100 pages

[rdalging]

I've just finished a draft of my first ever ENF story, and the damn thing turned out to be 100 pages. I'm trying to figure out how to convert that into the sort of thing people enjoy here.

To be clear, this isn't a single scenario with 10 interchangeable episodes, like some of the very long story threads I've read here. It's a monolithic story with 10 chapters, meaning the reader needs to remember what happened in previous chapters to enjoy the current one.

Cutting down individual scenes would mostly involve taking out the "payoff" stuff that I think people are mostly here for, so I'm hesitant to do that. Similarly, the scenes that aren't strictly necessary to the plot, and therefore could most easily be cut, are the ones I know *I* would most enjoy reading.

Thoughts? Advice?

[Debbifan]

Just submit it a chapter at a time for the ten chapters. Trying to second guess what 'everyone' might like or want to read is a thankless task. For some it will be just what they are looking for. Others won't care for it but will soon realize it is not their thing and ignore subsequent chapters. One good thing about this forum is that 90% of the time criticism is constructive and if a story is not what someone appreciates, they will just not follow it rather than embark on a trolling campaign !

Some readers love a lengthy build up, others are only looking for wham bam, thank you ma'am. It's easy enough to determine what category a story falls into and to adjust reading habits accordingly.

[Executionus]

I've posted multiple stories in the past that were legitimately novel-sized (both Thirst Games and Trapped in the Shower). Drew also has a massive ongoing story called My Sisters and Me which is probably long enough to laugh at War and Peace by now. All four of the stories I mentioned are hugely popular. You have no reason to worry.

This forum has a character limit of 60,000 per post so you can probably fit all of your chapters in 1-2 posts for sure. The way I usually choose to space updates is 2 days apart in order to give people plenty of time to read each update.

[rdalging]

Thanks for the advice! I guess I'll start posting as soon as I'm happy with the first chapter.

[GeekGuy]

Thanks for the advice! I guess I'll start posting as soon as I'm happy with the first chapter.

looking forward to it.

[edithdick]

I agree. Just post it one chapter at a time. Maybe put a few days in between posts to give people a chance to stay caught up.

I was about to post this as a separate thread, but you answered it here. What is the consensus on how fast to drop chapters? Generally when I am searching for inspiration, I go weeks or more to find it, but when I have a story to tell, I can write several chapters in a few days.

How long do most people wait between chapters?

[PhilMarlowe]

A chapter per week works fine for me. More frequently seems to flood my attention blocking out other stories/activities. Less frequently and I lose details from the previous chapters.

But, I am a just a reader, I can suggest to authors, never demand .

[edithdick]

But, I am a just a reader, I can suggest to authors, never demand .

Readers are my target audience

[Executionus]

How long do most people wait between chapters?

I used to aim for a part every two days, which was admittedly difficult to maintain. 2-3 days between seems good. Posting parts daily overwhelms people and runs the risk of reading spoilers by seeing the wrong post first.