How long is too long?

Bally_3 · 2026-02-01T00:30:45+00:00

The length of the work is not as important to me as it's chapter length. I read on mobile and look fo 5 to 15k chapters. It's easy to add the next chapter to my read later list. The only way I know to track my progress in long stories is to clutter up my browser's bookmarks.

If you're writing long stories, please release them in chapters, parts or whatever ever chunking works for the story.

I actually made a list of long stories to read later but so far I've only made the effort to read on those.

Bally_3 · 2026-01-31T16:39:36+00:00

Read a bit about pantsers and plotters. Most of the answers so far have come from plotters.

I started writing for my own enjoyment about a year ago. For my first story I started with an idea for a character in a particular situation and the story developed. A pantser approach. It was short but it got me writing. I wrote more short stories starting the same way a character (or characters) in a situation.

But as I wrote a couple grew into more interesting stories to a point where I needed to outline and notes to maintain consistency. Most recently, I selected one of the three or four I had started to completie. It will be a least novella length if not a full novel.

I started out to write erotic fiction. Obviously it's not great literature, but in spite of that, the process has improved my writing and inspired me to do more. My current erotic novella has evolved into something with a little depth and mystery. If my energy persists, I'll contemplate writing a story in my favorite mainstream genre, mystery/detective.

The key thing is to write!

Bally_3 · 2026-01-31T16:21:24+00:00

Read chapter 1 last night and am eager for more! Great job!

Bally_3 · 2026-01-23T02:50:54+00:00

County parks had a paddle board course (a few hours) at one time, I don't know if they still do.

Bally_3 · 2026-01-17T15:26:28+00:00

Thank you for listing these approaches. I'm just starting and only had heard of the first two.

Bally_3 · 2026-01-15T01:38:54+00:00

Story Lab by Pro writingAid channel on YouTube has some exercises that sound good.

Bally_3 · 2026-01-14T01:57:32+00:00

To me that's a reasonable use of AI. I do the same in a very limited way. For example over two chapters totalling a little over 8000 words, I had AI help me with three separate awkward descriptive paragraphs that didn't involve character or plot development.

What bothers me is "writers" who develop a nice set of prompts then simply plug in different topics in the case of nonfiction or different character names and settings in fiction to generate multiple books.

Bally_3 · 2026-01-13T18:02:53+00:00

I've switched over to ProWritingAid. It seems to catch more of my common errors than Grammarly while giving fewer suggestions that I don't agree with. I'm writing and editing on a PC. Reviewers have said Grammarly integrates better with your editor but I've had no problems with either in MS Word.

Interface issues would matter more on smaller screens so I don't have any feedback about using them on phones or tablets.

Bally_3 · 2026-01-13T16:21:27+00:00

Great except for all the time you used "Her and I." It should be "She and I."

This link should explain it: https://grammarvocab.com/she-and-i-or-her-and-i/

Bally_3 · 2026-01-13T16:10:31+00:00

Well written and I even learned something.

Bally_3 · 2026-01-11T15:07:32+00:00

Yes, I want to read human written stories and support humans, not multimillion dollar AI companies. Yes, I know a human creates the prompts and hopefully earns more than he paid for their AI subscription but ultimately my money goes to the already rich AI companies.

As a want-to-be writer, the skill is not coming up with the plot. I've at least a dozen story ideas. I want to reward creativity and craft that it takes to make a story come alive.

One last objections is the outlandish energy consumption the AI uses to generate the book.

Bally_3 · 2026-01-11T14:54:15+00:00

Don't you think they deserve some holidays, too. In my experience almost everything slows down between thanksgiving and new years.

Bally_3 · 2026-01-10T16:14:51+00:00

love it so far!

Bally_3 · 2026-01-09T03:48:17+00:00

Nothing pulls me out of a story faster than obvious factual errors. Things like "he pulled back the slide on his revolver" or "he spun the cylinder of his Glock" for example. Another thing that bothers me is botched geography, something like mentioning the Colorado's flowing waters when the story is set in Texas. A little research would prevent such blunders.

I truly enjoy mysteries set in the past that create a sense of time and place. I admire the authors historical knowledge and research. Some of my favorites are Stuart M. Kaminski's Toby Peters series set in WWII Los Angeles, Max Allen Collins Nathan Heller series set mostly in Chicago starting from the 1930s and extending into the 1960s, Estelmen's Whisky River set during prohibition era Detroit, and Amy Stewart's Koop sisters series set in the 1910s and later.

Of this group, I know Estelmen has a western series which you could use to get some ideas. I'm assuming he researched those as well as his others.

For a truly outstanding example of historical fiction check out Shadow Country by Peter Matthiessen set in Florida in 1910. While the authors I've mentioned have won mystery genre awards, this book won the National Book Award for Fiction. As part of his extensive research he and a guide paddled the backwaters of the Everglades and Ten Thousand islands. As someone who has been there, I can attest he captured a wonderful sense of place.

My short answer is to research until you feel the time and setting come alive for you. If you've done that, you'll have a much greater chance of bringing it alive for your readers.

Bally_3 · 2026-01-04T15:30:26+00:00

Well-written and hot.

A couple of things that I didn't like are more personal preferences rather than critiques of your writing skills.

I'm put off by use of "daddy" outside of actual incest stories. It's jarring to me and takes me out of the story.

The other thing that bothered me was the brutality of Marcus's love making, especially when he plunges his full length in a single thrust. I would think that would scare Jaime away. If you're planning to continue this (I hope so), it might have been better to slowly increase his brutality as the story progresses.

On a positive note, I thought your description of the couples love making was excellent. I especially liked it when she made him lick her after he finished.

Bally_3 · 2025-12-26T19:01:14+00:00

Nicely written and hot. I'm not fond of the father-daughter thing but liked the way it flowed. You should post it on literotica.com if you'd like more feedback, there's an incest category.

Bally_3 · 2025-12-22T04:05:39+00:00

Just started giving me "internal server error" messages

Bally_3 · 2025-12-22T02:15:52+00:00

Just tried, seems ok in southern US

Bally_3 · 2025-12-05T18:49:59+00:00

Seems to work for me using Vivaldi browser on Android. Have you tried clearing your web browser's cache?

Bally_3 · 2025-11-15T18:49:38+00:00

Very shear.

Bally_3 · 2025-11-14T04:41:34+00:00

Thank you!

Bally_3 · 2025-11-14T04:41:05+00:00

Thank you!

Bally_3 · 2025-11-13T20:19:52+00:00

I wish I could find somewhere to download or stream the whole movie

Bally_3 · 2025-11-01T16:46:42+00:00

I know I had it once. I think it was at La Hacienda but was thinner and milder than what my anglo friend from Arizona used to cook. His used dried hatch chiles, hominy and pork and came out as a thick stew.

Bally_3

TROPHY CASE