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As you like it, Big and bouncy, Cool for cats, Follow the speller brick road, Much ado about something, Qualm reader on Blackpool Sands, Reading a great deal into it all, Siiiiize of an Elephant, Take it as it comes?
If someone, for instance a penner of words, were to have written a rather long story lets say, a tale of some length, (bigger than the average bear for example), and intended to post said tale when completed upon a blog, would a reader prefer to have the whole job lot in one go, as a giant affair, or have it split up into ‘chapters’ of a sort on separate posts, or be on a static post that is added to each day or so with more of the story, with a ‘to be continued…’ at the end of each slice?
I’m asking you of course.
And you over there too.
I know which I personally prefer. If I find a very long story in one post, I must admit to being a little put off initially. Of course if they have employed a good hook at the beginning, and I’m enjoying the ride, I will actively want more anyway, but even then, not necessarily in one humongous session.
However, if said enjoyable story is eeked out over a few posts, I might miss one of them, as it gets lost in the feed, and any passers-by will scroll down the feed and get it all in the wrong order, for the end will be highest on the list, and the beginning the last. The technical term for which is ‘arse over tit‘. If you get me. is not sure she’s being any clearer than mud, but strides on valiantly regardless.
For myself, if I don’t have the time to jump in and soar through the waves of a story all in one go, a running post works best. In as much as one post which remains as the last one written, but is added to each time more of the tale is published. A ‘tbc’. Though I’d write the whole words out, partly because some people would not know what the acronym meant, (really), but almost entirely, due to my liking the mood the words create. ‘To be continued… ‘ – It has an air of vintage mystery to it, of drama even, and also there’s an element of nostalgia in it for the older readers among us (sonmi is 158 years old), as tis reminiscent of shows like ‘The Lone Ranger’, at the cinema, which always left one on a cliffhanger. Not that there would necessarily be cliffs in this possible tale being possibly talked about, possibly by sonmi.
For a static (yet rolling) post to work, the writer must not publish anything new until the story is finished. And that way, as time passes, anyone who comes across it will have it all in the right order too.
What do you think my fine followers (or random passers-by) ? How do you prefer your wordy meals? Several courses at the same restaurant? Al fresco? A bag of crisps and a sarnie? Four candles? There’s a man works down the chip shop swears he’s Elvis? is completely making up nonsense now My old man’s a dustman? Yankee noodle doodle? Cake or death?
Spill the beans.
- sonmi taking drugs upon the Cloud.
Esme's Cloud 
More than a grandsworth of words I tend to avoid – unless ofcourse I know the writer to be accomplished…I rather like ‘grandsworth’ thinking about it!
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I’m liking a ‘grandsworth’ too – laughs. My Tales from the Troposhere on the Cloud, are between less than a hundred, up to, well, at present, the longest was almost six thousand. But it was read by quite a lot of people surprisingly enough. Over facing people is not ideal mind you. Thanks for popping over Mike – smiles.
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Somewhere between a grandsworth and a monkeysworth might be the ideal?
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A biscuit tin’s worth!
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How much is that?
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Around eight Jammy Dodgers, a full packet of Custard Creams, four digestives, and seven Hob-Knobs.
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‘HobNobs’ – I dread to think what a ‘Hob-Knob’ might be; sounds like the result of a dreadful kitchen mishap. 🙄
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You know very well what one is you minx. Actually I always despised Hob-knobs, too flaky and sticky. Ahem.
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funny people
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Where?! How very dare they. I hope they bought a ticket.
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I will not mention names.
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I knew you could be trusted. makes the secret sign and nods.
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It’s a tricky one, certainly. What WordPress really needs is a button that reverses the order in which posts are displayed – so the oldest ones are seen first and you scroll down (or forward, or whatever) to get to the newer ones. But I imagine that would cause problems in itself.
I think maybe your idea of one long rolling post is probably the best option. One giant story going up all at once might frighten off more delicate readers!
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I’m frightening enough as it is. Aye, it’ll have to be a roller. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this Porter Girl – smiles.
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I wonder if publishing it a as free e-book, available from the blog, is not really the best idea? It can be done via the ‘add media’ page: https://en.support.wordpress.com/add-media/ A blog is really not the best place to publish a short story; I don’t think there’s any question about that. Nonetheless, needs must and all that.
A subscriber at my place produced a short story which ran over some ten or so posts. It didn’t help that the narrative arc was more or less indiscernible, but I found I’d simply lost whatever plot there was when the next instalment came around. I’d forgotten the characters and what they were up to. It just didn’t work.
Your idea of a rolling post sounds sensible within the constraints. Might the mechanics of sending out notifications and keeping the comments chronologically coherent prove a challenge? Would the previous instalment be deleted, and if so, do you not then increasingly have the problem of producing unfeasibly large posts?
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I honestly think people are less likely to follow a link off wordpress, than read what’s instantly in front of them.
“A blog is really not the best place to publish a short story; I don’t think there’s any question about that.” – I will have to question that laughs. I really enjoy short stories on some blogs. Then again, it depends on what you’re after. If you want a veritable ton (grandsworth even) of people to read them, you need to be doing anything and everything to promote said stories, and if someone is writing, or selling a book, a short story is an ideal way of finding out if they are your cup of tea or not, afore buying it.
Good point about notifications, thank you for pointing it out. This issue might be rectified by deleting the post every time you add a new bit, and putting it all on a new post with either the same title, or one modified slightly to remind people what is going on. Will it be humonguos? Yes, because that’s it’s size I guess. Will people be put off if they come across it farther down the line as one big jobby? Probably. However, I’m only expecting around four people to read it all anyway – laughs, but their views are very important, and another vital element to writing, is getting feedback. So even if few bother with them, if at least some people do read it, tis worth chucking the story out there, to watch it sink or swim.
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By ‘short story’, I mean anything between, say, ten and forty thousand words. Are the short stories you read on blogs within this range? I must confess, whenever I come across a blog post of much more than 3,000 words I just pop a comment in there: “I’m not reading all that!”. It draws a giggle if nothing else, and most make the retort “I don’t blame you!”
I’ve no idea how successful free e-books are when promoted on blogs, though most people like a freebie, and now the reading software is free too – from Amazon and Adobe – there doesn’t seem to be much to lose.
Yes, of course you must get the story published one way or another. I wouldn’t write off the e-book idea myself, because it’s a versatile promotional tool both for the blog and one’s writing more generally. You can also release it without DRM on Amazon and reach a global audience, which, much as we all loathe Amazon, is an amaz(on)ingly powerful thing for writers.
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Well, a short story is said to be much less than that for competition guidelines, they say 2,500 – 5,000 words when I’ve sneaked a peak. Here’s a guide that sums it all up I found on’t webby-
A Good Guide to Story Length
Word count is the the easiest counter available and generally a good judge for length. Page count seems like a good measurement too, but you can have some pages with lots of text and some pages with no text. Still, the general guideline is to estimate each page has 250 words. The following length guide, however, will just be given in word counts.
Micro-fiction (0-100 words) : this is meant for extremely short pieces. Many publishers and writing groups will include this as part of short stories. So if you want to submit a story of this length, try submitting it as part of a group or as a short story.
Flash Fiction (100-1,000 words) : This is also a shorter length. this format is great for short, stream-of-conscious pieces or practice pieces. Many publishers and writing groups also consider stories of this length as a short story.
Short Story (1,000-7,500 words) : This is a common story format, meant to go over one, maybe two, small plot lines. Short stories are usually found in anthologies and compilations and can be written in virtually every genre.
Novellette (7,500-20,000 words) : This is the hardest length to find a publisher for. It’s too long for magazines or compilations and too short to full-scale publication. It may be worth taking a story like this and spiting it into three or four parts to better submit to publishers.
Novella (20,000-50,000 words) : Most people associate Novella with Spanish soaps, but this is a recognized length for stories. This length is difficult to get printed, but is prefect for the e-book format.
Novel (50,000-110,000 words): Some publishers really don’t consider the piece a novel until as much as 70,000 words, but other publishers will print books at 50,000. Nanowrimo‘s length is set at 50,000 (speaki,g of which, are you signed up yet?). Most printed books are within this range.
Epics/Sequels (110,000+) : This length is not for the feint of heart. It requires real commitment, but leaves lots of room for sagas and epics and sequels. Publishers definitely like sequels, it encourages repeat customers. The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring word count is 187k. And that’s just the first book! The entire trilogy had a whooping 473k words.
Of course I don’t hold much truck with rules, and I honestly believe that the internet has made impatient readers of us all. Not all of us, not you of course, or you – points randomly – the very idea! – But twittering, and following lots and lots of blogs, which takes up more and more of our time, has led, I believe, to a kind of impatient laziness. A limited concentration span. This is not an arrow aimed at anyone, just an observation, and I know I have found myself in that box occasionally, though these days I’m more aware, and fight against it. I’ve also slimmed down the list of those I follow for the explicit reason (not rude, asks the bouncers to escort at least two dirty grins out of the building ) – of devoting enough time to those whose blogs I really enjoy.
I’m sure an e-book will make sense, and shall certainly be looking that way, but also be looking at having a couple of finely bound exquisite hard copies made, that will cost me all I own, but look marvellous, and then be buried with one in my arms. laughs a lot. It’s all in the Cloud’s hands really.
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I bow, as ever, to your superior knowledge, gleaned as it was undoubtedly from impeccable sources. Nonetheless, if a Short Story is defined as comprising 1,000-7,500 words, then for the most part it falls outside the parameters of what most are prepared to read on a blog – see: Mike, Mak, Peter, myself, and (I think) Porter Girl too. As you say, there are no definitive rules, and even under these Tories it’s still a reasonably free country. If you want to be read, then covering more than one base seems sensible, and these days, costs nothing more than a little effort.
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“I bow, as ever, to your superior knowledge, gleaned as it was undoubtedly from impeccable sources.” – do I detect a soupçon of sarcasm there H? Hahahaha.
There are more who’d rather not bother with a story that’s very long in the first place, than those of us who like something chewy with length, yes. Sonmi is not much of a one for following the majority mind you – waves her flares in the air like she don’t care – . But I do care as it happens, and, with all this discussion going on, I may just burn the damn thing and write a Dick and Dora escapade instead. Hahahahaha.
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“those of us who like something chewy with length”
You need one of these!
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Blimey. No one needs one of those H!
So gross and freaky dearie. Thank you for your contribution. laughs.
sonmi looking green upon the Cloud.
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I thought sonmi was younger. Maybe living in the clouds has some advantages.
I hate long posts. If you are writing a book and you would like your readers, especially yours truly, to keep reading it, make the posts short. 800-1500 words per installment. The day is short and there are many things to do.
Adding tbc isn’t necessary, especially if during the serialization, there are no interruptions. I would still follow and go back to those I missed.
Wishes her a good afternoon
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Thank you for your opinion mak, it’s turning out to be very interesting, and nigh on impossible to please everyone hahaha.
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the comments are hilarious. You can’t please all of us but if sonmi intends to write a short story, yours truly may read it as long as it is in prose. But keep it at 1501. The one is for the period.
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salutes and bows smartly – As it happens Anne Boleyn was born in 1501, the Portuguese explorer Pedro Cabral returns to Lisbon from his expedition to Calicut, The Banquet of Chestnuts was held by Cesare Borgia in the Papal Palace of Rome, and Michelangelo began work on his ‘David’.
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returns the bow
I didn’t know all that
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The Gods told me which ones you weren’t aware of. I’m glad they were right for once.
s.u.t.Cloud
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Thank heavens!
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It’s just a sticky wicket of a problem. Or something like that. I fear the solution is just…trying to hide.
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laughing a lot. It certainly is Professor. You don’t get much sticker than this. Blackadder said it rather well methinks – “We’re in the stickiest situation, since Sticky the stick insect got stuck on a sticky bun.” – how I love that line.
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“If someone . . .” As in Sonmi, of course. (only a spy would know that)
Now mine is a poor opinion to consider a consensus. But, since you ask, I’ll offer.
Firstly, I prefer, whether reading or writing, to remain within eighteen hundred and one words, give or take a word or two if you must. This, is a personal limitation, which I find quite ornery and unable to overcome. Though you must note, this is not a assessment or condemnation of said post, article, story, author, or what have you. Anything longer than eighteen hundred and one words must damn well better have a treble hook, or two, if it’s going to keep me snagged. And even then, it may well be put aside after said eighteen hundred and one words for consideration of another time, and oft times it is then forgotten for all time.
Secondly, not liking its particular theme of blue, I rarely use the reader; I prefer my wordy meals served in the inbox. And, meaning no offense, of all I follow, few is it that I allow admittance into my inbox. And if you must know, Sonmi, and surely you must know, that yours (and Hariod’s btw) have reserved front roll seating upon cushy reclining seats and serving refreshments and vegan snacks aplenty; among a few select other bloggers you may or may not know. It’s just the type of prickly prick I am. Meaning only to say that I’m interested in all I follow, just some more than others, or some not as much as others, whichever you prefer.
Now if I was, and I’m not at present planning such nor capable of such, but if I was to write a concern of appreciable length, I like the idea of a series. And I would differentiate the pieces of this series from other pieces or post with a unique category and / or tag(s), thereby facilitating the interspersion of other posts of no relevance; and then easily found by clicking said category of tag(s). Perhaps I would even give it its own page and menu item, an index, or even its very own blog.
To be continued . . .
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I highly enjoyed this comment Peter. Superbly written, and very entertaining. As good as any flashing fiction in it’s own way. Had I the eyes for it, I’d count the words, but feel sure that it under eighteen hundred and one words. “few is it that I allow admittance into my inbox” – me too, it’s the Royal Box in a way. I’m, chuffed to be in yours, and indeed you are in mine. So to speak.
“It’s just the type of prickly prick I am” – You can get cream for that, and I suggest sooner, rather than later. Things might fester! falls about laughing.
I have noted your special needs. Thank you for the effort put in explaining your craziness. laughs some more.
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When I came across this post described as a “2 min read” I nearly fainted. “2 min read”! I spoke it aloud. I did. I didn’t even say, “minute”, I said, “min”. At least twice loudly, “2 min read, 2 min read”!. I wouldn’t have known what I was saying if I’d been in the other room and overheard myself. I may have imagined it as ‘tuminreed’ or maybe, ‘Toomin Reed’. Either an enchanted place where once a great battle between good and evil did rage or a space pirate who helps people.
Publish the whole thing at once. At the top challenge any potential readers with an author’s note stating the following (or similar):
” I have presented a whole story here that I’m pretty sure you won’t be able you read because you’re a sissy”
People will read it.
The President and Founder
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It’s supposed to be
” I have presented a whole story here that I’m pretty sure you won’t be able “to” read because you’re a sissy”
but you, and anyone else who isn’t a sissy, knew that already.
The…
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I have already amended the original when quoting you of course, being all efficient and the like as I am, and certainly the opposite of a sissy, or even a hissy sissy, feeling a bit pissy.
s.u.t…….C
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If they were to remake The Ten Commandments directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Vin Diesel as Rameses he would at this point say, “So let it be written, so let it be done, MOTHERFUCKERS”
The One and Only Special Person (Now with extra added ingredients!)
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Freddy likes Jack’s Ox, but the Ox is always greener…
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Spookily enough, there’s a chance you were channeling the following place! –
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rzM50WQOJUcC&pg=PA1888&lpg=PA1888&dq=Toomin+Reed&source=bl&ots=YIA6i0Uudy&sig=1IpKEsDptKh1-8-VdIdX87cYzGw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDsQ6AEwBWoVChMIi6WlmrfdxgIVhJrbCh33owDF#v=onepage&q=Toom%20in%20Reed&f=false
” I have presented a whole story here that I’m pretty sure you won’t be able “to” read because you’re a sissy” – this is the best advice sonmi has ever had.
I see now how you rose to such an enviable position of power President and Founder.
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What be this link provided which does not transport one magically as it should?
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Stoopid tinternet. It’s showing. but not linking, but I have the measure of it. If you paste into google the following text, you will see it’s source which is from a book and appears to be detailing a point in time in 1890.
“A typical dotmitoty toom in Reed Hall about 1888. Because the college libraty was located in the Kidding, thete was a constant teat that tite could desttoy its ”
I should add that the spelling mistakes are straight from the very book itself!
s.u.t.Cloud
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Personally, not that it matters, I prefer shorter, rather than very long (over 1,000 words) postings.
After about 500 words I start to become a bit annoyed.
Brevity is respectful of others time.
Some WP writers have many followers and if every post is very long, it makes getting to each of them painful~
Your point can usually be made in 500 words or less, yes/no?
And I have a habit of giving 5 reference links on each post for one reason,
I wish to offer the reader more than my opinion on a subject.
I shall shut up now!
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“After about 500 words I start to become a bit annoyed.” – I find this tickles me a great deal. I’m imagining my peaceful Donna, all purple of face, and jumping up and down on the spot, swearing like a navy at the sight of a thousand.
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There is not a peaceful bone in my body!
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A warrior! Of course, and you are a warrior, truly in so many ways smiles. x
s.u.t.Cloud
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I thought it was only I who gets annoyed at long posts. I can now rest easy there are many of us.
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Hmm… I think I’m in the minority, but I prefer to get things all in one go. I’ve been known to read stories up to about 10,000 words in a post – either it grabs me and I stick with it, or it grabs me but I don’t have time so come back to it, or it doesn’t grab me, so I quietly shuffle away. But I tend to lose interest if it’s doled out in bite-size chunks. But then I’m the same with the TV – I’ll wait till I can watch the whole thing on DVD rather than try to follow episodes as they come out.
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Yes, you’re one who consumes words as a treat, the more there are (of quality) the better. I am the same with books, but less so with online material twud seem. Thanks FF, what a varied bunch of followers I have smiles.
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One thing I would like to add on this subject as personally annoying, as it was already more or less, Open Forum for commenting…..
Why do some feel the need to put up 5-15 posts in rapid order in a single day?
Or post nothing, but a VERY long list of just pictures?
This is called Word Press, not picture press, right/wrong?
Now, I am done and promise not return……
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I refer you to the President and Founder for answers to these questions – hahaahahaha. I enjoy a variety of posts, pictures, words, weird shit especially. waves at everyone she follows.
Oh and I forgot to answer this one – “Your point can usually be made in 500 words or less, yes/no?” – Not if it’s a story, or a poem. Fiction must be free to fly as far as it wants, even if few like it’s aeronautical winging. Non-fiction though…succinct is highly desired for sure. Do return as you wish mind you!
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Words should come in coherent parcels. You know, part and parcel? :}
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You should see the size of my parcel sir. It could tour the circus I tell you.
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For me: One shot feels better – idealistic. Depending on the day it hits the presses, I could end up putting it in my read-later pile – the pile where reading goes to be forgotten.
Serial, I will read.
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I know just what you mean. Ideally, and realistically. It does depend a great deal on the writer too. Thanks for your thoughts Yahooey smiles.
sonmi.u.t.Cloud
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Interesting thread. To be honest I wouldn’t read it. Unless it was so icky that my socks just sky rocketed off to the cheese moon for bread butter. But if you wrote something, I’d read it. Most definitely. I play favorite’s with people and I don’t even care who knows it. Yay to not giving a single flicker. ❤
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Anything that ‘icky’ needs a viewing. And it’s far better to be loud and proud about who you like bestest ever, or mostly best, because it’s true and from the heart. Everything is a matter of degrees, from the finest slivers of slight mediocrity, to big, fat chunks of pure, glowing enjoyment. Yay indeed. And thank you. At this rate you’ll be old and gummy by the time the tale is finished. ❤
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big love ❤
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That is a good question Sonmi.
It is so annoying to find oneself 200 words deep into a 500 word article before realizing you are reading a spoiler for a continuing saga. At the very least a heading linking back to the beginning would be helpful for new arrivals but for someone that may have missed two or three installments may find it a chore getting back to where they left off. You may be familiar with “Sonny Boy’s Story” – I blog I once followed where Earl “Sonny Boy” Thompson recounted (chronologically) the story of his life on a wordpress reverse presentation that annoyed me so much that I dedicated much time and effort into maintaining a dynamic table of contents that would link to each post as it became available. We would collaborate via email and actually developed a great working relationship over the deal. Of course Earl had to take down the collection of memoirs when he published his blog in book form. Now that has rendered my table of contents project null and void (other than commemorating that incredible blogging series by Sonny Boy.)
(BTW- That TOC page still remains as a tribute: http://blogdogit.com/article.php?story=20130417102619538 {TY})
The point of all this is; if you could maintain a table of contents for the work and perhaps have a widget linking to the project you may capture the attention of many more folks when they realize they are about to read a work deserving of special treatment and presentation.
Just my two Drachms…
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“It is so annoying to find oneself 200 words deep into a 500 word article before realizing you are reading a spoiler for a continuing saga.” – This is a very good point which I’d not taken into consideration. There may be many who get irked when they have to read too many words to finish a piece, but there will also be those at the other end of the scale who will be right miffed at seeing a ‘to be continued…’.
Wow you really did put a great deal into the ‘Sonny Boy’ project, good man.
“The point of all this is; if you could maintain a table of contents for the work and perhaps have a widget linking to the project you may capture the attention of many more folks when they realize they are about to read a work deserving of special treatment and presentation.” – There’s a small chance that I might not know what you’re on about there masodo. Small, but quite possible laughs. Do you mean something like Peter suggested – the whole caboodle having a page of it’s own, and perhaps a list of ‘chapters’ or contents for that page alone? Because I’m definitely thinking along those lines now. Am I in your ballpark there?
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Well, yah… like Peter was talking about…
Thanks for pointing out his comment as I had read your post yesterday and composed my rather disjointed reply today in notepad and pasted as a comment totally disregarding most all the comments that came before. …I know… but it’s true…
I suppose I was thinking you could maintain a single main page for the work (perhaps the introductory page) and therein chronicle each addition to the collection) Sort of like what you get with a “Tag Sorting” but this would be a single page where you could link to each article as you get it posted. An ever expanding table of contents maybe featuring a small illustration or “pull quote” from the article. Of course that would become one more task associated with each post you do.
This dilemma tends to illustrate the difference between a “blogging platform” versus a “content management system” but this is probably not the place to open that can of worms…
Just as an after thought… I enjoy following a great many bloggers and those from whom I receive email notifications will most likely be the ones I am least likely to devote full attention to. Since among my emails are generally many demands upon my time. So if I jump out to view the post I will – more often than not – find myself unable to devote my attention to joining a discussion being held in the comments section.
On the other hand I maintain a list of all my favorite folks (you’ve seen my site) and If I find I have some time to kill I will usually follow one of my randomly generated suggestions and may well find myself visiting someone I have been neglecting (in deference to my better judgement) I may then spend hours catching up on missed articles. In that I suppose I tend to enjoy sites that offer timeless content over those looking for folks to talk them down from the ledge (or what-not.)
So in conclusion… I am sure whatever you do will be just dandy – If it turns out to be burdensome I promise to grin and bear it!
😀
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When there are many comments, it’s quite commonplace to not read them all I think, which ties in with my theory about the web’s effect on us. So fear not, tis the post itself that is being examined smiles.
“I suppose I was thinking you could maintain a single main page for the work (perhaps the introductory page) and therein chronicle each addition to the collection) Sort of like what you get with a “Tag Sorting” but this would be a single page where you could link to each article as you get it posted.
This dilemma tends to illustrate the difference between a “blogging platform” versus a “content management system” but this is probably not the place to open that can of worms…”
I know not of the bolder words above. But shouldn’t lazy and ask, so I’ll look them up.
Interesting that your email notifications have the opposite effect to mine and Peter’s. I look at your bright list too every now and again, to see if anyone new has popped up.
“I am sure whatever you do will be just dandy – If it turns out to be burdensome I promise to grin and bear it!” – Hey, as long as you don’t say anything bad about it all..you can bear anything you like.
Thanks for the words masodo, useful stuff as ever – beams.
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Just to try and contradict most of what people have written on here …
1) I’ll read up to 2,5/3,000. One blog I read does a weekly 5K post. It’s easier to read it all at once.
2) I’ve had this convo with Mak before but he does ‘claim’ to read my longer posts.
3) I see no difference in comments or visits in long v short posts on my blog. Rather it is subject matter. And if I’m writing a serious post, I’m not catering for readers with Tweetbrains.
4) A lot of my readers do read the comments. As do I on most blogs unless they are of the ‘great post, supah photo’ variety.
5) I read a couple of Nanowrimo stories on blogs last year. They put the posts up daily and I was waiting for the next instalment champing at the bit.
6) I’ve got a short story in blog instalments waiting to be read, sitting neglected on the whatsit bar.
7) I’ve just read a book of short stories for review. Around 24K words for ten stories. Well nine stories and some free verse. I think a free ebook is worth it. More work though.
I do agree broadly with the story length definitions that you cited.
As for word length, really depends how good the writing is … as to whether people can only concentrate on 500 words or 2K+
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I’ll reply to your numbered points in return to keep it looking neat. likes to keep things smart round the Cloud.
Tweetbrains. Hahahahaha. Brilliant.
I’m really pleased you commented roughseas, you being one from the world of journalism an all. Thank you.
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Hmm. No toothache here. I’ll just take a
smalllarge San Miguel thanks. But whatever, we can swirl together.I’m doing this selectively in reverse order. Yes, I did have H in mind when I agreed with your definitions. Clearly he views War and Peace as a novella. Or Proust as a short novel.
I’ve done the asking thing mainly on Roughseas. I found it really useful. Particularly the one about what books people want to read. Memoirs, memoirs! Do people want to read those? Knuckles down to attempt travel memoir
Can’t bear that most stupid WP tip about ‘do ask a question to elicit comments’. Either a post merits comments or it doesn’t. I do my utmost to avoid answering asinine comments or make a totally unrelated one 🙂
I’m not that precise in all honesty. Five hundred words can be boring as shit. Three thou can be riveting. I just read a short story ironically, 1500 to 2000, it was an easy read.
I’ve just finished an edit (I think) of 160,000 words. That’s probably why two or three thou washes off the rainclouds.
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Oi, you extracting the proverbial, RS?
“Short stories have no set length. In terms of word count there is no official demarcation between an anecdote, a short story, and a novel. Rather, the form’s parameters are given by the rhetorical and practical context in which a given story is produced and considered, so that what constitutes a short story may differ between genres, countries, eras, and commentators.”
Cuddon, J. A. (1999). The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (3rd ed.). London: Penguin. p. 864.
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That was 1999. Do move with the times Hariodosaur 😉
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That’s nothing, when I go shopping I look for 1976 prices. 😉
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So recent? 😉
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I’m perplexed , totally !
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Laughs a lot. I don’t blame you one jot meg!
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If you write something as you are hinting at here because you have a feeling about a story in you and you couldn’t help it and it simply had to come out, Sonmi, and then you post it, I would very much like to read it. I believe it would change my day entirely to do so. I am remarkably flexible as to how it is delivered, too. I only prefer the words appear in their intended order…
Michael
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You’re the reader I’ve been looking for! – laughs. Thank you Michael, I’m glad to hear that. It will be posted, and in one go too, not proof read, warts an’ all. – nods a lot.
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