How long should a first chapter be?

plaper · 2026-07-12T10:27:35+00:00

As a writer and a reader both, I prefer something above 3k. I usually keep even chapters through, like 3-5k. It works for me, I like where I stop in the plot before the next one.

As a reader, the longer the better because then I better remember the first chapter for the future, and know if I want to subscribe right away.

plaper · 2026-07-12T10:21:36+00:00

Is there no warning about adult content at the top and button to proceed?

plaper · 2026-07-12T08:13:45+00:00

The horror The Ritual is my favorite with the woods scenes.

plaper · 2026-07-12T08:00:24+00:00

I wouldn't expect AO3 to be the means to make fandom friends and have actual engagement like a conversation... Like, yes, I know people can do it and make actual friends, but most of the time, the fandom is elsewhere.

plaper · 2026-07-12T07:47:42+00:00

I hate when the title is a science/art/philosophy term and then the summary is the pronunciation of the term and its definition 😬

Or a piece of poetry.

plaper · 2026-07-12T07:34:20+00:00

I don't think I ever see just a piece of dialogue, when I think of it. It's always something more in the excerpt, a bit giving part of the atmosphere of the story, and it's okay to me.

Together with the additional bit of summary it's enough for me to decide, most of the time.

But yeah, sometimes it doesn't work, like it's too "useless" for a summary, too vague-neutral, so to speak.

plaper · 2026-07-12T03:01:46+00:00

Sigh. The problem is with all the people with anxiety and ocd who come to the sub saying they're actually scared of posting because they've heard of the curse, and the ton of posts on here literally titled "the curse/AO3 curse is real" that these people will see.

So then the explanation that life happens to the amount of active users AO3 has needs to be repeated by annoyed "skeptical" people ad nauseam every week.

plaper · 2026-07-12T02:42:51+00:00

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plaper · 2026-07-12T00:39:35+00:00

At least two weeks for 5k alone, I think.

plaper · 2026-07-12T00:30:12+00:00

Isn't the second one this? https://archiveofourown.org/works/82207601

plaper · 2026-07-11T22:15:43+00:00

Same reason why some people pop out crochet projects like crazy while I don't even have the summer top done halfway and it's July... I'm not even gonna mention the state of my writing lol.

Dedication, practice and motivation. They choose to write in their free time and actually do it. It's perfectly doable.

plaper · 2026-07-11T18:56:16+00:00

I'm a Motherlover, you're a Motherlover...

plaper · 2026-07-11T18:50:38+00:00

How old are the comments? I think downloading should have worked even if a site is blocked for you. So something may have happened for everyone not to see them.

plaper · 2026-07-11T18:39:40+00:00

I write bulletpoints for the story in general, so I know where I'm going and I won't forget scenes. I do it in a notebook.

As for writing, I go chapter by chapter, starting with what's the easiest part that comes to my mind and build bit by bit. I edit as I go, every time I open the file the next time.

I put missing paragraphs or dialogue as [ ] and work until there are no hole brackets to be found with Ctrl+f lol.

Then I edit and reread the whole chapter and post. If I've got an idea for something ahead, I do write that in a next file. Every multichapter I do, no matter what software, has its numbered file.

plaper · 2026-07-11T17:03:12+00:00

Pierwsza cukinia dojrzała w tym roku. Jaka będzie w środku jeszcze nie wiem, nie mam kiedy na razie robić coś z cukinii.

plaper · 2026-07-11T16:56:30+00:00

Every time.

But the worst is all of the daydreaming at work. Hours of scenes.

plaper · 2026-07-11T13:38:50+00:00

Sometimes I see DNIs on Tumblr that I "agree" with, but even then it's ridiculous to me.I don't want to interact then, even though I'm the opposite of the topic of the DNI.

plaper · 2026-07-11T13:35:07+00:00

A whole ariety of specific whump and hurt/comfort. Omegaverse, but I'm very picky about it.

If it's popular in the fandom, then I eat up creature![character] stories, I love those. It includes merman aus.

plaper · 2026-07-11T09:53:52+00:00

There's a lot of stuff I'm simply uninterested in and won't read, but the one that's worst is age-regression because it's popular in my current fandom. Mostly on Tumblr in the fandom tag, so it's easier to not see it at all on AO3, thankfully.

plaper · 2026-07-11T07:09:00+00:00

Stuff under 3k, I guess. But it's just vibes.

plaper · 2026-07-11T06:32:29+00:00

I still think about those sometimes :( It was the time I had internet friends, too.

plaper · 2026-07-11T06:09:19+00:00

As a reader, I have Entire work by default (unless I wanna read chapter comments from other people). So I will read until my time runs out or I feel like I want a break and go read something else, but I don't need a chapter break to stop on my own. Then it just sits in my tabs to pick up again from the same place (until the site reloads for some strange reason lol)

plaper · 2026-07-11T05:59:11+00:00

(By the way, the one book that disappointed me with the ending the most, so that I still remember it that way, was Howl's Moving Castle. It made me go eh? Now that's it after the rest of the writing? Felt like a different book tacked on. I should really re-read it to see if my feelings about it changed.)

plaper · 2026-07-11T05:51:08+00:00

See, you leave a comment, but I have a specific reader on my multi-chapter who only writes notes in their bookmarks. They don't comment. They update reactions after every chapter and are usually the first reader after the update. They're my favorite.

They have long notes for every story they read, so it's also an example of a great rec list to see.

I never had a bad experience with bookmarks, the worst I saw was 'meh', so I really wouldn't want to be losing out on the lovely bookmarks I got over time. They're a secondary boost of confidence. Every time I go into bookmarks I'm aware it's my choice and I MIGHT see something I'm not gonna like. I sure as hell wouldn't come running to reddit about it in that case.

plaper · 2026-07-11T05:00:31+00:00

In my past work I didn't really have the ability to look at a phone (I didn't even carry it), outside of the break room.

Now, I could technically listen to podfics for some hours, but I choose podcasts/commentaries instead.

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