[Burgoo King]

I'm debating this myself. What do you prefer in an Original Writing story? Short, daily updates or long, weekly updates and why?

This post has been edited by Adaminator3: 30 June 2009 - 01:45 AM

[Regitnui]

I prefer long updates, simply because there's more development. I'm greedy that way. I like having a slight resolution or intrigue in each update.

---,-'-@

[Pixel]

I like shorter updates because I don't have time to sit down for half an hour to read something on the computer.

[Arthryn]

I'm in agreement with Pixel. When I wrote fanfiction, I made a point of writing shorter chapters (500 to 1000 words) and updating every few days. I maintained lots of attention because a lot of people like Pixel and me don't have time to sit down and read 5000-word chapters. And also lots of people have short attention spans, as I discovered during my writing days on SFF.

[Burgoo King]

I'm in agreement with Pixel. When I wrote fanfiction, I made a point of writing shorter chapters (500 to 1000 words) and updating every few days. I maintained lots of attention because a lot of people like Pixel and me don't have time to sit down and read 5000-word chapters. And also lots of people have short attention spans, as I discovered during my writing days on SFF.

Yeah, I see your point. Although posting 200-500 word parts to chapters has increased my new topic here by about 1 post per update, instead of the casual 0. And the occasional 1 or 2. LMAO.

But how long do you think updates should be, in general? 200-700 words? Or more?

[Spinner]

I agree with Allison and Pixel. Screens aren't really conducive towards reading, which is one of the reasons why I have so many problems following people's stuff. Go with short, concise, yet full updates. Be able to identify which episodes are transitions and which are action. This way you can better gauge the flow of your story.

Ben

[Arthryn]

200 is a bit short. I'd say at least around 400, and then no longer than 1200 or so. The standard high school essay is about 800 words, for a point of reference. It's long enough to get something across, but still short enough to have it easily readable in one short sitting.

The problem with long chapters is that they require a good chunk of time and some concentration to read completely, and you can't put a bookmark on a forum post. So shorter chapters can increase your readership because it's faster and easier for more people to read.

[Invisible Ink]

I also prefer shorter updates, even when reading from a friend's notebook, mainly because my attention isn't always the greatest, unless it's in a published book. Like I have my mind trained to sit still and read for hours from a good book because I've been reading books since I could read. It's like we were conditioned to concentrate on a big book because we started off with small picture books and worked our way up. It wasn't like that with the internet. At least not for most of us. Even typing up a paper all in one go is a bit of a challenge, but writing one is easy.

[Pixel]

Yeah, short chapters are very good almost every section here, except, of course, Inheritance Fanfiction. The readers there demand long updates, and if not that, frequent ones. The authors whip out massively long parts sometimes. I guess the people there are the ones who are still really into Eragon.

[J The Great]

Short chapters are okay I guess but they can be boring a lot easier because you sat down to make a short chapter and left out descriptions and emotions. I really think you should do a mix and ask people who read your story which is better it can differ from author to author and also take into to mind who the story is supposed to interest because there attention span and reading level effects what they enjoy in books.If you are righting to teenagers and older you should make sure you have at least sufficient detail.Note this is my opinion as a reader not as a writer.

This post has been edited by J The Great: 02 July 2009 - 08:26 AM

[Kari]

I agree with Arhtryn and Pixel. When you're reading, you're greedy for many updates, so you're wishing for near constant updates.