How long is too long?
I have written a story for the Spice It Up competition, but I feel it is too long. I have had my closest Lush friend read it and he says it is good as it is. (And it's not like it is filled with nothingness, fluffly filler details; the supreme bulk of it is sex--I promise--just, very detailed, when compared to other stories I've read).
The first story I published is also longer than your average Lush story. And my Spice It Up story is a bit longer.
The thing is: I like detail; the more detail, the more you will take away from the story. (For me, the amount of detail positively correlates with how horny I get).
What are your ideas? Anyone? I am just really worried people may ignore it because it is too long. I think it is quite good, not to sound smug or anything.
I do realize that it is a competition submission, but I don't just want to impress the judges; I want the story to remain on Lush, entertaining people even after the last day of submission.
Thank you! *Your opinions mean a lot!*
"Kiss me and you will see how important I am." --Sylvia Plath
~~SexyBookWorm~~
This is just my own opinion, please understand. I am not aware of guidelines on how long a story must be for any given category. Quickie stories are, by definition fairly short. Here is my own standard that I use on all my stories in other categories (excluding poetry, of course). I use the counter at the bottom of the page when one is typing the story. It gives a word count and a character count. My simple rule is to always go over 10,000 characters. This seems to create a story of a proper length that the moderators always accept. For the current story competition I decided to extend that and went over 13,000 characters, just to more fully explore the subject. I know this sounds rather mechanical, but it has stood me in good stead, so far. I have created about 43 stories and poems in about a dozen categories. I'm just saying, it has worked for me. Thanks for asking the question.
Mine is close to 10,000. It relieves so much pressure knowing that you write long stories, too. I just can't help it; I have a thing for detail. I am definately going to check out your stories! Thanks for your help, I really appreciate it!
Ox (a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, for you!)
SexyBookWorm
"Kiss me and you will see how important I am." --Sylvia Plath
~~SexyBookWorm~~
Not to demean other authors, but the average reader here loses interest at about 3000 words. My earlier stories were all over 3000 words. I even broke them up into parts. Still too long. I started writing shorter stories they were more readily accepted to read. I could easily write stories of more than the lush limit but they would languish. They can increase the size for maximum written story but the readers will not read them. Just my humble opinion.
@sexybookworm
If you're a new writer to lush I would suggest keeping a story shorter maybe even 600-800 words. It's always better to leave people wanting more. Quantity does not equal quality.
There is so much content on this site that it's asking a fair bit for readers to commit a lot of time to someone they have no idea they will enjoy or not; why give the reader an excuse to skip your story? You don't have to lose detail by shortening a story and, perhaps more importantly, you don't want to use up all your best stuff on one story.
With regards to your story, the problem I would have with it isn't length, it's style - it's written in second person. Writing in second person, while comfortable for the writer, can mean the reader isn't being led into your fantasy but being dragged into it. What if the reader is a woman?
At one point "me" becomes "her", has someone else turned up? There's also an issue from the transfer between whatever word processor you used to type it up and putting it into Lush - a lot of missed spaces. Anything that jars a reader will turn them off a story - we all have our limits and the longer a story goes on the more likely these limits are going to be hit and people are going to get fed up reading and stop.
Warning: The opinions above are those of an anonymous individual on the internet. They are opinions, unless they're facts. They may be ill-informed, out of touch with reality or just plain stupid. They may contain traces of irony. If reading these opinions causes you to be become outraged or you start displaying the symptoms of outrage, stop reading them immediately. If symptoms persist, consult a psychiatrist.
Why not read some stories instead
NEW! Want a quick read for your coffee break? Why not try this... Flash Erotica: Scrubber People have different styles of writing, some will benefit from creating longer, more involved stories, and others are best suited to keeping things shorter and more concise.
The max word-count for a story being submitted here is 10,000 words. If it's longer than that, I'd suggest breaking it into parts/chapters.
All my stories are between the 8,000-10,000 word count level with lots of detailed and explicit sex scenes. They seem to do alright with views/votes.
The reality is that the more chapters something is broken down into, the less reading audience you are likely to keep along the way. When people see "chapter 3" and "chapter 6" on the home page, unless they've read the first several chapters, people are unlikely to click on it. Unless you've *really* hooked an audience in the first chapter or two, people can be a little more dismissive about it as the story seems to get longer and longer. And if you're chopping things up into 3,000 word chunks - how much can you really hook someone in 3,000 words? For me, as a reader, that would be a pretty skilled feat.
When I'm reading a longer story on the site (eg. something along the 10K mark), I like being able to read, and then go back to it later if I don't have time to finish it, rather than start searching for the next chapters or waiting another week or two for the next chapter to get published. That's just my personal preference on it.
Note: Site Story Submission Guidelines regarding length:
A story can be returned with a request for it to be broken down into several smaller chapters at the discretion of the moderating team, as stories over 10,000 words are often difficult to process.
All stories, except for poems must be made up of at least 3,000 characters.
The length is not as nearly as important as how well written and interesting the story is. Most of mine run at least 7000 words and most have been reasonably well received. I do delve into the story and take pains to set the mood. I try not to stray from the plot any more than necessary though.
My last story, Tasting Teresa Again, was unusual because of its brevity. While it was very successful by my standards, many commenters made a point that they still enjoyed the detail that my longer works had the luxury of delving into.
I think the answer is going to be different for every writer. If you have a story to tell, then tell all of it, but be careful that you don't needlessly digress. Go back and read it to yourself and see if you have the urge to skip ahead. Chances are that if you do, your readers will probably feel the same way.
Doll & Milik summed up my response. In addition, I would say that those looking for a quick wank look for the shorter stories. And while I do love a quickie, I prefer to read and write a more detailed story. My longest story is over 9k words if I recall correctly. Good luck, and I'll give your story a read.
I agree with Doll, Milik, and Coco. Hey, there's nothing wrong with a long story, but just make sure it doesn't drag tough; is my two cents.
I also wrote a long story for the competition my reason in doing this was simple. To give as much background into the situation to try to make the whole story more believable.
Please understand I was talking of the number of "characters" not word count. There is a difference. Word count depends upon the erudition of the writer, who may use longer words which count for the same word count as smaller words. Just a final comment, of course, the story must be well written or it is a waste of time for the writer and the reader. Thanks again for listening.
Longer stories are able to provide a storyline to wrap around the sex.
I find that much more enjoyable than a quick one dimentional sex romp.
Its all about quality and unfortunately not all writers possess the skill necessary to drag a reader along for the ride.
I make a story, erotic or otherwise, as long as it needs to be too tell the story properly and, to some extent, as long as it WANTS to be. As I write, the story is kind of in my brain dictating itself to my fingers. During editing, I may cut some extraneous bits down. I don't really look at the length as I write but will before I submit to make sure it meets whatever guidelines the "publisher" (or "publusher" as the case may be) expects.
As a reader, I like a story that, as Rump so aptly put it, is "long enough to cover the subject but short enough to create interest". Why I'm reading matters, too. If I'm reading it as a stroke story, then I'm not too fussy about reading a lot of developmental narrative and dialogue, though I do like to have some lead up to the big event. If I'm reading to enjoy reading, then more development and dialogue is good and that generally makes for a longer story.
And thank you Sylvia Plath for having been in this world, even if for only a short time. You were certainly not over-rated.
To me, a short story should be just that. My typical story is around 2500 words and is character driven. I write stories that a man can read while he's getting a haircut or a woman can read under the hair dryer at a beauty salon.
Also, I am old school when it comes to telling a story. My journalism professor encouraged the use of the 5 W's. Who, what, when, where and why. If a writer follows that, the scene sets itself and then he/she can build around that core.
I also believe that writing erotica doesn't necessarily have to have tons of hot action. If the mood is set properly, the eroticism is in the telling of the story...not the sexual content.
However, my mentor told me that if I didn't become aroused while writing, chances are the reader wouldn't either.
The suggestion of sex, the anticipation of sex, the slow build up to the actual act can and should make the men hard and the women wet long before the actual act. Mood, imagery, tone all contribute to arousal. That's erotica in my humble opinion.
There is a fine line between satisfying the reader and conforming to a reasonable length. It's all about the readers baby....not the writer.
My longest story here is "Night At The Oscars" (my previous competition story) at 9800 words.
It did well, but I could have written three other stories during that same period of time and received more views and comments.
Thanks to Lush for allowing me the opportunity to build a body of work and a fan base internationally. A friend in South Africa told me she was in an internet cafe in Cape Town and glanced at the couple next to her and saw them snuggling and smiling while reading "The Hooker Diaries" by yours truly. Wow!
Thanks for listening.
I commend a writer who can keep the audience enticed throughout a longer piece, but I'm a firm believer in quality over quantity. Sometimes longer pieces have all these scenarios crammed into one compilation and it has a hasty vibe to it. Rules of seduction: Entice the mind, and you will entice the body.
I don't intentionally write stories of any particular length. I haven't taken any creative writing courses since high school and I already break most of the 'rules' they tried to drum into us. I don't outline my stories prior to writing or follow any particular formula for construction and ALL my scores have been in the high 4's, so I figure I'm doing something right. My main goal is to leave the readers wanting more, if the comments are any indication, I've succeeded there, too. Most comment's ask for me to hurry on to next part (including one story where people are patiently waiting for part 5 now). I use Word from Microsoft and I will break a story into parts if the 'word count' function tells me it's over 10,000 words.
I prefer true stories to novels, so I don't want them to be too poetic and fluffy or they seem too staged.
My stories are generally pretty long. I like the characters to feel genuine and somehow the stories take on a life of their own?
As a novice reader I am learning the longer ( with detail) the better. I will definitely read your stories.
Length of a story, short or long doesn't really matter....If it's a long one the writter has to be careful not to allow it to become boring...
A novel with a script...some naughty but nice, and characters with emotions
Thanks for your help guys! My story will be up soon, hopefully tomorrow!
