Chapter Density

I wonder at times. I manage sometimes to cover 2 or 3 full scenes in my 2'sh K slices, while others take thousands on thousands of words just to get halfway through a scene.

Is one better than the other? Should I be trying to sloooowww doooowwwnnn, or do my stories flow just fine?

Comments

[Alamandir]

You might be able to slow down a little bit at times, but in the end what it comes down to is writing style. Some writers like to put incredible amounts of detail and description into their scenes, like Tolkien. Much of the focus then lies in the environment.

Your style, however, seems to be more focused on the events, the action and what is going on in the scene. The exact details of the hills don't matter, what matters is the conflict between the protagonists and the gem gnolls. There are times when I feel like a little more focus on the world around your characters would be beneficial, as long as it doesn't take away from the main focus of the event.

In the end what it comes down to is 'different strokes for different blokes'. I have no idea what that actually means, but it rhymed.

[badninja]

It seems to work with your stories. The different styles go with how that particular part is going. I would leave it alone because if your taking your time your are helping set the scene better, but when you go by fast your are showing the reality of the situation.

[Boulder]

Too many words in a chapter and it gets TL:DR. You seem to have the right pace to keep it interesting but not skip on much. Maybe a little more explanation without going overboard would be a good thing, sometimes a couple little things I think could use a little more defining.

[Daremo]

I've never really had an issue with your writing style. If ever your readers feel you haven't covered something satisfactorily it comes out in the comments and you've been very kind in addressing legitimate concerns over the course of your stories.

[Emtu]

Some people try to be too detailed, some not detailed enough. There's a fine balance, and I'm pretty sure yours is alright.

[Cynewulf]

I can say with absolute hypocrisy that any chapter over 15-16K is probably too long.

Usually. The problem is less length and more in pacing. If 15K gets you two scenes then... Wow that's bad, or those scenes are massive climactic moments and that might still be too much.

On the other hand, I've seen people do 4 chapters in 200ish pages, and have "subchapters" much like we would otherwise use scene breaks? Lewis and King do it. Kinda works.

[Warrior Kitten]

In my opinion your pacing is a bit fast in some stories, but it's not too bad.

[Frostgear]

It kind of depends on the story, your a little on the fast side but usually flow pretty well.

[Everglue Horace]

I think it has to do with speed. I'm a 'slow' updater, and lacking a reputation I need more page views, a controversy, or whatnot. People tend to filter out stories with fewer than 10,000 words as well, so if I want a larger audience the word count helps over speed. However, daily updates are a novelty and will attract readers regardless of reputation (in my opinion) becasue of the regularity, reliability, and consistency. The same strategy does not work for other forms art like web-comics however. Wherein advertising is the key to victory.

[David Silver]

4138290 You say that, but my most popular stories are also not my longest.

[Seraphem]

As most have said, it really comes down to personal taste and the needs of the story as a whole. There is no one right answer, it's all relative.

[Everglue Horace]

4138541
You have a reputation, being shorter means it's more likely to be read.

Just becasue I read all of Oscar Wilde's short stories doesn't mean I've read Dorian Grey. I've watched performances based on his plays, and oddly enough fan films with his perceived character, but as for his plays have only read 'Salome.' My sister read 'The importance of Being Earnest' for a class and my mother and I helped her edit the paper.