A few questions to those following Bailey's story

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Hello Bailey fans,

As I sat down to edit and polish the latest part of my ongoing story, I noticed a continuing pattern. The more I relive my thoughts, as I write, the more it starts to fill up the pages. Most of Bailey's story comes from my own past, while I fill in the rest with themes of fiction, and sometimes I admit I get carried away with some of the fiction parts.

So I was wondering if the chapters are getting too long to digest all at once?

I looked at the first couple of chapters, and they're around 10k words. The most recent one I've posted is around 18k words. Then I realized the one I'm editing is getting up to 20k words.

Should I trim them back down to around 10k, or is 20k manageable for you all? Would you mind some variance with smaller fill-in chapters? I know I have a hard time sitting down to read a quarter of a YA novel in one go, but I'd like to know your opinions.

Please let me know,
~Bailey

Comments

I like 40K Chapters.

That way, I can get a whole set of events out without readers having to re-read the last chapter. I have to warn you that if what happens starts to feel re-traumatising to me, I'll stop. Nothing personal; just have to be gentle with myself.

I really like it a lot when authors that don't post very often, write a refresher into the beginning of each chapter; that helps so much.

I know that we get people in here once in a while that would like to make this into a University Writing class, but I come her for fun, so I like it a lot. No, I can not diagram a sentence and some think that my English is a second language. LOL I just wanna have fun and write "quirky" because, "I likes it".

Khadijah

Traumatization

I hope I haven't personally written anything to traumatize you, or anyone else. For the most part, I'm trying to keep the story fun, with a bit of mystery, and a lot of sticky situations. Even the sexual aspects and interactions between the characters have felt like walking on eggshells to me personally. I'm trying very hard not to offend, but granted most of this is part of my own life, and most of those things did happen.

That being said, I hope the outcome of the story doesn't traumatize anyone either. There is, however, a seedy understory evolving beneath the lightheartedness, and it might jump up and bite some people. So one of these days you may see a warning at the start of one of my stories. I'll try my best to give a heads up on stuff that may be traumatizing.

I'll also keep the refresher in mind. Thank you for your input,

~Bailey

~Taylor Ryan
My muse suffers from insomnia, and it keeps me up at night.

I like 400k chapters

I like as complete a story as I can read.

I use the Find feature of my browser to find where I left off. Its like any published book. You put a marker in to help you find where you left off.

just because a story is 40k or 400k or 4Megs doesn't overwhelm a reader if they understand how to pick up where they left off.

How nice it is to read as much as you feel is comfortable and know that you can come back later and get even more.

Dayna.

ps. is this story "Summer of Bailey" any different from the story posted on fictionmania?

It's the exact same story,

It's the exact same story, though I changed the last line of part 7. Someone suggested I post it here, so I came over and checked it out. I actually like the format here, and the post is instant. Plus it has better ways to communicate like this blog, and you can reply to individuals.

However, FM was the site that got me into TG fiction, so I will still post it over there as well. Kind of my way of saying thanks for all the years of reading stories there before writing my own. It will be the same story though, so people won't have to jump back and forth.

As for 400k word chapters... *panic attack*!!! No deadline on those I hope.

I actually love to get feedback on small parts as I write. Since I write as I go, pretty much (though I have a basic outline), I like to see what's working and what's not. Like if people want a little more depth in a character, I can try to squeeze it in down the road. I don't make any guarantees, but if I think it can add to the story, I'll try to put it in. So the faster I get chapters out there, the faster I can see the feedback.

Maybe someday I'll put out an epic 400k word chapter, but I'll probably have gray hair by then. lol

Thanks for your opinion though. I appreciate it.

~Bailey

~Taylor Ryan
My muse suffers from insomnia, and it keeps me up at night.

I would like shorter

While the chapters are nice, I find myself hard pressed to find time enough to sit one through already, with my busy schedule and all. And stopping in the middle of one is inconvenient.

Faraway


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Faraway


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See, that's what I was

See, that's what I was thinking. I'm actually a slow reader, because I like to pick out every single word. It's great for detail, but not so great to sit and read for pleasure. Even worse when you're pressed for time. So I can understand people who like a short chapter, which bursts into the action quickly, and leaves once it's done.

Then again, I've read short stories where I've gotten to the end and asked the question; "That's it?" There are some, which could have been so much more if they were lengthened another 2-5k words. So I can also understand there's such a thing as too short.

It used to be when I approached page 30, I would cringe. I would tell myself "I need to wrap this up soon." Now I find myself breezing past page 30, and cringing at page 40. My latest is at page 46, and pretty soon page 50 will be my new cringe point. You just get so involved, and sometimes fall into your characters' minds. And sometimes they don't want to leave the scene yet, but you have to force them to leave. I feel bad when they have to go kicking and screaming. =P

I think I'll try to mix it up more though. Thanks for your opinion.

~Bailey

~Taylor Ryan
My muse suffers from insomnia, and it keeps me up at night.

Since you asked....

Chapters are okay, but I often just save it off until there is a good read waiting for me. Doint this often makes me very late doing a kudo or especially a comment. And in a BTW, I was looking through the category browser last night, just looking for something older to read, and having to page down through a whole bunch of chapters in the same story takes up a lot of time and page space, and I just gave up. Seeing the chapters coming out frequently is good for readers, and good for the author as well, but it does make it harder in a lot of ways that are not often thought about. I'm done now, and Yes, I'll take some snacks with the whine.

I noticed that too

I'm not really one to raise a stink about it, but it's common for story sites to be overwhelmed with chapters in the list. In a perfect world, you could click a category and it would just list the titles (done or ongoing). Then from there you could click the title, choose the chapter if it's a series, and not have to sift through each chapter in a long list of other authors.

That said, I'm trying to keep mine as neat as possible. So you can click the series title, and it lists each chapter of the series. I hope it clears a little confusion on my part, but I can understand going through 100 random chapters to find a standalone story. FM is the same way.

So I guess pass the whine. =P

~Bailey

~Taylor Ryan
My muse suffers from insomnia, and it keeps me up at night.

Fine With Me...

...pretty much any way you want to do it: 20K, 10K, short fill-ins, whatever. FWIW, I seem to have less problem with variance between posts than some other readers do.

My general preference is to see as much of a story as I can as soon as I can. If that means shorter chapters more often, fine. If not, no problem; certainly your frequency in posting has been very impressive so far, even as the episodes have increased in length.

Eric

Frequency

Well my frequency so far has been fast, because all of that was already written. I have one more completed chapter, which I wrote while posting all of these, but after that one, I'll have to start pounding them out again. So you may see the frequency drop a bit. Hopefully it won't be horribly noticeable.

15k seems to be about the average, so I'll make that my target. I just won't fret as much if I go significantly over.

I guess I'll just have to write it, and see where it takes me. It seems most of you prefer longer, but I can throw in some short ones here and there to mix it up a bit. I just don't like to keep people waiting. =P

Thanks for your input,
~Bailey

~Taylor Ryan
My muse suffers from insomnia, and it keeps me up at night.

A few questions to those following Bailey's story

Me, I say post shorter chapters more frequently. That way you can focus on one or two events or subjects.

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine
    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine

I do like to keep the

I do like to keep the chapters to one or two events. Depending on how involved those events are, however, could take it anywhere from 10k to 30k. lol

I'm actually excited, because I'm currently writing my first ever TG Halloween story, and apologize in advance if it is long. I may do a brief filler before it, so the Halloween part can read as a standalone short story. In case people want a fun Halloween story, but don't want to get involved in the overall Bailey story. I'll have to see how it turns out.

Thanks for reading, and for voicing your opinion.

~Bailey

~Taylor Ryan
My muse suffers from insomnia, and it keeps me up at night.

I'm a Bailey fan too! =)

Extravagance's picture

...And my vote would be for smaller chapters, with a greater number of them overall. Smaller doesn't have to mean more frequent by default, take your time and don't rush them.
(Not to imply that I have any reason to suggest that your work so far is rushed or of poor quality)

Catfolk Pride.PNG

Yay a fan! =P Thanks for

Yay a fan! =P

Thanks for your vote. I think there is a pretty even balance of people who want long, and others who want short. I guess I'll try to mix it up a little bit. No promises though, as I have a rough outline of how I want the story to progress. And my idea of rushing, is getting a chapter out before a month is up, regardless of size. =P

Thanks for reading,

~Bailey

~Taylor Ryan
My muse suffers from insomnia, and it keeps me up at night.

Let it flow naturally

I like longer chapters more than shorter ones. You know? Its just no fun that once you get into it the chapter ends. But really I don't think you should change how you're naturally doing things. Let them vary if they do. Its not the author that determines the length of a chapter its the story.

I know what you mean

I understand that feeling of getting into the characters, and then *poof* the words run out. Mostly I try to work out a smaller theme (sometimes two) for the chapters to have. That way it feels like it has all the parts of a mini story, but only gives a few pieces of the whole story away.

It is true what you say about the story determining the length. Once you start getting into the character's head(s), they just take off with your story in their grubby little hands. It takes a while to catch up to them, struggle to get the story back, and then send them away until the next time.

With any hope, I'll stop questioning it all, and let it flow naturally. Thanks for your opinion, and for your interest in the story.

~Bailey

~Taylor Ryan
My muse suffers from insomnia, and it keeps me up at night.

I just like the story!

Shorter, longer, whatever. I think they are fine as they are, but as long as they keep coming, I will enjoy it!
If I had to make a choice, I'd say it would depend on how often you want to post. Shorter chapters are fine, but post more frequently. Longer chapters are great, too, but how much time do you have? I would be worried that several longer chapters would eat into your personal time. Additionally, the shorter chapters would allow you to build up enough episodes to carry you over those times when you don't feel well, or just need to take a break. It gives you a safety margin to assure your satisfaction with the story, and takes pressure off of you!
Just my opinions!

Wren

What is personal time?

I only jest. I enjoy writing, so this is kind of like personal time to me. Between this and wasting my time on xbox, I prefer doing this in my spare time. I'm hoping somewhere down the road I can learn the craft well enough to get published. I know my writing isn't perfect, but I've always felt the story was the most important thing. Granted if I wrote a novel, I don't think it would be related to TG themes, but hopefully I can put the same kind of care into whatever I write.

Thank you for your opinion on the matter. I guess I will just see what comes out of my vivacious little imagination. Hope it brings enjoyment to all my readers just the same.

~Bailey

~Taylor Ryan
My muse suffers from insomnia, and it keeps me up at night.

I like it.

Your chapters are great! I love the way you're doing things. I treat your stories as I would a book, I read as much as I can when I can and pick up where I left of later. I also enjoy how you usually have the next story posted pretty close to the time I have finished the former.

Write how you want to write, just keep em coming! I really enjoy this story :)

I guess if you look at it that way

In the context of a book, there are long and short chapters. Maybe I'm over-thinking it all. I guess I'll just stick to my outlines, and whatever comes out in the end will be what it is. If I find myself slacking, I may toss in a short chapter for filler. That way I can take a little extra time on the next bigger one. I'm sure you all won't mind, as long as I get them out there.

Thanks for reading, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story.

~Bailey

~Taylor Ryan
My muse suffers from insomnia, and it keeps me up at night.

Shorter Chapters

Your chapters are long but interesting. How you can sit and
write so much amazes me. I like shorter chapters of around
2000 words. But in your case 5000 is ok. Some people like to
read a novel at once. Some of us just like to read a little
once or twice a week.

I feel for you...

But for some reason I can't bring myself to writing 5000 and stopping. It feels like I must go on. Probably the main reason is I get so involved with these characters, because they're reflections of people I know/knew. Plus I absolutely love to write. I wish I actually had more time to sit and write more.

I don't think I've developed that valve in my mind to shut the story off yet. It's hard for me to write short pieces, unless it's poetry or lyrics. I wrote a 1500 word short story for a writing contest once, and had to trim it down quite a bit to stay within the limit. It ended up as 1496 words, and literally came down to taking out dialog tags at the end.

I'm actually working on another project at the same time as Bailey, so I might give short a try with it. I think I found a pretty good evenness with Bailey though. With my next story, I'll try to stick to more of a chapter feel instead of parts. So it'll only be one scene and out, instead of 2-3 scenes.

~Bailey

~Taylor Ryan
My muse suffers from insomnia, and it keeps me up at night.

The Bigger the Better

Firstly let me say that I'm completely captivated with this story. The first night I discovered it I read it until 2:00 in the morning and then printed it off to read at work again the next day. The characters are brilliant and I feel a deep connection to Bailey and his/her story.

Thank you for taking the time to craft such a moving story.

As far as length goes I love the long chapters. I tend to read them on my iPad and I find the length of the last few is good as it's long enough to advance the story a decent clip each time.

Again - thanks. I can't wait for the next chapter.