25
Early chapters vs. the payoff: Do you stick with a slow burn or bail after 50 pages?
Ngl, I used to drop any story that didn't hook me in the first 10 pages. Then I read this 300,000 word fanfic about a grocery store clerk that didn't get interesting until chapter 22, and it blew my mind. Now I give long form stuff a 100 page grace period, but I keep a spreadsheet to track when the good part kicks in. My buddy swears that's insane and says if a story can't grab you by page 5, it's not worth your time. How long do you usually wait before deciding a slow burn is just slow?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
thompson.tyler15d ago
Man that grocery store fanfic sounds oddly familiar actually.
8
mason20915d ago
Wait, is that the one where the guy accidentally gets promoted to assistant manager of a whole foods because he knows how to properly stack avocados? Lol I swear I read something similar on reddit a few years back. Some dude wrote an entire saga about his chaotic shifts at a grocery store and it turned into this wild story about a secret underground fruit market in the back room. I still think about that weird mango heist plot sometimes.
3