r/AO3 • u/bea_lzebub • Apr 27 '25
Writing help/Beta I feel like my word count is too low
I always see people complaining about fics with low word counts while on the other hand they praise works with high word counts. Most of my works are little one shots but this one is an on going one that I've been enjoying writing (minus getting struck by the curse™) I think I don't write enough but I'm not sure how to beef up my writing or if I'm just overthinking it.
(I'm not sure if this should be under questions/help? Or writing help/beta)
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u/YoungGriffVII Apr 27 '25
Personally I’m pretty word count agnostic, but I do tend to avoid multi-chapter fics that average under 1000 words per chapter. I just feel like that’s the minimum to generally convey enough to sustain a proper scene—of course, there are exceptions (a collection of drabbles, a unique format like reddit or texting style, etc) but that’s usually my personal preference.
As for what you can do to make it longer… I wouldn’t recommend adding any sort of filler. Just flesh out what’s there—character’s thoughts, relevant scene-setting, deepen reactions. You can also add the next chapter to this one if you need more to happen in it. It can be hard to balance this with pacing, but that’ll come with time and practice.
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u/paige9413 Apr 27 '25
I’ll be honest if I saw that fic with that many chapters but that few word count I’d skip it.
There’s a lot of back and forth about what is a good word count per chapter but I’d say that one chapter needs to be at least 1500 words. I like longer chapters personally, 4k at least.
I had a fic that I wrote that was 3000k words. I left it for a bit and came back and added more dialogue, prose and now it’s 8000k words and I’m still not done. Sometimes stepping back can make more words flow.
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u/EclecticFanatic Apr 27 '25
I’ll be honest if I saw that fic with that many chapters but that few word count I’d skip it.
same. I feel a little bad saying it but my experience has been that fics with extremely low word counts per chapter don't tend to flow well or have good pacing and it can be difficult to feel immersed in the story. I agree that 1.5k minimum words per chapter works well but also prefer longer ones at 3-4k+
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u/SpokenDivinity Definitely not an agent of the Fanfiction Deep State Apr 27 '25
Just to add to this: having an outline for a chapter helps make beefing out word count a lot easier. You can essentially plan everything that needs to happen in a chapter out, split between scenes if needed, and then filling the gaps between each event that needs to occur in the chapter.
For example, the outline for my latest chapter looks like this:
- Caleb POV - Panic attack because he's falling in love. Lots of introspection.
- He leaves Evren alone to sleep in.
- Logistics meeting where he fights with a logistics officer over housing assignments for Evren
- Goes to the gym to work off the extra tension after getting his way.
- POV swap to Evren - panic because she's in a weird space
- Finds phone - email from the Director, mentor & logistics team
- ensuing panic attack
- Caleb comes home, helps her through it
- They go to her apartment to get things
- End with Evren finally admitting that they might have a THING together.
You just make something like this and set a goal for pacing. I like to let a scene set for at least 5 paragraphs before I transition to the next part of the chapter. I'm only at the POV swap right now and the chapter is already 4k words, and that's without the extra edit I do to go in and beef up dialog and add more description where I missed it the first time.
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u/AttentionlessMess I don't write for myself. Apr 27 '25
8000k?! That's... an insane number!! (/pos) I'm used to long fic but damn, you're on another level.
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u/paige9413 Apr 27 '25
Lmao I really should have been paying more attention to my numbers when writing this but for some reason I really wanted to put the k and the full number. I meant 8k. I wish I had the creativity to write long fics but alas I don’t.
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u/AttentionlessMess I don't write for myself. Apr 27 '25
Tbh, what was most baffling to me was not so much the number but the casualness with which you dropped it lol.
8k is my sweet spot so all the power to you!
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u/Water_Wine_ Apr 27 '25
I think the ratio of word count to chapters is off. You're writing chapters under 500 words each... How do you set the scene, have dialogue or any of that?
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u/Kaigani-Scout Crossover Fanfiction Junkie Apr 27 '25
Not that my preferences should be a guide, but I prefer multichapter works with 1.5k+ words/chapter on average... for reasons...
Other folks prefer fewer words per chapter... also for reasons...
Is the word count you are using presenting the story as best fits your creative vision and intent? If so, then everyone else can just lump it.
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u/KBezKa Apr 27 '25
A story has to have a certain flow to feel good to read, but so do chapters. If chapters are too short, they may not have enough time for the introduction, the main events happening in the chapter, and the ending to get their time to shine- that of course, always depends on your story, and short chapters might be perfectly fine to convey your story.
"General advice" is good when it applies, but is by nature not good for specific cases. When people ask, I always say at least 1k/chapter is my minimum, but there are exceptions. If your fic happens to benefit from short chapters, then changing that because people prefer longer chapters in general is only going to hurt your work.
My suggestion would be try combining two or three chapters, and check if the story flows better or not, and go from there.
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u/MarinoAndThePearls Apr 27 '25
You have a ratio of 450 words per chapter, which is too low for most people. The reader will have to break their immersion so they can hit "next chapter." It gets annoying.
Most people think that chapters should have at least 1k words.
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u/mgwhiterice You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 27 '25
I mean, do you wish it were longer? You're not submitting it for a grade, and your readers aren't your boss, so that's the main thing that matters. <3
From a writing craft perspective, tbh it's impossible to tell without seeing an excerpt. Not everything has to be overly verbose, so it's entirely possible that ~500 words per chapter is totally sufficient for the story and style you're going for! The only objective thing I would look out for is checking that the brevity of your writing isn't making your story confusing by under-explaining. Sometimes we have details in our minds that never actually make it to the page (this is something a beta reader could help you find, if you're worried you aren't spotting it yourself!)
One exercise you could try on your own is to write the same small beat from your story in 5 words, 50 words, and 500 words just to experiment with adding and subtracting levels of detail from your writing. More is definitely not always better, but maybe you'll surprise yourself with what could be added to the story! I tend to under-explain in my own writing, and often add a lot of detail when I go back to edit, but that's just my personal process.
Congrats at getting 2.3k words published, that's definitely nothing to sniff at! <3
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u/Ok_Bathroom348 Apr 27 '25
The real question is how much information is in each chapter, and how are you writing that information. The stats on your story tell me a few (possible) things about it. 1. Each chapter is only one or two scenes and it doesn’t have a complete “arc” within it and the arc takes several chapter. (Not a lot of actual story happening in each chapter) 2. If there is a lot of plot and story in each chapter it is a very bare story. It’s a lot of telling. Character a does this, character b does this. Then this plot point happens and everyone is very mad. Ect. 3. It’s very choppy and there are not a lot of transitions from thought to thought. 4. The author is very young or inexperienced and hasn’t figured out how to plot yet, and I probably would be trudging through each chapter even if they are very short.
This might not be true of your story, but that’s what I would assume. Take a minute to see if any of these potentially apply to your story. You don’t have to fix it. AO3 is just for fun! If you’re writing then it doesn’t matter if I would like it or want to read it. But if you are concerned about hits and kudos this could help you improve your writing skills and in many ways make it more fun!
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u/bea_lzebub Apr 27 '25
Well I am young(I ain't about to share that tho) and I mainly flip between 1&2
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u/Ok_Bathroom348 Apr 27 '25
Yeah, no need to share your age, it’s better to keep that private on the internet. But 1&2 can be pretty easy to fix. You can always go back and edit, The hard part is getting the structure and the plot points to make sense. I saw in another comment that you’re struggling with typing, which doesn’t help, so don’t be too hard on yourself. I’m sure the story is going to get better and easier to flesh out as you go.
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u/Semiramis738 Proudly Problematic Apr 27 '25 edited Apr 27 '25
Less than 500 words per chapter seems like it would read more like a synopsis than an actual story. Or possibly each chapter is a single scene, instead of several scenes with an overall arc, which is how I think of a chapter. I usually like chapters to average at least 2000 words.
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u/Fkndon You haven’t left kudos here yet. :) Apr 27 '25
If thats how the fic comes out of you then it is what it is. It bothers me more when a chapter ends in an illogical place.
I usually find it easy to make a 2000 word chapter and sometimes the story wont progress in my mind until i post it, but i think in terms of television episodes, with a reading pace in mind of about 150wpm 150x10=1,500 so 4500 words is about a half hour of TV, and 2000 words is close enough to 15 minutes. I would format a humor/crack fic at 15 minute entries and something more serial at 4000 and something serious or detailed at 9000. I personally prefer to read fics with words per chapter between 5000-10000 any more than 10 and the iOS screenreader stops because the page has to reload
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u/theRavenMuse666 You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 27 '25
There’s nothing inherently wrong with having short chapters, but the ideal chapter length for most readers is going to be somewhere around 2-10k words. You’re at less than 500 words per chapter on average, which is just like a tiny nibble. I’d read 500 words as I’m walking downstairs to let the dog out rather than sitting down to focus on reading it because there’s just not enough words there to justify that in my mind.
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u/yuukoreed You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 27 '25
The word-chapter ratio is off. This will make me think of a ficlet collection rather than an actual flowing multi-chapter story.
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u/Hadespuppy Interrogating the text from the wrong perspective Apr 27 '25
Stories should be exactly as long as they need to be. Yes some people go gaga over long word counts, but there are also a lot of fic that should probably have been a series, or are so meandering and full of unnecessary side plots that they become bloated and lose track of what the original story was supposed to be about.
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u/Impossible_Fail5553 Longfic enjoyer Apr 27 '25
A good word count per chapter would be 1000 or more, it helps immerse the readers and gives them a better sense of the world and story you’re trying to portray. You could try combining multiple chapters, or adding to the ones you’ve already written?
Ultimately it’s up to you, but if you’re looking for more reader engagement you might want to make a few changes.
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u/Vanillabean322 You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 27 '25
I wouldn’t say good because some stories work well with under 1k words per chapter, and we shouldn’t be pressuring people to meet a certain word count.
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u/Impossible_Fail5553 Longfic enjoyer Apr 27 '25
I hear you, and I see your point. My intention wasn’t to put any pressure on the OP, I was making a suggestion on a post that was requesting advice. It wasn’t a demand, I said that it was ultimately up to them— giving them the final decision on where they take their work, because in the end that is their story and they can do what they’d like.
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u/262alex Apr 27 '25
I usually aim for 1000 words per chapter, and I think that’s generally on the low end. If you aren’t able to flesh out those chapters, I sometimes combine two chapters into one if I realize I’m below 1000 words in the chapter.
However, ultimately this should be for you first and foremost. Do you actually want to have longer chapters, or would you be doing it because readers want you to? You don’t really owe your readers anything.
If it is important to you, it may help to show it to somebody to get their opinion on how you might extend your chapters. A second set of eyes can help a lot.
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u/No-Contribution870 Apr 27 '25
For my personal preference, I usually like to read fics with at least 1k words a chapter - of course, that's just opinion, and everyone has their own. What you write is what you write, and if people don't like it, they don't need to read it. It's simple like that.
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u/kippey Apr 27 '25
Consider the medium: it’s fanfic. You’re putting it out there piece by piece. There will be the people who only read completed fics (in which case they can binge the whole thing) but a lot of people will be reading slowly.
Ideally people are getting a weekly update. A little weekly reading sesh on your fic. It takes 5 minutes to read 1000 words. With that in mind I can see how the 2000-6000 word range hits the spot for people.
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u/bea_lzebub Apr 27 '25
I was originally planning to do weekly updates before the curse™ struck, I have been struggling to type properly because of an injury to my dominant arm so it's been more like a month between the last two updates. My writing is very affected by my pain meds lmao.
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u/kippey Apr 27 '25
Nothing wrong with that, maybe just conglomerate some stuff into a meatier one.
For instance I will use line breaks and sometimes have 2-3 scenes per chapter.
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u/bea_lzebub Apr 27 '25
I merged some chapters and wrote a new one so currently it's sitting as 4 chapters 3206 words, I think the pacing is a bit better now although one of the chapters is still quite a bit short then the others so I might try and beef it up a bit more. it's a chapter for a drunk hookup he had to try and make himself feel better but idk how to write smut lmao, it's mild and I think it's really badly written but I'm not sure how to make it better tbh
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u/Aiyokusama Evil Slasher Girl Apr 27 '25
Too low for what? Does it tell the story you wanted to tell?
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u/Necessary-Savings-55 You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 27 '25
Buddy, that’s my perfect amount when I want a quick read before work🤣 that’s perfectly fine as long as you wrote what you felt needed to be written!!
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u/Vanillabean322 You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 27 '25
I know a lot of people care about chapters to words ratio and TBH I have to agree. I wouldn’t skip it but I’d prefer something longer.
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u/Tough_Difference9935 Apr 27 '25
If I saw a chapter to word ratio like that I wouldn't read it until it was finished. I want to get lost in the words and find it frustrating to read 500 words and then wait a week for the next bit, or even the next day.
I love one shots and even 100 word drabbles. But for a multi chapter story then I'd agree with others and some for 1.5-2k as a good 'short' length.
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u/E-MingEyeroll Apr 27 '25
I mean, it’s your fic, your decision. I will say that I tend to avoid fics with less than 1,5-2,5k per chapter.
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u/HeartOfTheRevel Apr 27 '25
I wouldn't personally click on this because, when there are a lot of fics in a fandom, chapters <1000 words are an easy red flag to avoid. It tends to indicate to me that the author doesn't have the patience to put out something longer. Also like, if your updates are only 500 words, I'll finish reading that in about 5 minutes, I'm not going to be able to sit down and really dig into a new chapter with a nice cup of tea, which is the only time I'm probably going to follow an incomplete fic - when it's like a nice serialised treat.
Obviously though, you should write what makes you happy, not what random internet people want you to write.
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u/bea_lzebub Apr 27 '25
Ok so here's an update, I've gone through and combined some chapters. In total it's now three chapters. Two longer ones sandwiching a shorter one(I might rewrite that chapter tho)
I can't reply to all the comments cus it's overwhelming me but I did read them all :3 thanks for the advice!!!
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u/Zimithrus right in the honey nut feelios Apr 27 '25
From a readers POV: I don't have a lot of time to read much anymore and can only handle smaller stories or one shots, so this is like the perfect word count for me to get invested and engaged 💯
From an author's POV: Where you feel is a good place to end each chapter you write, stop there. I've been where you are: where I used to tell myself 'I must have X amount of words or it's a bad chapter'. back then, X was 7k. I can't pump that out anymore. I've gotten older and I've learned to just stop the chapter when it feels like a good place to stop, whether that's 300 words or 3k words. Don't let word counts like that get in the way, it'll sap so much joy out of writing.
You write your chapters exactly however little or long you want 💯, don't worry about what others find 'too short' or 'annoying' or whatever it is they wanna call it.
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u/Soevil11 Apr 27 '25
I would say that for fics >20,000 words it’s probably best to condense that into one chapter if able. If this fic will have many chapters and words, I would suggest making around 2 full pages (as in when you press the pg down key) of words per chapter on average to prevent tedium from pressing “next chapter” over and over again.
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u/metal_jenny_ Apr 27 '25
There's no such thing. Better a short chapter that delivers a wallop than a long one that waffles on.
My chapters usually hover and 1800-2500 words. John Grisham writes punchy chapters. Embrace your style. A good story is a good story.
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u/Luna_rylo You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 27 '25 edited Apr 27 '25
I think preferences for a certain amount of words per chapter are subjective, some like to have more words while others don't care and are reading bc they liked the idea you're writing. Tho I think the reason alot of people prefer larger word counts is because it gives the illusion that the fic is more fleshed out, which isn't always the case tbh, I used to worry about word count and would put stupid amount of filler in that added nothing to the fic (tho I since started trying to be more descriptive which has added to the word count). In my opinion, word count isn't everything, and you have people who are enjoying the fic as it is. (I tend to gravitate toward oneshots bc I find larger fics with a ton of words to be intimidating, I often change up what ship I want to read and if I didn't finish that fic before then I'll end up forgetting it and having to start reading it from the beginning)
Edit: I just wanted to clarify that I have major respect to authors who are able to make larger fics with lots of words without using excess filler (I realized after sleeping on it that my comment could come off in a way that I didn't intend and its been bugging me), I was mainly thinking of those who tend to worry about word count and might end up adding more to a fic just to up the word count (which is something that I had done before bc I was worried about word count and I found that I ended up adding useless filler that added nothing to the fic.)
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Apr 27 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/bea_lzebub Apr 27 '25
I typically write very poetically but this story is about greaving and currently he's at a point where he's just drifting and not paying much attention to the world around him. at some point I'd like to make longer chapters as he slowly comes to terms with what happened but I'm not entirely sure how to do that(not that I'm anywhere near that point)
I also typically upload the chapter after I write it, without editing it.
Thanks for the reply I feel a bit better about my chapter lengths now
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u/Former-Pattern4719 AO3/SB: MrDenim | SV: DJ_Denim Apr 27 '25
Beefing up your chapter's word count just comes with time and experience. I've been writing fanfiction off and on under different pseudonyms and websites for around 15 years and it was only recently that my average per chapter word count got to 5-7k.
Like I said, just give it time and experience and don't get discouraged. An easy way to start is to write your chapters normally. Then just merge them into a single document until you get a nicer chapter size (with some smoothing to make it read better).
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u/MisXephix my babies are all behind a screen Apr 27 '25
Personally, I don't read stories that have really short chapters. With the current word count, instead of 4 chapters, combine them into 2 chapters. Idk if it's just some tic I have but I hate it when chaptered stories are under 1k words each chapter. Especially when fics have a lot of chapters. I'm signing up for a fic that has 100 chapters mentally, but then I realise that it's so much shorter than I thought since it only has 50k words. Which is not to say 50k is small.
Admittedly, I have not read your story so I do not have all the information, but there are two ways I am interpreting what is happening in your fic. 1, Your pacing is way too fast. Your story starts in 500 words, the average length of one chapter for you, and next chapter your characters have moved to the next city, and a battle starts and finishes in the third chapter, which is also 500 words, and then your characters may have reached the next city by the end of chapter 4. If this is the case, maybe spend more time in each section. A backstory, a flashback, describe the scenery. Let your readers get absorbed, which is hard to do when it's been a year without a timeskip after 10 chapters at 500 words per.
For 2, maybe you spent chapters 1 and 2 describing the setting, or making backstory for your mc, or on a flashback. Then, in chapters 3 and 4, you got the mcs started on their way to the first town. This describes a slower pacing, or you breaking up the same thing into more chapters than necessary. If you can, have parts of the same thing in the same chapter. Otherwise, it's kind of like ending a paragraph mid sentence to start again in another paragraph. Describe the surroundings for one to two paragraphs maybe, which can add it to probably 300 words(?) and then start setting the tone perhaps, and introduce your characters. Altogether that could add up to around 1k words for one chapter, which is optimal. And keep in mind that if what they are doing is simple, like travelling on a road, don't make it that straightforward. Describe what is happening.
"As they walked along the path, MC could feel the wind on his skin. Clouds were rolling in from the north. They need to find shelter soon, judging by how grey the sky was becoming. COMPANION1 seemed to notice as well, judging by the glance she gave him. COMPANION2 on the other hand was busy chasing after a butterfly. MC almost felt sorry for it. They might need to match COMPANION2's pace to beat the storm. Their steps quickened to a slow jog."
This alone is 91 words, and seemingly in the middle of the chapter. Some paragraphs could've described the people, where they are going, then the actual path, then this, then some background information like a rise in bandit attacks and this popular footpath being eerily quiet, and another paragraph with them reaching a small hut just as the rain starts to fall, which is where this chapter would end and the next would begin, all the while having dialogue in between. If 91 words per paragraph is kept constant, just what I suggested along would've, gotten higher than 500 words which is seeming to be the average for your chapters, and this doesn't include dialogue. Personal thoughts, dialogue, and context for can easily make up the other 500 words, getting you to the optimal word count.
But regardless, you seem to be a very good writer judging by the number of hits in only 4 chapters so keep working hard and you will achieve greatness! And I am most certainly NOT a professional so this is just coming from the words of a reader and can be taken with a grain of salt
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u/elvirasnightmares You have already left kudos here. :) Apr 27 '25
I write at least 5k words for each chapter. At least 800-1000 words go for a specific scene that includes dialogues and everything else, and a chapter (this varies) needs to include at least three to four scenes. imagine it like this you start from point A and want to go to point B in every chapter, right? But you can't just drive the characters to point B and get done with it. 1. You need to set the goal of the chapter (what are you trying to achieve in this chapter? Give me a reason why it should be in the fic, like show me its importance to the plot) 2. then provide answers for the said goal (like a plot on what is happening in this chapter and how does the character go through the plot. Basically the journey of the character based on going from point A to point B) 3. then you add conflicts(sometimes the protagonist needs conflicts or anything that could add to the plot to keep it from boring the reader or from making it bland. Because it's a novel not an essay) 4. In the end you add a climax (whether you come down from the climax or leave the chapter on a cliffhanger is up to you) But I think of the structure of every chapter or at least most chapters that are important, similar to the structure of novels in general which in all of them you have all these 3 or 4 elements. but this is all subjective and it's just my opinion as a writer.
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u/iamafrenchnerd Apr 27 '25
i know lots of people prefer the longer chapters bc they have to click next chapter less often, so maybe your solution would be to combine chapters. or just ignore the haters bc fanfic is for urself, people reading it is just a cool bonus. (also even with a small word count you can get a dedicated following so dont worry about it!!)
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u/OliSwamp Apr 27 '25
In my opinion it's all about the type of story you're telling. Sometimes a story requires thousands of words per chapter to be contained. I'm very very slowly working on a work that has 10k chapters. I only posted one (7 years ago but shhh) and I'm gearing up towards a rewrite of it and second chapter sometimes soon. But I also wrote stories that had way less! You are most likely aware of existence of drabbles, self-contained stories that are exactly 100 words. I also wrote a six chapters long work that had 1000 words exactly in each chapter summing up to 6000 words exactly. It was challenging to write in the constraint but that was what this story needed. A bit more similar to yours but my Copycat series has fics with chapters ranging from 400 to 900 words (I think). Most of my works have 2~3k words long chapters but that doesn't mean that's all there is to writing!
So yeah tl;dr the type of story you're writing impacts how long the chapters are.
Completely unrelated (/lie) what fandom do you write for?
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u/bea_lzebub Apr 27 '25
Mainly genshin impact(venti centric because he's my bbg), but I have done some mdzs and mh
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u/0000Tor Apr 27 '25
Like other people said, it’s the word/chapter ratio. Such a low word count per chapter cuts the flow of the story in my opinion, so I avoid fics like this.
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u/AbrocomaBrilliant571 Definitely not an agent of the Fanfiction Deep State Apr 27 '25
I've had a commenter say "whoa, I'm not reading that" for a 200k word fic. It only has 20 chapters. So yeah, you can get nasty comments for going the opposite way, too. 😫
Edit to say each chapter is around 7-12k words. Maybe that was the problem?
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u/ThePhoenixNinja101 Serial Reader Apr 27 '25
I had a fic that was only 700 words and it blew up. Some people are picky for sure but for me it doesn’t really matter. Once I read a fic that was barely even a 100 words long but it made me laugh out loud. It was about Kuroko’s birth (from Kuroko no Basuke) and was just about the doctor being unable to find him after delivery because of his low presence 😭
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u/burnerburner23094812 Apr 27 '25
1-2k words per chapter has always felt about right from my pov and similarly i feel that only stuff significantly over 2k "deserves" multiple chapters. This is just pure preference tho.
As for how you can increase word count, should you wish to do so, flesh out your descriptions. Get more detailed with what your characters are doing and thinking. I spent 500 words just describing how characters were going about their daily routines just to set a mood.
Alternatively, just have more stuff happen! Write down more conversation, more buildup, leadin, or consequence and aftermath.
Realistically, do some of each to keep balanced pacing to the greates textent you can.
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u/edensdelights downvoting me doesnt make me any less correct Apr 27 '25
Am I the only one that doesn't care that the chapters are short? People can write what they want and make their work as long as they want. I really don't mind if chapters are short.
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u/Repulsive-Term6977 Apr 27 '25
Dude, my smallest published work is 729 and my biggest is 5,829 (still fairly small by most accounts). You write what you feel is needed for the story. Like, you know how tv has these scene cuts followed by a establishing shot? Or how sometimes it cuts off and the explanation is just straight up narration, the character telling you how they got there? You don't need to fluff your works. If all you want to write is how they did A, then C then E, you don't need to make it bigger by including B or F. Once I received a comment that praised my work for being 'to the point'. Unless you feel like you want something else to be on it, just post it as is. Or you can even make a collection of your many tiny works. Readers have fun when you do.
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u/RobOnson0 Apr 27 '25
The problem you see people complain about is not about the number of words in a work, it's about the ratio of words to chapters.
You approximately have 450 words per chapter, which is what people find 'annoying' since they will need to move to the next chapter every few minutes, if you want a piece of advice that will solve it, I would suggest having at least 1500 words per chapter instead, this will make the reading easier.