5k, 10k, 20k....
A poll on some questions I've been tossing about lately on story length and reading habits--not so much from the angle of seeing what length of story gets more readers, but on how readers approach long vs. short stories and their respective status in fandom.
So first, the poll (and note that you don't have the option of "I read all three equally" :). Even if there's only a 5% difference between them, you have to choose):
Poll story length and reading habits
And please do expand on question #3 (or any of them) in comments.
Briefly: I think most of the longer stories I've read would benefit by being cut down about 40%. In part that's just a reading preference: I do a lot of skimming over scenes that don't have a clear narrative purpose (or conversations that drag on endlessly...and okay, we're all allowed a little indulgence, and I know I'm guilty of a multitude of writing sins, but editing doesn't have to be a lost art).
But I also think there's a strong push to produce longer stories, and so what results may be so much filler. Y/N? Do you feel like there's pressure to post longer stories? Do you think shorter stories don't get their fair due? Would you prefer to read a longer story that might ramble a bit rather than a shorter story that's narratively tight but maybe not as in-depth as what you're looking for?
I know there's so much more to these questions--issues of pacing and story genre, and what length fits best with those genres--but I suppose what I'm really asking is if you'd rather read a 5k story that had the same narrative and character development as a 20k one, or does the 20k story fulfill certain needs that a 5k story can't?
So first, the poll (and note that you don't have the option of "I read all three equally" :). Even if there's only a 5% difference between them, you have to choose):
Poll story length and reading habits
And please do expand on question #3 (or any of them) in comments.
Briefly: I think most of the longer stories I've read would benefit by being cut down about 40%. In part that's just a reading preference: I do a lot of skimming over scenes that don't have a clear narrative purpose (or conversations that drag on endlessly...and okay, we're all allowed a little indulgence, and I know I'm guilty of a multitude of writing sins, but editing doesn't have to be a lost art).
But I also think there's a strong push to produce longer stories, and so what results may be so much filler. Y/N? Do you feel like there's pressure to post longer stories? Do you think shorter stories don't get their fair due? Would you prefer to read a longer story that might ramble a bit rather than a shorter story that's narratively tight but maybe not as in-depth as what you're looking for?
I know there's so much more to these questions--issues of pacing and story genre, and what length fits best with those genres--but I suppose what I'm really asking is if you'd rather read a 5k story that had the same narrative and character development as a 20k one, or does the 20k story fulfill certain needs that a 5k story can't?