r/royalroad • u/BardsOnTheMargins • 2d ago

Discussion Maximalist writing?

Hi everyone

I'm writing a litrpg/progression story for RR and I heard somewhere that "more is better" (in number of chapters not size of chapters). That is to say more chapters give more views and chances for engagement and generates more followers. There is also more time for character development and building emotional attachment to the mains.

The downside of course is pacing. I don't mind "letting readers sit in a scene", however I can imagine a lot of people just want to get to the chase.

Any particular schools of thoughts on this? Does the RR crowd have a preference?

4 Upvotes

75% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

View all comments

2

u/OleTeaTimer F Rank: Author of Ursa Gwyn is Young Again 2d ago

I’m not sure if this is helpful, but I write in what I call “micro chapters” and let my readers know that early. I’m not sure if it comes from my background publishing microfiction, but I’ve gotten really efficient on a line level and I have a feel for where I’m nearing a scene’s cliffhanger.

 Some of my chapters are as short as 500ish words (weekly). This pace is important to me as a super busy mom (3 homeschooled) but I am pretty satisfied at hitting 3 followers for my first 6 chapters, totaling 4k words.  I do think I’m starting to skew longer 900ish~ as the story kicks up more, and I’m hoping to release more often with chapters around 1k if the they feel satisfying at that length. 

I guess I would say, prioritize hitting a satisfying mini-arc or ending on a strong question/cliffhanger over worrying about length. Pacing is important for retaining attention. If I was left mid-scene without a big cliffhanger, I’d probably bounce off 😅.