am arguing for longer chapters.

I am sick and tired of all these teeny-tiny chapters being dribbled out by the spoonful, and I REFUSE to read stories done this way anymore. Too many of these short-chapter stories cut out description and character development to add in action scenes, or fluff scenes, or sex scenes that Do Nothing for the story but add chapters.

Please don't be yet another one of them.

I like this take.

 

[BearlyAlive]

Sadly, that is very, very true.


The problem with this is, keeping the Readers' interest long enough to get to the next chapter, then the next, and the next -- until the story is Complete.

Think:

• How much story can you tell in 1500 words, seriously?
• Can you make that chapter so fascinating that the reader absolutely must read the next one?
• Now, can you make that happen in Every Single Chapter that follows?

To put this another way --

There's a reason why the shortest TV shows in the USA run for half an hour segments (plus commercials,) and No Shorter. This reason is also why half-hour family shows tell a Complete Story in each episode. For this same reason, drama programs, soap operas, and evening adventure programs tend to run for an entire hour (plus commercials,) with the occasional two-hour programs.

Audience Attention Span & Memory

Add to that:​

Fierce Competition for that same Audience.

A TV program has a time lag of a week or longer, very like a story posted chapter by chapter. These TV producers need to not only Grab the audience's attention, they need to make each episode so memorable that it KEEPS that attention long enough to get those viewers to skip other programs in the same Time-slot.

Consider this:

• How much story can You read in one TV program Chapter; half an hour to an hour?
• How long does it take to read 1500 words?

Now consider this:

• Do you have the writing skills to make every 1500 word chapter compelling enough to make your readers satisfied enough to wait a week or longer for the next spoonful of story?
• What parts of the story will you need to sacrifice (chop-out) )to make each spoonful compelling?

Yes, I am arguing for longer chapters.

I am sick and tired of all these teeny-tiny chapters being dribbled out by the spoonful, and I REFUSE to read stories done this way anymore. Too many of these short-chapter stories cut out description and character development to add in action scenes, or fluff scenes, or sex scenes that Do Nothing for the story but add chapters.

Please don't be yet another one of them.

I agree with you on everything, it's just that the common attention span degenerated to the length of a ticktock video. Avid readers seem to be a dying species. The common reader just wants their daily kicks of violence, sex, and fluff drugs and be done with in a matter of minutes...

 

[OokamiKasumi]

I agree with you on everything,

Thank you!

it's just that the common attention span degenerated to the length of a ticktock video.

Are you serious? I can't stand watching those because they're too short. It's like eating a cookie or one potato chip when I want a meal. BTW, the average TV commercial is longer than a TicTok video!

Avid readers seem to be a dying species. The common reader just wants their daily kicks of violence, sex, and fluff drugs and be done with in a matter of minutes...

Not true. It's just that "violence, sex, and fluff drugs" seems to be the only things available for free.

I've noticed that the paying story sites such as; Light Novel World and Royal Road, are grabbing all the halfway decent writers and their stories from the story post sites -- leaving only the dregs behind.

On that note, I'm also hearing rumors and rumblings that the so-called pay is less than expected with much higher pressure to produce on a weekly basis, or bi-weekly basis.

 

[FebyA]

I think trying to update daily is more important than word count, but since you asked...

For a web novel, I rarely find the chapters to be long, unlike regular novel. Around 800-1.5k words would probably be good.