Transfan Fanfic Rants

Number Fifteen: Chapter Length

        Rant Number Fifteen: Chapter Length -- A.K.A. Super Short/Long Chapters

        Okay, so, I'm not sure if I'm the only one who thinks this or something, or if people are just getting more and more desperate. If it isn't just me, please tell me I'm not the only one getting incredibly fragging irritated with it.

        I'm referring more so to the very short chapters more so than the long chapters. But frankly I'm sick of seeing all these fics with so many votes and reads and whatnot, and then it says "50 chapters/20 pages" or "75 chapters/30 pages".

        Well no slagging scrap you have hundreds of votes at that rate!

        Seriously? When your chapters are a quarter of a page long, you might need to rethink your writing. I mean, what's the point? Those aren't chapters. Those are Junior High essays, not even.

        How many writers actually do this? Because frankly I have seen . . . One. And she most definitely didn't average half a page to a page per chapter. She occasionally had a chapter that was super short.

        And you know what? Maybe readers like it. It makes them feel smart or like the book is going by very quickly or whatever.

        But know what else? If I had done that with my chapters, and averaged half a page per chapter,  my first, and most popular TF book Stay, would have 324 chapters.

        With where Stay is at right now, that multiplies to 370,883 reads.

        With where Stay is at right now, that multiplies to 11,469 votes.

        What??

        Anyway, do you understand what I'm getting at?

        It's easy to get higher numbers when you cut corners and have shoddily short chapters.

        I mean, really, it's a tempting idea. I get that. Doing the actual math, of course I wish I had those numbers. Those are insanely epic numbers. Those are TFP fanfic ratings shattering numbers.

        But it's not realistic. It's taking shortcuts. It's not taking yourself seriously. If you can't take yourself seriously, then why should your readers?

        For that reason, I'm not going to read this sort of fanfics. Because it seems like all you want from it is the votes and reads. I'd add comments in there, but those are a bit more sporadic and I don't feel like doing the math for those, too.

        Anyway, I just, really, really wish people would take themselves seriously with this slag. And frankly, this rant book is entirely different in case anyone is going to attempt to try and turn this rant around and say these chapters are very short and yadda yadda yadda.

        Of course they're short. It's a rant book. It's not for votes. It's for letting loose my frustrations. And frankly, if people didn't have to be . . . Well, the very problem with humanity, then I wouldn't have anything to rant about, now would I?

        Besides, I can only rant on one thing for so long. And the sad part is, these rants are probably longer than the chapters of the people I'm ranting about in this chapter of my rant book.

        That is beyond depressing. That is, "I want to get off my laptop right now, track you down and slap you" depressing.

        Break up scenes if you need to. Do something that shows perspective or POV has changed, or that the scene has changed. Literally. That's all you need to do. And then you can compress your books a little.

        Of course, that would mean having less views than when you take these shortcuts and just try to squelch as many votes and reads as you can out of each person.

        I will not be one of them.

        Until you can start showing some respect for your damn self and your damn writing, I'm not reading. I refuse. Because you need a reality check. Good afternoon to you, the offenders reading this rant. I hope it gives you something to think about.

        More so, I hope the rest of you not breaking this offense agree with me. If not and you think I'm just crazy, fine. Oh well. I know I'm crazy. Scrap happens.

        ~Do your research before getting involved in the transfan universe (and don't cut corners for the love of slag or I'll hire Lockdown to hunt your sorry ass)