Writing online is so much trickier than offline.
A lot of the online audience you get are people passing through for the first time and you need to make every chapter, every paragraph, interesting enough to catch their attention. At the same time, the chapters need to be short enough that the readers aren’t bombarded by gigantic and confusing walls of text. Then there is the matter of trying to have enough information in each chapter that someone walking in on say, chapter 15, has at least an idea of what has happened up to that point.
I like it though. It’s definitely a more interesting challenge and forces the writer to put a lot more thought into what they are, and are not, posting.
I find that in a physical novel, or with a captive audience, I want to immerse the reader in each scene with sensorial depictions and emotional input. Online, where there are millions of blogs only a click away, I feel like it’s get to the action or get passed by. Maybe I’m wrong about that. Is there enough demand for a 2000 word chapter that builds slowly and delves into every aspect of the situation (given that I’m referring to horror-style stories)? Or does a 1500 word, action packed chapter get the job done just as well?
Filed under: Chit Chat
