Alright, first of all i want to thank you for taking time to read this. Now here's my question.

Question 1: Do readers like people naming their chapters?
Question 2: How many pages is acceptable for a chapter?
Question 3: how many words?
Question 4: What programm you (authors) use to type your stories?
Here's another set of question.
Question 5: How do you (authors) do dialouge?
Question 6: How do you (authors) cure the writer's block?
Question 7: Do you (readers) mind if some stories are paused for awhile due to writer's block or some other problem?

That should be all..

I believe this is more personal preference then normal site format, right? Cause I believe its whatever the author feels is right for their story.

PERSONALLY...
-Naming chapters is not a biggie, and I don't think its takes away from the story if you don't.
-Pages and word count, again, depends on the story and the flow of the plot. Sometimes its necessary to have 2,000 words, sometimes 5,000, sometimes 100.
-I personally use MS Word 97, because I'm a dinosaur

I hope this help in a small way

Question 1: Do readers like people naming their chapters?

I do, it makes it easier to find a chapter I'm looking for later.

Question 2: How many pages is acceptable for a chapter?

Up to the author. I'm fine with drabbles (100) to large chapters- but I do start to drift off after about 10,000 words in one chapter unless the author is extremely captivating (only one or two authors I've ever read)- I'd rather have that broken up into, say, two 5,000 word chapters.

Question 3: How many words?

Again, I like anything from 100 words to around 10,000. But I prefer smaller frequent installments over large seldom ones.

Question 4: What program you (authors) use to type your stories?

Microsoft Word 2007

Jade-ed Fang wrote:
Alright, first of all i want to thank you for taking time to read this. Now here's my question.

Question 1: Do readers like people naming their chapters?
Question 2: How many pages is acceptable for a chapter?
Question 3: how many words?
Question 4: What programm you (authors) use to type your stories?

1: That's the total preference of the author and the reader.

2 and 3: *See Cake's answer. She is word wise*

4: I like the free program Open Office. Works on the same lines as other office programs, but is free.

Just don't be too concerned about the little things. Write what you know about and enjoy your writing, that will be reflected when we read it.

Question 1: Do readers like people naming their chapters?
Personally, I do. I think it gives the chapter a little bit something more than just calling it Chapter 1, 2, etc. Plus it may give the reader a general idea what the chapter is about. (Although vague)

Question 2: How many pages is acceptable for a chapter?
I like anything and everything really. I read a lot of drabble/one-shot stories which is usually 1-2 pages. As long as the story has substance, it doesn't particularly matter to me. Most of the chapters I write however are 5-10 pages. Except when I do one-shots, my longest is 16 pages at 10 pt font.

Question 3: how many words?
I do tend to prefer longer chapters as opposed to shorter ones, but as long as they aren't just babbling on about something that doesn't even deal with the story. As a writer I tend to keep mine around 5-6k words for chapter stories. And drabbles are well, drabbles.

Question 4: What programm you (authors) use to type your stories?
Microsoft Words seems to be the most agreeable for me.

Question 1: Do readers like people naming their chapters?

A: Personally, I don't think it matters. I never name my chapters because I'm not creative enough -laughs- I have trouble thinking up a good title and summary wouldn't want to overstress my little ol' noggin with more stuff to think about. I don't think I title for a chapter effects the story at all, it can usually only add to it-not take away C:


Question 2: How many pages is acceptable for a chapter?

A: Oh wow, this confused me at first-guess that means I shouldn't read these questions upon waking. -laughs- now I know though so-It depends on the author. When I first started writing fan-fiction I could write maybe two to three chapters and was so proud of myself for that. Then I realized it wasn't that much XD So now I usually do six-nine pages minimum. Remember though that the font type and size will change the amount of pages. Not every font type will give the same result.




Question 3: how many words?

A: This kind of ties in with the pages question, for three pages-with the font I was using- I got 600-900 words. With my current page/word goal for my stories-which I sometimes meet, and at other times don't, is 1,500-2,000+. It seems like a lot but it really isn't C: but then I'm rather wordy so

It depends on the story, if I'm writing a long story, the chapters won't be extremely long. If I'm writing a one-shot, the chapter can usually go up to 5,000+ words. If I'm writing a short story, the chapters will be long. So it all depends, authors who write drabbles will at max only have 500 words.

Some people can write more too~


Question 4: What programm you (authors) use to type your stories?

I use Open Office.org writing program-cause it's free and I'm cheap XD

Question 1: Do readers like people naming their chapters?

- I like to name my chapters because I enjoy naming things and keeping them organized and for me organized is not numbers. Not only do some chapters give a little insight to the chapter plot but I have had several people comment on it. In 'A Demon Lord's Cry', someone brought it to my attention they liked the chapter title 'Brilliant Crimson' because it popped and made them want to read the chapter more.

Not naming a chapter doesn't take away from its appeal, though.

Question 2: How many pages is acceptable for a chapter?

- I don't go by page amount because sometimes people will use one sentence and then press 'Enter' and it constitutes as a 'paragraph'. I go by word count.

Question 3: how many words?

- Personally, I don't submit anything less then either 4,000 or 6,000 words per chapter UNLESS it's a drabble [100 words] or an experimental story. For me, Experimental stories are usually 2,000 +

Question 4: What programm you (authors) use to type your stories?

- I usually type my stories via fanfiction.net and then add a chapter there and if it's a Sess x Kag story then I just copy and past into here.

Question 1: Do readers like people naming their chapters?

Definitely! I don't begrudge authors who do not name their chapters, but I most certainly prefer it when they are named. Names not only make it easier to remember what happens in each chapter, but they also provide an element of intrigue and make you wonder what the author intends by the chapter title. In some cases, chapters also add an element of symmetry when authors follow a theme (example story: Tears of the Fallen).

It's easier to find your place again as well. If I miss a few chapters of a story, I can breeze through the titles and have a pretty good idea where I left off, where as with chapter titles, I have to re-read a bit of each one. Its also much much easier to find a story you have already read in the past with chapter titles, especially if you only have one particular scene to go by in your head.

Question 2: How many pages is acceptable for a chapter?/Question 3: how many words?
My preference is for full stories over drabbles and short stories. I would consider about 2-3 thousand words to be the minimum for a chapter. My preference would probably lie at about 5-7 thousand words or 8-10 pages for a nice satisfying installment. I don't mind longer chapters, but if you stop reading and come back to it later, it may be more difficult to find your place.

Question 4: What programm you (authors) use to type your stories?
I'm not actually an author, but use MS Word for any documents I do write.

Question 1: Do readers like people naming their chapters?
I don't know if people like it, but I do. If not, I search forever for the chapter I was on last time, or for a scene in a particular chapter.

Question 2: How many pages is acceptable for a chapter?
Mmm, well it depends. If it's all dialogue, then it's different. I don't have a lot of it in my stories, and I come up to 16 pages, so I couldn't tell. I guess it's better to go with word count in this case since a lot can influence the amount of page.

Question 3: how many words?
Personally, it needs to be around 6000. I can take 4000ish words, but after that I just... I can't. When each chapter has like 1000 words (except if it's a drabble series), I feel like I might as well wait until there's more chapters because it's going to be an unsatisfying read.

Question 4: What programm you (authors) use to type your stories?
Microsoft Word, or whatever comes with the laptop I'm using. But mostly Microsoft Word.

1. Naming has never been a big thing for me. The only time it matters to me is if the author has chosen a chapter title that is a spoiler for the chapter. I read one story (Can't remember the name now) Inuyasha's death came out of left field in this story. Not at all expected. Unless you read the chapter title. The death of Inuyasha. Would've preferred to read it in the chapter first.

2. Number of pages is also irrelevant to me. As long as it conforms to the site rules for length, it's all good. Don't want to get into a story and later find it was deleted for a rules violation.

3. Word count depends on whether it is a chapter story, one shot, drabble, etc. I like chapter stories to have between 3000 and 6000. Any more and it gets tedious unless it really grabs me. Drabbles, anywhere between 100 and 1000 is good for me. One shots are the hardest to judge length. You don't want it to be the length of an entire chapter story, but you need enough to tell your story. I've read some good one shots that were 10000 to 12000, but the average is 5000 to 8000.

4. MS Word 2003.

All of these are really up to the author. If the story is entertaining, the reader won't care. I have never heard of a reviewer saying that they will no longer read a story if the chapters aren't (are) named. In the end, it's all about the story.

1. I've personally always named my chapters. Although it may be a bit frustrating at times, I think it is a nice add to the story - even though I agree with others that not naming the chapters won't take away from the story.

2. I never pay heed to the number of pages, I only monitor the wordcount.

3. The wordcount depends entirely on the story. In my earlier fics I couldn't write yet so long chapters so I probably did 3000-5000 words. In TT I went for longer chapters and strove for 8000 words per chapter. Sometimes, though, it could get a bit hard for me to reach that number. Now, with Chain, I try to keep at minimum of 5000 words per chapter.
BUT! All these are something I've set for myself, and am comfortable with, and which help me at keeping the chapters at the same length on average. :3

4. I use Microsoft Word, and I always have. Currently running the 2007 version. ^^

Thank you all =) this will really help me alot!! =)

Question 1: Do readers like people naming their chapters?
I like to name my own chapters in fics I write. The chapter name will either be a 'Line' or 'Quote' from inside the chapter, or in reference to something happening in the chapter. I like to foreshadow, but subtly. Plus as a reader the named chapter tells me where I am in a ficlet I'm browsing.

Question 2: How many pages is acceptable for a chapter?
I tend to do collections of drabbles or oneshots as a whole or pieces of one entire ficlet. I only have one chaptered ficlet at the moment. I tend to bounce for a drabble to under half a page, to one and a half pages. I bounce from three and a half to four and a half pages for oneshots, with the longest at 23 pages. Chaptered ficlet pages tend to be between five, to twelve pages at most.

Question 3: How many words?
My drabbles tend to be from the smallest at under 200 words, to over 1000 at the longest. My oneshots vary, if it's a stand-alone by itself oneshot I 'd keep it probably at 1500 words, but I've written up to 3000 words, and 10500. If it's a oneshot that's part of a series, I try to stick to 1500 words, but I had extended some to 1900 words. Chapters for ficlets are usually between four or five to six thousand words, depending on when I think the chapter is finished when I write it.

Question 4: What program you (authors) use to type your stories?
I use Word Professional 2000, it's old, but it works for me.

Question 5: How do you (authors) do dialouge?
Short, sweet and too the point. I prefer to avoid anything overly long-winded, since people in normal conversation tend to chop and change between conversation, it flows, and you don't generally have one person talk for half an hour about one thing unless its in a classroom lecture. It also depends on the situation, like are the characters having a general chat over coffee that's in a social setting, or are they arguing about something? Dialouge in different situations changes depending on what's going on.

Question 6: How do you (authors) cure the writer's block?
I tend to just take a break from the ficlet and write something else, or try to write a little bit over a period of time, maybe even just a couple lines every few days until the block passes.

Question 7: Do you (readers) mind if some stories are paused for awhile due to writer's block or some other problem?

That really depends. As a writer I like to try and update regularly but RL keeps me very busy so updates can be weeks or months between ficlets. If I'm reading a ficlet by another author, I tend to go for those that regularly update, or have completed ficlets. But in essence it is at the author's discretion to pause a ficlet, or to discontinue it, the ficlets are their own work, and not mine even though I might be a devoted reader of their work.

~ Pyre