Once the outline is ready, I begin expanding and editing what I’ve written. Throughout this process, I keep re-reading my work several times. Once the entire story is written, I read it in one go to ensure everything flows well and makes sense as a whole. This helps me catch any plot holes or inconsistencies. For example, if a character behaves a certain way early on but changes drastically later without explanation, I revise to maintain consistency. I usually aim to write one or two chapters a day.
Once I’m fully satisfied with the story, I upload the chapters to Wattpad and schedule them for publishing. I do a final read-through before publishing, sometimes I do in on a daily basis, sometimes I do it once a week for all the chapters upcoming in the following week.
I’ve written a few stories so far, and the most challenging part for me has always been figuring out how to end them or rather, where exactly to stop the story. To help with that, I now try to structure my stories to fall within 35–50 chapters, with each chapter being around 1,800 to 2,000 words. That translates roughly to about 8–10 minutes of reading time per chapter. I only came to this realization through writing and reflecting on my work. I’ve noticed that this length tends to work well for me and also suits most readers. That said, some chapters naturally run longer, especially if I want to complete a particular scene within the same chapter. So yes, there are always exceptions.
In fact, the first story I ever wrote (Unforseen Ties) was quite inconsistent. Some chapters were around 25 minutes long, while others were just 8. Over time, I’ve tried to improve that and aim for more consistency now. I also feel that very long chapters can lose the reader’s attention, unless the writing is exceptionally compelling throughout. But of course, this is just my opinion, because I kind of like structured stuff! :D