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Writers' Workshop General Chat Thread

Generally, if I have more than three breaks I split it.

If I don't have any breaks I just split it when it feels right.
 
I have a question regarding the length of chapters: Compared to the average amount of words per chapter, how big are you willing to let a chapter get before you try to find a way to split it? How small does a chapter have to be before you merge it into another? Not looking for specific numbers, just a rule of thumb (i.e. stop at 2x the size and merge at 1/2 the size of your average chapter). Thanks!

2000-3000 words is the sweet spot for me. It's what I shoot for in my own work, and most of the stories I've enjoyed usually stay within that range.
 
for me it differs between fics, but inside fics i try to keep it consistent. for example i think seiren had 3000-4000 words per chapter and i did want to split one that went over 8000 but couldn't because of pacing. it was also the finale so i figured it was justifiable. i did consider anything under 3000 way too small, though, but that's just a general view of mine when it comes to any writing.

i guess my general rule of thumb is that under 75% of "typical" chapter length gets merged and 175% i strongly consider splitting.
 
For me, 5k to 6k is my comfort zone, and I start to get antsy if my chapters push more than 7.5k. Special chapters such as climaxes or goofy non-canon events are allowed to go over my limit of 7.5k.

It always sucks going over 7.5k and splitting things, then realizing there's not enough to make two normal chapters out of it. Even worse when there's nothing/little extraneous to cut to combine them again... Happens too often to me.
 
This feels super pretentious to say, but I try not to consider specific lengths too much for chapter sizes. We all end up writing roughly regular chapter lengths, but I think it's more important to look at pacing than word count. If your chapter is way longer than normal, maybe the pacing is too slow, or you tried to pack too much into those scenes, or you were simply a little too wordy. If you don't think any of those are the case, then the length is acceptable. Even if it's super long.

But to completely undercut my conceited philosophizing, I write anywhere from 3k to 10k word chapters. My sense of how long is too long might be completely shot though, since I've fiddled around a fair amount with weird formats, long one-shots that should probably have been broken up, multi-part stories that probably could have just been one-shots, etc.
 
Does anyone know of good ways I can describe a building like this in writing?

408px-Radcliffe_Camera%2C_Oxford_-_Oct_2006.jpg


I know one of my weaknesses as a writer is describing things in detail such as buildings and towns, in terms of setting, so I want to rectify that. I just started working on a potential fan fic that takes place in a sort of medieval fantasy setting, and if anyone can offer some advice on how to describe something like this in prose, I'd really appreciate it.
 
Something unusual for me has happened; an idea for a short story set in the same universe as my current Pokémon fanfic intruded on me and I wrote a few sentences as a sort of cold opening and sent it off to my brother, who thinks I should finish it.

Specifically, my fic takes place in a Mystery Dungeon-esque post human society. One element is that old human technology is found and repaired or reverse engineered when possible.
It occurred to me that would include the fossil resurrection machines--and someone could use it to create a human clone in the same way you create those fossil clones in the games, bringing a single human into a world with no other of their own kind.
The unusual part is that I'm not sure how it should end or even if it should have a darker tone or something more upbeat. Those types of decisions are usually among the first things that come to me for writing.
 
Yep, humans have a mixed reputation in the setting and there is definitely a pretty large group feeling that they shouldn't be brought back.
However, since a number of Pokémon species were returned from extinction by humanity there's another group thinking they're owed it...

The debate as to whether or not it should even be done is a pretty important part of the early part of the story.
 
Is it normal to feel sad and angry myself while working on Galar's Darkest Hour? The main character, Victor experiences these emotions.
 
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