Couldn't she do the mature thing (or it's what I do, and I didn't think it was weird...), which is with a WiP wait until it's all been posted, copy it into word and read like that?
Apparently she does; her post was basically saying that if you can post 50,000 words all in one entry (as Dreamwidth allows) then you should. She's ticked because people crossposting to LJ still use the LJ limits (well, duh!).
You do get people that will take a 10,000 word story and manage 5 parts out of it...
That'd be 2000 words per chapter, which is still reasonable if the story is paced to fit that kind of length. That's the thing, here: I've seen fics posted in 500 word chunks, and 500 words does not a chapter make. That's a sure sign that the writer is just posting as it comes to her, no plan, no beta...in other words, it's a big "do not read" sign flashing over the fic.
But serialisation is all about getting the pacing right. I generally aim for around 6000 words per chapter, but I've written fics with half that or less. The trick is to keep chapters roughly the same length and for each chapter to work on its own. Not be stand-alone, but to be readable as a single chunk that's part of the whole. It's easier to explain with a diagram :-)
A good serialised story can be read like a novel, but is meant to be read the way a TV show is watched: one episode at a time.
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Apparently she does; her post was basically saying that if you can post 50,000 words all in one entry (as Dreamwidth allows) then you should. She's ticked because people crossposting to LJ still use the LJ limits (well, duh!).
You do get people that will take a 10,000 word story and manage 5 parts out of it...
That'd be 2000 words per chapter, which is still reasonable if the story is paced to fit that kind of length. That's the thing, here: I've seen fics posted in 500 word chunks, and 500 words does not a chapter make. That's a sure sign that the writer is just posting as it comes to her, no plan, no beta...in other words, it's a big "do not read" sign flashing over the fic.
But serialisation is all about getting the pacing right. I generally aim for around 6000 words per chapter, but I've written fics with half that or less. The trick is to keep chapters roughly the same length and for each chapter to work on its own. Not be stand-alone, but to be readable as a single chunk that's part of the whole. It's easier to explain with a diagram :-)
A good serialised story can be read like a novel, but is meant to be read the way a TV show is watched: one episode at a time.