Okay, I am not too sure if this has been addressed before but, I was just wondering something and had to ask this: Is there such a thing as a fic being too long?

I am almost finished with the fic 'Seclusion' and just realized how long my fic really is [over 60 chapters]. It got me thinking if maybe I should have split the fic into two separate works? Most of my chapters are long [ over 5,000 words ] and when you put them all into one story... it becomes almost like I was attempting to write a novel. I myself am torn on this subject. I do enjoy a good , well written fic with many chapters, one of my faves being 'Double Vision' by the extremely talented, and fan-freakin-nominal Knifethrower [ that fic has 106 chapters and counting-hint,hint KT ]. I was just wondering what everyone else thought of a fic with many long chapters and if they should be split into two fics, rather than one. Any thoughts?

i've read fics of over 100 chapters, so i don't think yours is really too long, plus if it's good no one really cares!

i dont think there's a such thing as too long depending on the point of view, how it feels.

i think fics become "too long" when it feels like its being drawn out for no reason by the reviewer. like if your 400K story has 40 chapters and each one is 10k but as i read it i cant wait to see what happens, it doesn't feel like its too long. on the other hand if you have 100 chapters and only 20k then yeah its probably gunna feel long.

it all depends on how reading it makes someone feel. i hope that answers your question. - r0o

I like reading long chapters and long stories. So as long as the story can keep your interest, I don't think it matters how long the story is. I usually write out the basic outline to the story, and the to each chapter before writing. So it's not like I try and put a limit on how long a chapter is. But whatever happens while I am writing.

However, if I'm writing a one shot and it ends up being more then 10k i will usually break it into a two shot. just because, when you are reading online, from a computer screen. Reading that much font makes it hard to keep track and can hurt ones eyes. But no, I don't think you should split a story into two different projects. Because if you have a goal set on what you want to happen in the story, if you just suddenly end it. It was seem..um awkward I guess? That might not be the right word >.<

It will be like if someone is talking and then they just stop mid sentence. Then they start talking about something else completely. N' your like..wait what?! continue with what you were saying! XD Unless you close off the first story, and start the other story as more of a sequel?

Did that make any sense? Sorry if it didn't my mind is kind of not working right now XD

Oh, I wasn't asking if 'Seclusion' seemed too long, I was just wondering what other thought on this subject, having shocked myself that it does in fact have so many chapters. I tend to not pay attention to that when creating a fic. I myself enjoy short ones that are well written just as much as I enjoy one that has many long chapters and hence the reason why I am torn. I too write until I feel the chapter is done, even if it ends in a cliffhanger because, if you don't stop when your muse says to, it might seem you are reaching and that is never good.

This is a good question because I was thinking about this with a story I'm writing. I just posted the 45th chapter and I am thinking that there will be somewhere around twenty more chapters.

I was starting to wonder if new readers would avoid reading it because it's so long!

Well 'the more, the merrier' they always say! I'm reading a story that is 131 chapters and still going plus, there's going to be a sequel! I don't think there is ever too many chapters because if a fic can be expanded that long it's got to be good, right? I like my oneshots but I read fanfics because it allows me to escape to an imaginary place that is, no doubt, better than where I really am and if there are a ton of chapters, it allows me to stay in that dreamscape longer than usual. So I'm all for many chapters lolz!!

I'm a hundred percent with Kimakaanna. I seek out really long fics, beause, as she says, they allow me to escape from everyday life. Some one-shots and short stories are very well-written, and great work, but it is the very long stories that I really love. Oroukae, you are famous for your long stories, and I love them. Your work has seen me through some long, worrisome times, allowing me to live in the world you imagined. How great is that?

There is such thing as too long when you consider most 300 page novels are 200,000 words or a few less. And there is a point where you might have to decide that the whole story would work best as a series. Pages and words however, are not the end all be all of how to divide up your work. If you've achieved a climactic point and can wrap up events more or less feasibly, then you can break it off there and continue on with the next volume.

Personally, I find stories that are very long to be requiring a greater commitment than I'm willing to give. If it's broken up into smaller volumes then it's a little more approachable. If I saw a story that had over 300,000 words and was incomplete, I would most likely not touch it, but a series with 150,000 words each volume would entice me more.

I usually won't read long stories. It's nothing personal against people who write them or the stories themselves, but I just find it's hard for me to sit down and read something that's 150K+ words. It takes a long time to read.

I think there are several different classes of long!fics. There's the serial/epic, where the story follows characters through all sorts of crazy adventures, which is my preferred version of a long fic. Then there's a long fic that takes a very long time to move through a standard plot, and these I stay away from completely. Finally, there's the longfic that just sort of seems to continue and parts just get slapped onto the end over and over again.

I'd have to say no, as long as it's good and doesn't feel drawn out just for the sake of being long there's no thing as too much. I don't really like seeing a ton of super short chapters, like stories that aren't oneshot collections and have alot of chapters under 1k words throws me off but good sized chapters any number is fine. Alot of times when I'm looking for new things to read I'll set the searchs on FF and Spark and such to things 100k or more just because it seems that only the better writers ever get to things that long.. Im sure Im probably missing out on some good stuff that way but I tend to like longer stories >.< Some really good fics Ive read were almost 300k too, so, in short: as long as it's well done - no, there's no such thing as too long ^.^

I suppose it would depend on what the reader is looking for. I know that in books I generally think anything under 400 pages is short (600-800 is better x3), and that's for each book in a series. If say there's 10 books, that's approx. 4000 pages total. I live for long chapters, long stories, obscenely long periods of character and plot development, etc. Now this being said, something long does not need to be drawn-out and dull. A good long story has many arcs, probably all building on the large one that is the main point of the plot. These arcs can move very quickly and make it not seem as if you have just gone through 20 chapters in a row.

However, some people just want something short and to the point. Something they can read in a brief session and be satisfied.