How long is too long?

[CharlieB4]

I'm talking about stories here, lol.

I've been catching up on some threads and have noticed some talk of people saying that 4-5-6 page lit stories are too long and they lose interest after 2.

Have any of you an opinion on this? How much is too much?

Do long stories hurt reads?

If the reader loses interest after 2-3 pages then maybe there isn’t enough in the story to keep them reading.

Also I’ve read lots of comments about longer stories scoring better. Could this be that disinterested readers don’t make it to the end to score it?

For me, the story I’m writing defines the length. If someone says it’s too long or too short that’s their opinion. You can’t please everybody all the time.

 

[blozo]

Also I’ve read lots of comments about longer stories scoring better. Could this be that disinterested readers don’t make it to the end to score it?

I've written stories from less than one full page up to six, and the ratio of views to votes cast is remarkably consistent across them all, with the exception of stories written in the LW catagory that push various troll buttons, which show a higher ratio and lower score.