Stories vs Ministories

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This is not really a common topic even more so not even a topic so I thought I’d shed some light on it
Stories for me are good until they cross that 20 episode mark cause even the author of a super convoluted romance story should at least have their story grounded before they begin coding, not to veer off the topic but this is a general problem I have with some romance authors, they used these weird, generic plot drives
‘Girl goes to NYC looking for work or for a job interview, blah blah blah meets the love interest and has to work with/for him and live with him in his mansion (in these stories the male love interest is more often than not rich)’
‘Trying to complete some romance challenge in high school or college’
‘Got drunk and had s!x on the goddamn first episode’
‘Nerdy girl suddenly becomes the talk of everything’
‘Switched places with a superstar’
NOTE! -These are not all but the general ones, most others are subdivisions

WHEN using these plot drives, they as I’ve noticed run out of material mid first season, like episode 10 and even though they’ve done ‘it’ like how many times, it’s only now that she gets pregnant or worries that she’s pregnant

Ministories on the other hand can at least sum up their stories nicely without having to bring a tsunami of plot drives and devices and lore
However, some authors want to make a ministory, but can’t write without making it extend the 3-10 episode mark, thus they leave their story on a perennial cliff hanger and never even answer questions directed to them on the forums, it’s honestly annoying.

For me, ministories reign supreme but as always, leave your opinions down bellow on which you think is better and as always this is just my opinion, not to attack anyone, and make sure you state it’s just your opinion too in order not to offend anyone and cause a forum battle

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Well, some authors like writing long stories, as some reader like reading long stories its an opinion, like liking onions :nauseated_face: :face_with_thermometer: :mask: :face_vomiting:

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I prefer long stories as I like to get to know the characters better and want to get a little invested. Just because a story is long doesn’t always mean the author is dragging it it out.
Shorter stories seem often rushed to me and I prefer a slower development.

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I want to answer this as a romance author whose current story is well on its way to be longer than 20 episodes…by far. :sweat_smile:

I really think it depends. While there are definitely authors who will drag stories on to have more episodes and therefore more reads some stories simply need more episodes to get across what they need to tell. My story for example was only supposed to be around 15 episodes but due to some subplots I’ve added in and new plot points I now know that 15 episodes would make that story incredibly rushed and therefore not a good story. :sweat_smile:

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It really depends on the story. I know some short stories (under 10 episodes) that really dragged, and I know some super long stories (over 80 episodes) that are engaging and leave you wanting MORE. Two of my favorite stories on the whole app are 90+ episodes long (One in classic, hopefully being rewritten in LL @GenevieveM :eyes: , and one in Ink, currently being rewritten in LL @J.Miley ).
I equate the longer (engaging) stories to reading a long novel, for example, Lord of the Rings. It just takes that long to tell the story, but it is OH SO WORTH IT!

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I mean, on one hand, I like long stories because you often get character development throughout the chapters. It’s hard to accomplish portraying a character’s change of attitude, etc in just 3-4 episodes. In this respect, I think having 20-30 episodes is great!
However, if I saw that a story was genuinely just using basic subplots to delay from the finale, I typically stop reading because often I feel they just don’t flow naturally. Sometimes these subplots distract from the actual storyline, so in this sense, I think short stories are sometimes the better option!

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Annie, you’re too sweet!!! I am so honored to know that you consider my story one of your favorites — also I have been slowly rewriting it :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: but the pandemic currently, hitting NYC so hard where I work now as a doctor, has been a bit of an anchor in that progress :sweat_smile:

Hugs, and thank you for making my day! :heart_eyes: Stay safe and healthy :heart:

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:see_no_evil::see_no_evil:Annie, you have always been such a great supporter, and I’m so honored you mentioned me beside one of my idols. Thank you, so very much!