Switch Blayde: Blog

I talk about chapter length a lot because my chapter lengths seem to be contrary to the norm on SOL. As I've said many times, I prefer short chapters both as a reader and author.

Like I often do, I was spending time browsing articles on writing fiction and came upon one on chapter length from "Publishers Weekly."

"Publishers Weekly" is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of Book Publishing and Bookselling."

The following is from the article:

"Many novelists these days prefer chapters that are between 1,500 words—or six book pages— and 8,000 words, or 32 book pages."

My latest novel, "The Nymphomaniac," is 193,000 words and 70 chapters. That's an average chapter length of 2,757 words. So my chapters are on the shorter end, but not unusually short per the definition above.

The article also says:

"Chapter length helps create the rhythm of your book. Do you want your novel to feel fast paced and breathless? Then you should try to keep chapters on the short side. If your story is more leisurely, then longer chapters may be appropriate."

My writing is influenced by thrillers. Yeah, those novels that are "fast paced and breathless." So it makes sense for me to have shorter (not short—LOL) chapters.

Anyway, Happy Holidays to you all.

I'm posting a chapter a week on SOL for my novel "The Nymphomaniac." So far I've posted 3 chapters. Chapter 4 will be posted next week.

It just dawned on me that you don't have to wait for the next few chapters to be posted. The novel is for sale on Bookapy and Bookapy has a feature to sample the novel. So if you go to the novel on Bookapy (https://bookapy.com/s/635/the-nymphomaniac) and click "Read Sample," you will get more chapters than currently posted on SOL.

The sample is only chapters 1–6 with part of Chapter 7, but I won't be posting Chapter 6 for another 2 1/2 weeks. My download counts will go down, but I don't care about counts. All I care about is giving you the best story I can.

If you decide to read the sample chapters on Bookapy, I suggest you start from Chapter 1 even if you've read it. I didn't write the novel to be read a chapter a week and it will flow much better if you don't have to wait a week to read the next chapter.

Or, if you prefer reading a chapter a week, Chapter 4 will be posted this coming Monday or Tuesday depending on my schedule.

As promised, I'll be posting a chapter of "The Nymphomaniac" on SOL each week. I posted Chapter 2 yesterday. The link is: https://storiesonline.net/s/29730:267639/chapter-2-the-nymphomaniac

For those of you who were teenagers in the 1950s, I hope the story brings back memories. Julie is actually 8 years older than me. But she's living in my house in my neighborhood and going to my high school.

For those of you younger, try to understand that it was a much different time. The dress code for the high school, for example, was actually what I remember. In the story I don't think I mentioned that boys had to wear a collared shirt, but I once went to school wearing a turtleneck sweater because it was cold. A teacher stopped me in the hall and pulled the turtleneck out and looked inside for a collar. I was only wearing an undershirt underneath. She sent me home to change. So try to live the Fifties the way it was for Julie, and forget how it is now.

Chapter 1 of "The Nymphomaniac" is now available on SOL. I will post a chapter a week until all 70 chapters are posted. The link to it is: https://storiesonline.net/s/29730:267434/chapter-1-the-nymphomaniac

For those not familiar with my writing, I don't like long chapters, both as a reader and an author. I guess the average chapter size for this novel is between 2,500 and 3,000 words. Of course I sometimes have a 6,000-word chapter when it's right to do so.

My writing style is influenced by authors of thriller novels. I don't write thinking about posting a chapter a week. I write as if the full novel is available, so I like to end a chapter with a page-turner (expecting the next page to be there). Not necessarily a cliff hanger, but with a realization or a question that needs to be answered. Again, the thriller genre influence that leaves the reader in suspense so they turn the page to the next chapter. Of course, that's not a problem for those who buy the full novel on Bookapy or wait for the entire story to be put on SOL, but for those reading a chapter at a time, I thought I should mention it.

The novel I've been working on for over a year is finally published on Bookapy. It can't go on Amazon because of the under 18-year-old character. That's also why it's listed as "extreme" on Bookapy. It's not extreme. The link to it on Bookapy is https://bookapy.com/s/635/the-nymphomaniac. At 193,000 words, it's my longest novel to-date.

The title is "The Nymphomaniac." It's about a girl with hypersexuality who, in the 1950s, doesn't understand the urges puberty brings on. In the 1950s, sex is a taboo subject, Sex Ed isn't taught in schools, there is no internet, and the medical diagnosis of hypersexuality is not understood (it is simply called nymphomania and the girl is labeled a tramp). So a girl like Julie is left to struggle on her own. Thankfully, she has help. That's why I listed it as coming-of-age although it could have been listed as erotica.

I tried to show her emotional struggles. Hopefully, I succeeded.

It will eventually be available for free on SOL, but at 70 chapters and posting one chapter a week, the full novel won't be there for 70 weeks (that's almost 1½ years). As I said, it's a long novel. On SOL, I post under Switch Blayde, but I publish under S.W. Blayde.

Book: The Nymphomaniac by S.W. Blayde
Julie, a teenager in 1956, is besieged by puberty hormones. The clueless girl doesn't understand the sexual urges and thoughts they trigger. She's frightened, frustrated, yet experiences unexpected pleasure. Her journey takes her from discovery and confusion, to exploration and experimentation, and finally enlightenment, as she deals with emotional highs and lows, torment and thrills.
bookapy.com
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