Adventure Fics: How long is too long?

[OceanicLanturn]

Another question from yours truly Lanturn. I'm writing this adventure fic (which I already made three threads about anyways -_-) and I'm wondering, since this is an adventure fic: What is the suitable length for the entire fic? I was doing some planning just now and I realise the character had only reached Hearthome by the time chapter twenty one rolls around. Now.. is that too long? But I don't want the "and so in four days, he went from Eterna to Hearthome" type of stuff. I'm wondering if the fillers are too many, but then I feel that they have something to contribute, such as the geography like a filler in Wayward Cave or just some introduction of old characters: such as Cheryl and Mira as this story takes place two years after DP's storyline.

Anyways, thanks

 

[dirkac]

Depends on if the fillers aren't useless that can be skipped over.

Just depends on if the importance, if you think it's too long, you could merge and cut some chapters, but it honestly depends on both the type of fic, and general length.

 

[Firebrand]

Journey fics tend to be long. The ones that follow the game plots (obtain eight badges, fight evil team, become champion) tend to be at least fifty chapters long, or at least the good ones are. Think of it this way. You want your character to be deep, to be well-rounded, to have gone through many experiences. Basically, you're writing a novel. It's going to be long. There's no limit on how long a fic should be, it's all up to the author's intuition. If you hit thirty chapters and realize that's only about your halfway point, that's fine. It means you've got another 30 chapters to go. See, don't think of chapters where no major plot events happen as filler. Filler means that nothing of any importance at all happens. Instead, make those chapters about character development. Simply traveling is not only boring to write about, it's boring to read about. So introduce or enhance a certain aspect of a character during that time. It will give you a focus, something to write about, and who knows, maybe become a major part of the story somewhere down the line.

This past year, I wrote a journey fic called Hero's Path that sorta broke the mold, I guess. There was no badge collection, no championship at the end. It was basically just a trainer wandering around the world, trying to find purpose in life. It ended up clocking in at 62 chapters, plus an epilogue. I wrote each chapter in a separate document, so I don't know how stacks up pagewise, but it was most certainly at least 350 pages long. Dragonfree's Quest for Legends, while I haven't read it myself, is completely massive. The best advice I can give is going to sound really cliched, but here it is: let the story write itself. It knows how long it needs to be, so just let it get to that length. You're just the vessel, putting it down on paper. When it's reached the end, it'll reach the end. You may lose readers along the way if it gets too long, it happens. Don't worry about it, you'll gain new ones. Just write however long you feel it needs to be written.

 

[Kutie Pie]

I'm one of those people who likes it when people place some realism in stories, especially in fan fiction. Time passing and geography helps play a part in this realism (which I think is a small plus the Pokémon anime has), but it can get out-of-hand with the fillers. I'm not sure the direction you're taking this, exactly, so I don't know how different your story is compared to other journey (or adventure) fics, but I feel it doesn't hurt to cut back on a few things. If the characters aren't doing anything except walking around for most of a chapter (unless the dialogue is of plot-importance) and not reaching a city or nothing very exciting is happening for a whole chapter or two, then it would make more sense to have, "After a few days of walking through such-and-such place and random battling with scattered trainers/wild Pokémon, such-and-such city/landmark came into view."

But then again, I can't pick out filler for the life of me, that's just all I know needs to happen to avoid some filler in a story about journeying. It more-or-less just depends on you, the writer, about what goes into the story. If you don't have a set goal for various events that are important to the plot, then I suggest you get one, and that would mean you may have to cut back on a few things in previous chapters.

EDIT: Feralninja ninja'd me because he's a ninja himself, but he's made more awesome, better points than I have that I agree with.

 

[OceanicLanturn]

Hmm... judging from what you all have been saying, I take it that it's okay for adventure fics to be pretty long, as the sense of realism can be given out in those so called filler or non-plot related episodes right? I have one tiny question though, I'm thinking of having an episode where the main character enters a contest of cuteness (thanks for the idea, Smogon's Pachirisu 5th gen Analysis Page) just to get a bicycle. Do you think that chapter should be ignored and should instead just have the bicycle magically appeared in the next chapter, or should I keep the chapter to develop the trainer's pokemon.

Thanks for allt he advices guys, you guys are great!

 

[Shadow Lucario]

Hmm... judging from what you all have been saying, I take it that it's okay for adventure fics to be pretty long, as the sense of realism can be given out in those so called filler or non-plot related episodes right? I have one tiny question though, I'm thinking of having an episode where the main character enters a contest of cuteness (thanks for the idea, Smogon's Pachirisu 5th gen Analysis Page) just to get a bicycle. Do you think that chapter should be ignored and should instead just have the bicycle magically appeared in the next chapter, or should I keep the chapter to develop the trainer's pokemon.

Thanks for allt he advices guys, you guys are great!

I would keep that chapter in. If the bike just appeared then your readers would wonder where this bike just came from. Sure it might seem like a silly chapter, but those are the most fun to write. There's a lot you could do with that chapter if you really wanted to.

 

[Dragonfree]

A story should be as long as it needs to be to tell the story and no longer. No, your readers don't need to know where the bicycle came from - lots of people have bicycles and it's perfectly reasonable he'd have had one from the beginning, or money set aside for one, unless it's a plot point that he's ridiculously poor or something. But if a cuteness contest chapter would genuinely be meaningful for your plot or character development and not just as an excuse for him to get a bicycle, then by all means go for it. The same logic applies to all other filler.

 

[Quilava42]

A story should be long depending if it's fully resolved and that's it. If the plot is major enough, then it should like end around there, or if it's like the main plot towards the end where the real problem of the story sets in.

 

[[Imaginative]:[Clockwork]]

If you're worried about your fic being too long, you could always try to combine your premises that you consider mostly filler. For example, if you have an important character to introduce, why not have them appear during a gym battle chapter or the contest chapter you mentioned? It gives them a chance to get more involved in the chapter's events, and you're accomplishing two of your objectives in half the time. Of course, I don't know what you're doing with these characters, as you may have already planned on them having their own plot significance in their respective introduction chapters, but the idea of combining the crucial parts of otherwise fillerish chapters is something you might still consider if you're worried about length.

I think the important thing to remember is that it's not filler if it has a long-term effect on the fic itself, whether it's character-based, plot-based, or anything else that can't be forgotten about by the next chapter. Not that you should tack on some "big" moment just to justify a chapter's existence; that will probably come off as very contrived, and the readers will likely see through it. The plot/characters/setting should lend itself to the large-scale advancement of the story, and if it doesn't, you might consider what warrants its existence in the first place (personally, being fun to read/write is enough for me), and whether or not that is enough to write and post it.

As for the question of whether your journey fic (or any journey fic) is going to be too long, I would say it depends on the how much of it is interesting and/or important. No chapter or page number is itself going to be the indicator. For example, if you have five chapters of the main characters watching their new, minor characters friends participate in the most epic jumprope competition of all time, that's probably a good indicator that your fic is a little bloated with filler. On the other hand, eighty chapters of crucial, interesting plot advancement wouldn't necessarily be too long because it accomplishes exactly what it was written to accomplish, no skimping and no extras. Feralninja was right when he said to let the fic write itself. Let the events happen naturally. However, keep in mind that we don't need to read about every meal your characters eat, even if it adds a bit of realism. Keep a critical eye out for anything that could be trimmed or cut out completely, and you should be fine on length.

 

[LizardonX]

I've actually read a journey fic that has over 2 million words

So there is no limit, just make sure it doesn't drag at the middle.

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