Question for readers...

[naosu]

I thought I could have put this question in the area for other writers, but then I thought I wanted input on it from readers more than other writers.

When a story gets too big, at what point do readers, have a hard time getting to the end of the story? Or at what point do they have trouble getting through the story at all?

I realized that it seems like one of my big stories that has a lot of chapters that the readers seem to have a hard time keeping up. And it seems like they are going to re-read things from the beginning or middle instead of staying caught up, especially when the chapters are long and have so many details in the world they are in... and this is what I'd hoped to gain more insight on.

What do you think about this?

 

[Hoshino]

When a story gets too big, at what point do readers, have a hard time getting to the end of the story? Or at what point do they have trouble getting through the story at all?

Sometimes, I find it difficult to read something if its too long like 1000 chapters or over 1000, nya. I just don't have the time for that.

 

[RepresentingDesire]

Something that gives context to my opinion is that I have read many stories with varying length, can be rather single minded when reading something I like and that I have a sporadic memory.

When a story gets too big, at what point do readers, have a hard time getting to the end of the story? Or at what point do they have trouble getting through the story at all?

I think word count is rather irrelevant when it comes to reading itself, a 20 chapter story can be an absolute slow time and a 300 chapter story can be read through with ease, the deciding factor is how engaging the story is.

And it seems like they are going to re-read things from the beginning or middle instead of staying caught up, especially when the chapters are long and have so many details in the world they are in... and this is what I'd hoped to gain more insight on.

Absolutely correct stories with more complex plot are better reread but even that happens only if a person is engaged to begin with, even a simple story will be reread if the person is engaged with it.

Reading is a time consuming hobby, when there are so many books to choose from it is obvious that a reader will spent their time on a book that fulfills the given needs, from the imagining of a wish being fulfilled to being entertained for half an hour, it's a matter of being efficient

 

[BigBadBoi]

Sometimes I put a novel on hold to build up chapters then lose motivation to read and then when I start rereading it I blitz through the novel and rinse and repeat.

 

[l8rose]

I generally stick with reading stories that are about 300 chapters (around 600k words give or take) as I start losing interest in the story after that. Especially with certain novels where it really feels like I'm reading a completely new book and not a continuation of the initial journey. Yes, yes, there are arcs in stories, but there are some arcs that feel like where a story should have ended. And then book 2 should have been started.

A good example is the first two novels in the Harper Hall Trilogy. While they're on the short side (almost novellas, really), they are both about Menolly's journey. The first is how she was looked down upon for being the odd one in her village, and how she finally got to live her dream and go to the Harper Hall. The second was her life at the Harper Hall before gaining a title and rank that would prevent anyone from looking down on her.

The exception is if the novel has a premise I'm really, really interested in. However, I am not going to bother reading an ongoing story that is already at 1000+ chapters. I might check it out after it's completed but I won't invest time in something that is not going to give me a payoff when I get to the end. There are a lot of completed novels that I can just go read instead so I just can't be bothered.

 

[Santaisblue]

I lose interest around 200-250 chapters, at that point the story usually changes too much from what I got interested in.

 

[naosu]

Something that gives context to my opinion is that I have read many stories with varying length, can be rather single minded when reading something I like and that I have a sporadic memory.

I think word count is rather irrelevant when it comes to reading itself, a 20 chapter story can be an absolute slow time and a 300 chapter story can be read through with ease, the deciding factor is how engaging the story is.

Absolutely correct stories with more complex plot are better reread but even that happens only if a person is engaged to begin with, even a simple story will be reread if the person is engaged with it.

Reading is a time consuming hobby, when there are so many books to choose from it is obvious that a reader will spent their time on a book that fulfills the given needs, from the imagining of a wish being fulfilled to being entertained for half an hour, it's a matter of being efficient

This is good insight. Does it get hard to remember everything going on with 300 chapters+ though?

Thank you very much.

I generally stick with reading stories that are about 300 chapters (around 600k words give or take) as I start losing interest in the story after that. Especially with certain novels where it really feels like I'm reading a completely new book and not a continuation of the initial journey. Yes, yes, there are arcs in stories, but there are some arcs that feel like where a story should have ended. And then book 2 should have been started.

A good example is the first two novels in the Harper Hall Trilogy. While they're on the short side (almost novellas, really), they are both about Menolly's journey. The first is how she was looked down upon for being the odd one in her village, and how she finally got to live her dream and go to the Harper Hall. The second was her life at the Harper Hall before gaining a title and rank that would prevent anyone from looking down on her.

The exception is if the novel has a premise I'm really, really interested in. However, I am not going to bother reading an ongoing story that is already at 1000+ chapters. I might check it out after it's completed but I won't invest time in something that is not going to give me a payoff when I get to the end. There are a lot of completed novels that I can just go read instead so I just can't be bothered.

Is that because they just aren't story boarding and just sort of winging it? (where you say you lose interest and it feels like its too different from how it started?)
Thank you everyone else also. Some nice comments.

 

[l8rose]

Is that because they just aren't story boarding and just sort of winging it? (where you say you lose interest and it feels like its too different from how it started?)

Honestly, I'm not sure, but that's probably some of it. It's also that the style changes from beginning to end as the author develops their skills.

I do feel like it happens more in CNovels than in Western novels. It could also just be that I'm getting older and my attention span is worsening. I mean, I read The Wheel of Time as a teen and loved it, tried again when the tv show came out and ended up giving up half-way through.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

I generally don't read anything with over ten chapters unless it's marked Completed just because I may run out of time or lose the link to it (online; with print stuff this is rarely an issue)

 

[RepresentingDesire]

Does it get hard to remember everything going on with 300 chapters+ though?

Without any help it is definitely not possible for me, but even the stories with the most complex and most foreshadowing I have read have didn't have the need to remember everything. Furthermore the longer a story goes on the less important every single plot point gets, like I have seen it only once that the beginner bandit boss comes back 300 chapters later to become the wielder of the evil god sword and uses the fortress that the sword controls to accidentally stand in the way of the heroine that wants to bring flowers to the meeting place between the grandma she meet and her master that died 280 chapters ago. But that story is in many ways an outlier of legendary proportions, it shows that splitting things in arcs can help recall things as well that foreshadowing can be used to remember things.

 

[Max02]

You have to be one hell of a great writer to make a 300 chapter story worth reading. Unless, of course, the chapters are short.

I prefer fewer chapters and more depth in each chapter. Also, even a genius like Tolkien knew how to create stories which were superbly written, but concise.

 

[LeilaniOtter]

Nonsense.

If I'm enjoying a story, I don't think length is an issue. The only way I'd drop is if the story falters or I don't like the direction it's going in. It's quality, not quantity. *^^*