Fanfiction Sizes

[Clawandfang]

Just as a matter of interest, what sizes do people aim for when writing fanfics? Do you aim for a word count? Number of pages? How long is the "average" fanfic?

[DarkHououmon]

I don't try to focus too much on obtaining a certain number of pages or words. It just adds more stress for me.

[Littlefoot1616]

The old age saying of "Quality over Quantity" is a major player I'd say. Doesn't matter if you hit 5 pages or 5000 pages....if the story's not well developed or planned effectively, it'll fall flat on its face despite its length. Some of the world's greatest works happen to be the shortest  

[Clawandfang]

This is true, but quality does need a certain quantity before it can shine.

[Malte279]

I aim at writing complete stories rather than filling a number of pages. I guess sometimes it would be better for the readability of my stories if I managed to complete it on fewer pages rather than writing too long winded.

[The Great Valley Guardian]

I personally try to keep the story going until I feel it's reached its end. If it happens to be like 80 chapters and 1200 pages long...then that's just how its gotta be!

[Clawandfang]

I personally try to keep the story going until I feel it's reached its end. If it happens to be like 80 chapters and 1200 pages long...then that's just how its gotta be!

When I hear something like that, my immediate reaction is "Yes, there is someone who doesn't let the system define them, someone who is true to what they're writing."

On second thoughts though, begin to wonder if people simply have little or no control over what they're writing (don't take this offensively, it's just food for thought.)

[DarkHououmon]

On second thoughts though, begin to wonder if people simply have little or no control over what they're writing (don't take this offensively, it's just food for thought.)

What are you saying?

[Clawandfang]

Okay, maybe I'm not very clear. What I'm trying to say is that having the "it's going ot be as long as it needs to be" attitude towards writing may be a sign of not properly controlling what you're writing.

[DarkHououmon]

What do you mean by "properly control"?

[Clawandfang]

Rrr... I'm useless...
Well, if you were super-human and you had 100% control over your writing then you'd be able, from the offset, to how many words it's going to be, and adjust the plot and pace of your writing to suit.

[DarkHououmon]

I don't think I'd want to do that, decide on how many words it's going to be and try to fit within that area. It would be too uncomfortable for me and take away all the fun in writing. In one of my english classes, we were taught not to focus so much on how long the story is going to be and more on just letting the words flow. A story is not an essay, so there's really no need to say "This has to be such and such words, how can I make it fit?", in my opinion. No offense.

[Littlefoot1616]

Well, if you were super-human and you had 100% control over your writing then you'd be able, from the offset, to how many words it's going to be, and adjust the plot and pace of your writing to suit.

OK...I don't quite get what your point is. Are you saying that shorter stories are better? Even still, why work to a limit if there's no need to? No one has assigned a set amount of words to work by or aim for so why box yourself in? It's not like it's an essay or anything. Let your imagination run riot I say. That way, the only limit is your own ideas.

[Clawandfang]

Okay, but isn't there a difference between boxing yourself in and defining a (perhaps very) general target?

[Kor]

I let the story and characters decide how long the story should be.  Some stories are longer, some shorter, trying to force a story into what you decide is best instead of what the story needs or can decide what is best will result in a flawed story.  Either it'll have to much padding in spots, or certain plot points will not make sense and were obviously rushed.

[DarkHououmon]

I let the story and characters decide how long the story should be.  Some stories are longer, some shorter, trying to force a story into what you decide is best instead of what the story needs or can decide what is best will result in a flawed story.  Either it'll have to much padding in spots, or certain plot points will not make sense and were obviously rushed.

I agree.

[Clawandfang]

I agree too actually, note the "super-human" part of what I said earlier.

[Malte279]

How lucky we are not to be superhumans  
I suppose in some cases it may be possible to make a rough guess on how many pages a story is going to have, but I suppose few people will think about the page number before thinking about the content. In case of doubt I expect the page number is much easier to adapt to requirements then the content of the story. Few people would probably cut down the showdown of their stories in order to prevent the story from expanding a certain number of pages.
In case of scientific writing there is a certain sense in giving a number of pages to aim at (though most lecturers will for good reason be tolerant if an essay is a few pages longer (so much to account for) or shorter (everything of significance being said already) than the required number of pages). Writing fiction is in every sense a very different story though. I don't know if it is the same for others, but I often get new ideas while writing and sometimes discard old ones. In retrospect I would say that there are some scenes in my stories which are unnecessarily long winded. However, I don't think thinking of a number of pages to be aimed for would have been a proper solution to the problem.