As I'm browsing through the forum, I constantly see comments that says "RR readers like very long stories" which I get. 

But I can't help but think, if you write with RR demographics is mine, do you think to prolong your story as long as possible or do you end your story because it's the natural stopping point of your MCs journey? 

Just curious. I don't know how people can write 500k+ words for a story - I suppose if it's an epic - but even still - thats amazing lol.

You could always write every story with a sequel in mind >:) 

I haven't finished any stories here, but I doubt I would be able to continue a story past its prime. There are so many story ideas I want to write, why focus on one that is already written and whose best content is already in the past?

Well, it's a different thing if the author is hoping to make a living, though. 

NinaWrites Wrote: As I'm browsing through the forum, I constantly see comments that says "RR readers like very long stories" which I get. 

But I can't help but think, if you write with RR demographics is mine, do you think to prolong your story as long as possible or do you end your story because it's the natural stopping point of your MCs journey? 

Just curious. I don't know how people can write 500k+ words for a story - I suppose if it's an epic - but even still - thats amazing lol.

They can, but most of the time the quality of the story is low. They don't really do double-takes, don't make long-term plans and foreshadowing, and just keep making stuff up on the go. 

Arguably, it's not necessarily a bad thing. They probably have a lot of fun writing like that. And some of the readers like to just turn their brains off and keep reading without paying much attention to anything and skipping descriptions, which is not a problem either, as the authors behind these super long works usually repeat same information every couple of chapters.

In other words, its like a long-running telenovela with amateur actors and no budget, versus a carefully planned standalone movie worth millions of $ of production value.

NinaWrites Wrote: As I'm browsing through the forum, I constantly see comments that says "RR readers like very long stories" which I get. 

But I can't help but think, if you write with RR demographics is mine, do you think to prolong your story as long as possible or do you end your story because it's the natural stopping point of your MCs journey? 

Just curious. I don't know how people can write 500k+ words for a story - I suppose if it's an epic - but even still - thats amazing lol.

It depends on what your story is like. For us we have a story theme that is naturally going to take a very long time to go through if we want it to be done well and with respect. That's actually why we elected to make it a web novel instead of a book, because the book isn't going to be big enough to properly tell this story, and we didn't want to leave big gaps between releases as well.


Rough estimate with everything we have planned: I think our story is going to get into the 500K word range before it can properly end. And that's us not caring how long readers like a story. That's how long we feel this story should go for. However, we're gardener writers that make basic plot points scattered about to follow, so we do have a lot planned, but we don't meticulously craft it. That number could be wrong.

I didn't start writing mine with RR demographics in mind but it might be worth pointing out that both of my stories are several books long, all under the same title. I wouldn't recommend that you try to drag it out because I think that will lead to low quality writing. Stop when it is appropriate!

NinaWrites Wrote: Just curious. I don't know how people can write 500k+ words for a story - I suppose if it's an epic - but even still - thats amazing lol.

*Looks at the future book one ending around 375,000 words*

We'll reach the mountain one day, but first, let's have a rest in our prisons. I don't think the stories should be extended if it would diminish the product, they should end where you plan they should end.

I think if you've written a story and you as an author feel like you've hit the point where you would be comfortable ending it and the story seems to be telling you this is the end, then don't try to extend it. If you have an ending your heart is set on while you're writing it, don't try to extend it for the sake of letting it live longer. Most readers would probably appreciate a good ending that sticks with them rather then a story that goes on 100+ chapters past when it should have ended. 

I remember Mother of Learning because it ended on a good note, but I've forgotten the contents of a lot of long running, ongoing, popular web serials.

Don't turn your story into the Walking Dead television show where it goes on more seasons then it really should have, leaving a bad impression on your viewers/readers. Ending a story at a point where it's ready to end is always best.

If, however, you start a story with the intention of it being a long running web serial from the get go, then write on.

I write stories from a beginning scene until they feel complete.

I don't try to stretch them out, just let them unfold as they wish. So.... generally they end up stupidly long and kinda meandering. :-3
Classic pantser. xD

I write until I come to an ending. I don't stretch things out and often hate it when a series should've just stopped but has continued on anyway.

To be honest, I don't really care about the trend of making your story as long as you can get. I think if I were younger, I would be onboard for this sort of thing. And by younger, I mean when I first started to get serious about writing and thought that longer is better. It is very much not.

However, I know as a writer, everything works out a lot better the shorter a story is for me. I write a tighter story. Something that's 500k+ words long is just too much. Things will start jangling loose, plotholes will appear, and when I want to go back and edit things, it will make it impossible. I've been there, done that. Not something I want to repeat. So just write the story the length the story needs to be. 

I once wrote a story that I loved so much I didn't want it to end. 
I kept adding more and more contrived scenarios and plots, but ultimately it was going nowhere and it was painfully obvious that it needed to end.
I eventually arrived at the conclusion that I needed to kill off the MC.
I didn't want to kill off the MC, but I had to. 
So I killed him. Over and over. I found a  dozen, or maybe a hundred ways to kill him. I killed him so many times that I learned to let him go. 

Obviously the MC dying isn't necessarily the only solution to ending a story, but in my case, it was.

Depends on the story. Some stories are more slice-of-life and the enjoyment isn't so much in the plot but rather the self-insert and having a fun escapist fantasy on a different world. 

I think the more plot driven the story, the more important an ending is for planning purposes. And ending could be the end of a book, or the end of an arc. But having an exit plan lets you know the spine of the next few chapters and how best to pack on the meat. 

I don't really care either way for length. What I do care about is endless hiatuses. I'd rather have a disappointing rushed ending than I would a "NEXT TIME ON" that cuts off with a faint hope that it will return...someday.

Write until you feel the book is complete, then stop and start another one. If you try to cram more stuff into a book that's already reached it's logical conclusion you'll only weaken the story as a whole. It should be about the quality of writing, not the quantity of words. As the saying goes: "all good things must come to an end."

There’s no point in prolonging a story that should have ended ages ago. When it ends it ends. Your stories should have natural progressions, that’s what makes it  a good read.

I never write with demographics in mind. Since I started off as a dribble writer, I often had to end my stories either abruptly (within reason) or with a fulfilling sort of ending. There's an end and start goal to achieve, and if both are hit, only the time it takes between them matters.

Then again, marketing to the wrong demographics would probably kill Descent.

ARXK Wrote: There’s no point in prolonging a story that should have ended ages ago. When it ends it ends. Your stories should have natural progressions, that’s what makes it  a good read.

Unless you're the author of Randidly and get over 6000$ a month in patreon donations alone for writing new chapters.

Think of it like an old dog that has trouble walking and hasn't been able to see right for the past 5 years.

Why prolong it, dude?

DrBuller Wrote: Think of it like an old dog that has trouble walking and hasn't been able to see right for the past 5 years.

Why prolong it, dude?

I kept my dog alive even when it had trouble walking and couldn't see well due to cataracts. 
It was very frustrating to take care of it, but I kept him alive nonetheless, simply because he didn't want to die.