Chapters in your fics?

[Chris 2.1]

hey guys,

jus a poll/question/thingy. how many chapters are in your fanfics?

obviously this appies to finished fanfics only, but if you don't have any fanfics written or in writing, then what, in your opinion, is a good size of chapters?

Well, for me:

A boy and his Bear - 34 chapters

Lucky Charms - 26 (unfinished )

From Rookie to Champion - 70 Chapters, although many were short in length and could be combined......the first was like 4 pages :-/

The Indigo Road - 40 Chapters, including Epilogue.


and Monica's Army? who knows! Chapter 20 is underway, and I feel we've only scratched the surface, so i'd estimate 40 Chapters in total.


and the ideal length of a fanfic? Imho, 45 Chapters would be nice.


Thanks!

[Cyndaquil7]

I'm just starting my fanfic, but if your planning on writing a trilogy or a sequel I'd recommend the first being 50-60 since you need to fill in on everything, but the others being shorter since we know characters, and everyone takes good number chapter off.


Just my opinion, basically saying chapters pretty decent sized.

[The Decapitated Mole]

Well my only fic that can be spoken of here is the MisAdventures of Hiro. It's currently almost 40 chapters and still only around Olivine City. But I'm planning on killing Hiro in 10 or 20 chapters, just because I'm bored. Whatever.

I think that it doesn't really matter how many chapters you have, as long as each one is decent and worth the read.

o_0
jimm

[Dragonfree]

Well, I'd say it depends... if the story is good enough to keep the readers amused for veeeeeery long without the readers thinking it's too long (like Harry Potter 4 & 5 were for me), then have it long. If not, have it short.

[Iveechan]

It depends on the fic like Dragonfree said... my "Escape from Jynx" series was 4 chapters, but each one was very long and read more like a short cartoon movie than an actual chapter. And "Wild Side of Bruno" was three chapters, but it reads like a one-shot. Then I've written a few one-shot fics.

I think that's the problem I have with finishing "Guilty by Design". It is going to be like an epic, and I'm used to writing short stories. Eh, I'll get over it one day.

[Troy - Rise and Fall]

I like one shots better, but if I ever wrote a WIP, then I think I'd make it around 12 chapters. Really, there is no need to stretch a fic to 50 chapters, to me, 50 chapters is already WAY too much. I'm reading stuff up to twenty-something and that's about it, you might want to reconsider if your fic is really focusing on the plot or just full of "filler" chapters.

Filler chapters are those kind of chapters that don't contribute to the plot, but are a good way to 1) lighten up things 2) let the reader get to know the character better 3) just screw with the reader's mind. Too much of those really gets in the way in my opinion, I mean, how many times in a trainer fic you're going to have your main character walking around and finding pokemon and whatever? It gets pretty boring.

Also, when writing something that is written in parts, you should try to have a pattern for your chapters's length. I mean, you can have one chapter be one paragraph and the next one be fifteen pages long. That's just wrong! (kidding on the just wrong thing XD)

Having only 3 parts for a fic and making the not kilometric is also fine, no one says a good fic is 120,000 words, for chrissake. It could perfectly be 5,000 and still be cool. Actually, I believe the shorter you can make your fic and still get to all the points without missing anything, then the better your fic is. Of course, that's just my stupid opinion, just as good or bad as anyone else's.

I do agree with the Trilogy stuff Cyndaquil7 pointed out, but I still think 50-60 is too much. I agree with you on the fact that it's going to take yo a while to explain everything, but it shouldn't be exhausting.

Anyway, I'll just go back to writing shrt story series (go figure XD)

- Troy

[Iveechan]

Yeah, with my short attention span, I can't stand trainer fics that have a whole huge paragraph just describing their clothes. I like to the point!

[mistysakura]

Well, nothing wrong with 50 for me, and I love filler chapters, except maybe some of those when absolutely nothing goes on or the fillers get repetitive. It depends on the plot, really. If it's simple, then a bit shorter will stop people getting bored, but about 30-50 is fine for the average TPM fic, I think. As long as it stays original, I'm fine with it.

[Orion]

XD,as I'm seeing it,I guess I'll have to divide my current Fic...because if it's going to be a full story,it'll be about 100 or more chapters!O.O;;;Oh well,I'll have to reorganize some stuff by then...;o

Now,on topic:Unlike most people,I love long,VERY long stuff!A Fic of quality must have at least 25 chapters!But the Fics I enjoy a lot more,but never read'em(I'm not a die-hard reader,just a die-hard writer.),must have from 50 Chapters,and on.XD,I'm weird.I just like things long,and enjoyable.

Also,if chapters are long,it'll be a good thing.I oftenly prefer quality over quantity,but if the Fic has quality AND quantity,I'll love it!

[CharizardILG27]

well my stories aren't posted here yet but they will be!

The Story of Matthew Henington - 58 chapters including Prouloge and Epilouge

The Story of Matthew Henington: Johto Adventure - not done yet but gonna be around probably 40-65 chapters

yeah i write a lot of chapters

[Wild Female Machoke]

I had no idea how many chapters "Jewel Eyes" will have, but I am guessing 'round 20. (Well, it's because they are usually long.)

Some of the chapters are like fillers used to lighten readers up a little, but I cleverly stick to the plot though. To me, it's very important to have plot references when you're doing fillers.

[Rambunctious Jamirus]

Funny, I have ten Gyms and my characters only have 2 Badges and I'm on Chapter 21. Through Blind Eyes will be extremely long possibly about 70 to 90 chapters (since mine are short). Don't know how many Mako's Family will have.

[Hanada Tattsu]

Tracey's Quest was 40 chapters long, which IMHO is too much for just five gyms. Tracey's Quest - The Kanto Pokemon Federation is prolly going to be around 60 or 70 chapters long, or shorter.

I think the ideal chapter for a fic is prolly 50 or 60.

[Pokemaster Ash]

I don't really call them chapters, but here's how it's been so far:

Gundam Trilogy
Second Gundam War: 49 chapters
OZ's Last Stand*: 31 chapters
Final Gundam War*: 45 chapters

(*- These fics haven't been posted yet)

Legends of a Pokemaster
The Legend Begins: 24 chapters
Johto Challenge: 20 chapters (Incomplete)

Heh... Still have lots of work to do on rewriting my first fic...

[Mewfour]

Will I ever finish up my fics? ehhhhhh, prolly not....

PADS! currently has 60 chapters, and I estimate a finish in about 72. I'm working on ch. 14 of Dragon Ball: The Missing Chapters, as well as Ch. 25 for Rumble of the Robot Masters. The rehashing of Gundam Universe is going down the ****hole, with only one chapter redone, and becuase I'm a freaking moron, I deleted my backup copies of the other 5 chapters. F**k. Zelda Wing is dead at 7 chapters, Mr T. vs Pokemon is dead at 5, and Chain of Events at 6. Oh well. At least Megaman Reborn is still at a healthy 6, and PARJS? is done at 9 chapters even.

On the original fiction side, Jacky is dead at a grand total of two, yep, count 'em, TWO whole chapters, with no update in sight for a veeeeeeeeeery long time. Bloody Sword is now at 25, Project: ZERO at 10 (I think), Reckless Micky at 11, Galaxy War X at 7, and my only other completed fic, Galaxy War, done at 16(17 if you include the alternate ending)

And no, I have no clue about the other piles of garbage that's sitting alone and forgotten on my hard drive.

[Chris 2.1]

Well, I am currently writing Ch23 of Monica's Army. I'm thinking more Gyms, you know, to make sure everyone's strong before the finalc onflict 8). ALTHOUGH I dunno.....well, everythings falling in shape, a sharp plot twist at Chapter 21, so They can't just....meander around for badges...or can they?

I'll guess 32 Chappies. STRANge guess, but there you go, thats me...

[PancaKe]

Chapters, no matter how many you have, are no determine on how good your fic is. you may have 40 chapters, but your fic may lack certain qualities, such as characterization, or maybe description or lack of excitement. Whereas somebody may have a fic that has only 10 - 20 chapters and yet, takes the cake when it comes to writing, characterization, description, plot twists etc.

My fic, Lapras Valley High I, was about 38 - 39 chapters. Ive forgotten. Lapras Valley High II sort of died around chapter 5. The new fic, Full Moon, currently Ive got no idea where its going to go as I have writers block on it. -.-

~Mist

[Mew Master]

Well, the number of Chapters isn't that important, even if a single chapter is 40 pages or more O.o

Let's see....

Godzilla vs. Godzilla: Total Chapters, 10, counting Prologue and Epilogue as seperate chapters.

With this I originally wrote it and didn't pay any attention to chapters. Getting it written out was my main goal. Only afterward did I worry about dividing it up into chapters so i could put it on my Godzilla Site (link in sig). I plan on publishing it so the chapters are getting broken down so that they flow better for everything.

The main thing is write the story out if you see it as a movie, or long if you see it as a series.

Pokémon: Dimension Shifters: Total Chapters in Part I, 17, not counting Prologue and Epilogue. Part II is still under construction, but 8 Chapters finished and a prologue as well.

This I wanted as a continuous series. Somethign to combine PKMN with Sailor Moon, Tenchi, Outlaw Star, and Sonic before a major battle between the main Good guy and the Evil one. Also throw in some plot twists here and there for flavor. Mainly Comedy while Godzilla was Death and Destruction.

Zoids: Legend of the Ultimate Xs: Director's Cut: Under construction, but estimated Chapters are 26/27, with Prologue and Epilogue excluded.

This is a re-write of the original ZLotUXs, of which some people spotted and quickly took note. As well as flushign some seasoned Zoid Warriors out from hiding since the RPG shut down. Which it is starting up again I hear. I wanted to re-do this one because of the main fact that it was commented several times that I was taking directly from the Zoids: new Century Zero anime and not as many original ideas, so I went and worked through the plot again. (link to Zoid's site, also in Sig)

Star's End: Currently on the back burner. Chapters are 1 for a Future Writer's of the Future Contest, and about 3 form personal writing

Originally this came a little over a year ago when I recieved my Christmas Gifts in July, (thank you US Postal System) And they showed me how to better proportion characters and so I sketched for a few weeks and redid some character designs and finally came up with kei Kiaka and the others. Then came the part of comming up with other characters and the universe in which it took place. Mainly it's a Sci-Fi/Comedy adventure with some plot twists and some serious issues tossed in.

Chains of Dragons: Currently under Construction, but total Chapters so far are 6 with a Prologue as well.

This one started with a random dramatic thought of the heroine dying trying to save the hero and the infamous phrase (or soon to be infamous) "One should never fight their own heart."

Okay it was as random as one can get. I wanted it to be good so I enlisted (asked) help and after the prologue was written I decided to try something new. Because i seem to take ideas from already exsisting anime's I needed Ideas that would seem to conflict eachother and make for better POVs. It's pretty popular thus far.

And I needed the info to make a cool Manga that will become an Anime... cool it will be. After I get it all written and chars and animals sketched.... meh...

That's about it.

Later!

~Mew Master

[Shadow Trainer Ash]

Well, my chapters are usually very long, so I have a short number of them... especially since I can't go on for 10 chapters without getting restless. (Btw, basically none of the below fics are up here)

Look to the Sky - 5 chapters (complete)
Tooi Kono Machi De - 6 chapters
Clipped - 2 chapters (complete)
Lines Cut Thin - 3 chapters (complete)
Kage Tsyunainersu - 5 chapters (never completed)
Shadow Alliance - 2 chapters
Kuryami Hakken Suru - 3 Chapters (never completed)
Playing Games with the Outlaw - 3 chapters (complete)

[geoff]

Yeah... the # of chapters doesn't determine the QUALITY of the chapters, so therefore it doesn't determine the quality of the work itself. Also, this means that no set # of chapters is the "ideal" length, as it can go as long or short as you want (and length sometimes has nothing to do with #s).

My fic, GANTUN: Onset *hopes the mod will change the title to that*, is right now only 9 chapters long (and both the main characters only have 1 badge). I can expect this project to be very lengthy, considering eventually there will be 5 main characters (not all in the same group), and 4 out of those 5 will be collecting badges. So lengthy, I'm splitting it up into at least 3 parts (Onset, ???, and ???).

Oh, another point I just thought up: It also depends on how convoluted the plot is. Generally, more convolusion = greater length.

[Chris 2.1]

hey guys, I want to clear something up. I didn't mean I judge fics on their length, or that better ones have larger chapters, so sorry if anybody got that impression. ATM Monica's Army is at Chapter 29, and I expect it to go to Ch35+

[Nikku-San]

Honestly, I like my stories long and on-going. Especially if I am writing it. I'd have to say a good about is 50 or so episodes... per season. Yes, I write stories in episodes and seasons. x.X But I do not do it in manuscript format or anything.

Of the stories (fics, whatever) I can actually remember, my main Pokemon one is Koudo Quest and so far I have 8 chapters on paper, as part of 9, and only half the first chapter typed up. x.X

My old Digimon series, Digimon Adventures (I suck at titles) reached 13 1/2 on paper and 3 episodes on computer, but then my hard drive got screwed again. So now 0 on pc.

My non-fic story, Elemental Avatars reached a whole of 2 1/2 chapters before I lost interest from all the daydreaming.

And I have a whole trunk of notebooks and folders filled with things I have started to write at some point or another. My first ever series, Pokemon Adventures (sense any pattern in my titles?!) almost reached 100 eppies. But it was written in present tense and like a whole bunch of semi-descriptive episode guides. It was pretty original though.

I can't write on computer, I have to do it on paper first. Computers just don't do anything for me as far as creativity goes. But typing them up after writing them is very tedious as well.... Err, on topic, anybody have suggestions for how to stay focused and interested in a fic?

[The Rusted One]

Plotting out your fic as much as you can beforehand might help - then you can see where it's going, and you know what you can be working towards and stay focussed. This may result in you rushing the boring parts (in your opinion) to get to the more interesting bits, though.

Anyway, I have a fic in process. It has no name, and, so far, it has one chapter. Yay.

[Iveechan]

My older sister says "If there's a part that's boring, not very necessary, and a chore to write, then just leave it out!" You don't really need to describe the trainer's outfit or the breakfast they had that morning, or every single little moment they enter a town and stock up on supplies (oh yes, and avoid giving a whole paragraph on gear unless it's important). Myself, I'm an impatient person, so I want to read a fic that's quick but smooth. Not so quick that it says "Billy went to the lab and got his first pokemon then went to Rustboro and beat the leader then the pokemon evolved".

What helps is to try to picture the story as a movie, cartoon movie preferably. Would the movie want to spend do much time on something trivial?

A way to make chapters interesting, especially stories that have many chapter, is to open each chapter with a surprise. For example, in chapter 2 of my fic GBD, it opens describing Champ drowning. Since the chapter before had no warning of this event, readers go "What the heck?!" But the next paragraph describes Rick pulling Champ out of the water and untying him, and it's explained that they were in the middle of an unorthodox training session. Oh and cliffhangers are fun. Keep people interested!

[Nikku-San]

Neat idea, Iveechan, starting with a surprise does really grab the reader. And when you say skip the un-important stuff... Well, if you have several characters, should you show all of their battles with the gym leader in their entirety. I find I start getting sick of a gym leader's Pokemon if I do that...

[Iveechan]

Only if the characters are the most important to the fic, 2 visible battles at the most. Maybe for the other less important characters, they could come out of the gym and do a quick summary of the victory. Or, like Manectric Trainer did in her fic, have the leader use Pokemon different from the game but still of the same type for the different trainer, like how Norman used a Linoone. And in a different fic on ff.net, Brawly used Machp and Makuhita against the one trainer while he used Breloom and Meditite against the other trainer.

[Darien Shields]

Hmm, with an average trainer fic, you should allow ten chapters for gym battles (assuming you have some long ones, or rematches), probably about another ten for team development (catching pokemon, evolving them, etc. Although you could theoretically have a team of six, and each evolve three times (that'd be really boring) then you'd still have many evolutions happenning with other things), maybe five (min.) for character developement, and another seven or so for adventures. Plus a league if they have that. I think a League's five, but I'm not sure... (Never reached one myself.) That's close to forty... I guess you could go for more. My newest fic's gonna move away from gyms eventually. Like I say (in my Sig); It's a Love Story ^_~