One Tale Or An Epic Saga?

[nattbear]

About the TV series i can relate... It is becoming rare for me to follow them, but there are some I still follow. As for the main question, I would say i prefer something in the middle, if it make some sense... Something not too short, well developed, but that doesn't take ten years to end. In general, if the story is dragged too long i tend to forget the plot and lost a little of interest in it, unless it is really good. >.> I honestly tend to do kind of epic stories, BUT I try to contain myself a little XD... I like to make so much details I may end up with an epic tale,,, Urgh... Well, What I know for sure is that short comic stories doesn't appeal to me that much.

[Mane]

If I look back at what type of stories are among my favorites , I'd have to admit that I prefer the longer ones. But, as you said, it has to have a cohesive plot line and good characters . if it becomes clear that the creators are just adding filler to milk it, than yeah, I'd rather have shorter story.

The reason I like longer stories is mostly because, if it's good, I get attached to it, it brings me joy to see it unfold and I want to stay with those characters longer. I'd even tolerate a drop in quality if it's because of the length as long as I still get enjoyment out of it. But yeah, if it starts dragging and they just go on for the sake of it, ruining the whole thing, than I'd rather they'd have wrapped it up a lot sooner.

[zetina]

I've always been a fan of the long epic, because I just want to be with the characters longer :') It's always a shame to me when there's a lot you could do and expand on, but the main plot is what it is and it's over... So then it's the fans' job to continue it in their imagination, which is cool, but I'm such a person that I want the "correct" version aka "word of god".

With webcomics, I haven't encountered the long epic that much or rather I don't read that many. They tend to end without reaching their natural conclusion. There are some that I just want to see end because I'm tired of keeping up with them out of a sense of stubbornness <'D It's a rare thing though.

I think for a webcomic, that updates with maybe 3 pages a week, relatively short story is best for both creator and reader.

[demthorshie]

I'd take a long, super epic story over a short tale any day! I tend to enjoy backstory a lot, I think many things today as far as in popular media doesn't include enough character backstory. They tend to only focus on the main conflict at hand, and if there are supporting characters in a story, they're kind of just there as props to aid the main protagonist. I don't have a problem with a short but super awesome story either, but I enjoy having the characters grow on me like a long story tends to do.

[sorrelma]

i like long stories a lot. i love being able to immerse myself in something with so much background and so much future potential
but i tend to be wary of long works with few fans. does that make me a sheep? probably? am i going to change? probably not... if you're working on something for a long time without much support, that shows great character on your part! but for potential readers/watchers/etc there's probably a reason why the reception has been so poor or nonexistent for so long
i want to start writing shorter stories but i always start on these huge projects. RIP

[joannekwan]

I like short/medium length series, something that can be contained in a reasonable number of volumes. If anything becomes longer than say the Harry Potter series, I start forgetting things that have happened. I'm not one of those people that can remember every single thing that happens unless it's my own work. And if it's super long I'm less likely to reread it or start reading it at all (the main issue I have with Homestuck).

[AnnaLandin]

I'd pick the graphic novel, as a reader. Part of that is because I only have so much space in my brain for following epic stories - and most of that space is being occupied by One Piece - and part of it is because I'm kind of an completionist. I want to know the whole story.

... Which is part of the reason why I can't really get into DC/Marvel comics - if I'm going to read about Batman or Captain America, I'm going to want to read ALL of it. And I just can't. I can't make it through 70+ years of continuity - and if I tried to read just some of it, it would be nagging at the back of my mind forever.

I've got a couple of non-One Piece epics taking up space in my bookshelf, but they're sharing that space with a LOT of graphic novels or very short series.

I do read some really long webcomics, though. I read Evan Dahm's work for example, and that tends to run pretty long - but I also trust him to be a good storyteller.

I think the updating pace of most webcomics (one or a couple of pages a week) means that my investment in them is already a long-term one - even if the story itself is a self-contained single tale - so if it ends up being really long, I'm kind of... already there? And as long as the story is being told well, I don't mind. If it's being told badly, though, I'm probably going to stop reading.

[shazzbaa]

I've kinda always been incapable of finishing long series of anything! I want the series to end while I still want to hear more about all the characters, while I still love it, and I can only hold focus so long. It's not that I think the series will get worse -- sometimes a series stays good and I just, can only be obsessed with one thing at a time and I get distracted by a new thing.

Most of my favourite games are short games that can be completed in a few days -- boasting hours of content in their main storyline is not a positive quality for me, because I won't have time to finish it. I'm almost never excited for movies to have sequels, even movies I loved, and even when the sequel looks good, because like.... I liked the movie. I don't need more of it, I liked it. I enjoyed it!! So I want to do something else now.

For webcomics, how long "long" and "short" are is sorta dependant on the pace of the comic -- some comics can go 700 pages and I still feel engaged, while some I get distracted after 300 -- but overall I just want a story that feels like it's headed towards an ending, that will stop when it's done, and then I want it to be done. It has to be REALLY engaging or specifically right up my alley for me to stick with it for a really long time!

[niinasalmelin]

When it comes to tv-series I'm also really picky, in comics I think I'd prefer well formed long running comic instead of short one. It's because I need a lot of time to get invested and some stories end just as I was getting into them. Of course this depends on pacing a lot but I'd say long webcomics interest me more. That being said I haven't yet finished any long series, so I hope that the one's I'm following now don't quit halfway in

Edit: I used term long comic instead of saga, because I'm actually not that into those EPIC FANTASY BATTLES WITH DRAGONS AND FARIES AND ALL THAT'S BETWEEN -comics. It's more just about comics that take their time.

[hushicho]

A huge amount of writers, when you get right down to it, more often try and fail to make something seem like it's on an "epic" scale -- and of course, as we are all probably aware, the term itself has been overused to the point of meaninglessness in recent years.

But there have been far too many people trying to up the stakes of their works and failing because ultimately, they just grab for vulgar shorthand that they think will make it happen, like huge armed conflicts or something like that, while failing to recognize that it was usually not the big battles that made some of those literally more epic stories great.

I don't mind spending long times with characters I like, but I've learned the very real value of leaving an audience wanting more. Even if all you ever do is a single story of a few pages with some great characters and a great concept, it's better if the audience comes away thinking "I loved that" instead of stretching it out to 500 pages that leaves an audience saying "that was really ruined before it finally, thankfully ended".

I've seen it done far too many times, where a story that was once great had come to basically a logical point of conclusion, but it kept going after that or was revived so someone could do something with it...and it just ended up ruining what came before. Be careful of that.

[TheVoidchildProject]

That's a toughie. Some concepts work better for a single run. And some for a lengthy saga. I've come across plenty of shows/comics and such that should've known when to stop, but didn't (Heroes, I'm looking at you). And things that just keep getting better as time goes on (One Piece, I'm looking at you).

I think the answer is fairly straightforward for me. If it's good and has the legs, I'll want more. But it will most likely have a slower build-up. Which means more patience on my part. But I'd rather have something I can come back to every week where I can get invested in characters, a specific universe and its/their story if I had my say. Even if that means I have to be patient...

[kazukitakamura126]

When I first started I wanted to write this long epic story that would span several volumes and have great action like Naruto, Bleach and all the other shounen anime. As I worked on said "epic story" I started to realize it takes to long and pacing of story really slows down. Then when I moved into an apartment with my brother I started watching anime besides the long shounens and started watching shorter stories.

This made me realize a story doesn't have to be long to be epic and there are stories that are great without using fighting as its main vehicle of narrative progression. For example, the anime Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 told a sad tale of Japan's struggle after an earthquake. Despite not having any action the chracters and how the story unfolded kept my attention.

These days I prefer shorter stories that are 3 volumes at the max so I feel the comic is actually possible to finish unlike a 10 or 50 volume comic.

[inkythoughts]

This is why I mainly watch crime series and nothing else on tv XD You can jump in, have the case solved, and jump off if you don't have time or anything - it doesn't exactly matter, except for maybe a double-episode, and it's not hard to catch up with the private sub-plots. Otherwise I just watch Anime, and if I'm curious about it, I also start one with 500+ episodes - if I don't like it, I still can quit.

The thing about fillers is, there are good ones, and there are bad ones. ATLA for example was great because even in the filler episodes there was character development. They were partly even my faves. Fillers that I literally hate are those shounen fight scenes which get dragged out enormously, and I lose interest quickly.
I generally think the pacing should just suit the story/plot AND the characters/character development. There needs to be space for the latter, otherwise I can't really connect. And sure you need a certain drive (usually supplied through the plot) but sometimes the characters themselves supply this too, even without a plot (Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun is a great example for this). But if you don't drag the plot out for anything other than character development, just don't.

Generally, series/comics/books/movies that once found an actual closure (stares at Pirates of the Caribbean) should just stay like this. Spin-offs are okay, but they are spin-offs and don't try to widen the plot of the actual storyline even more.

I think everything applies to comics as well. The pacing should suit the concept, plot, and characters, and I usually am more invested in a bigger arc (novel or epic length, not those "one episode" plots you often have in classic comics) which are at least as plot-intense as a Jane Austen novel. Longer is usually better if done right.

[okellymx]

A story that's more contained. Any long story I almost had to force myself to finish watching, I just stopped caring. I end up not watching longer shows such as The Walking Dead, Gintama, and One Piece. My favorite stories regardless of genre are all stories that ended for example And Then There Were None, All You need is Kill, Death Note. Sometimes I'll wait for a story to finish before reading it like Death Note.

I don't even watch regular TV, I just watch anime on Crunchyroll because a show is usually 13 - 22 episodes. I really want to know how it ends, that's why I watch/read/play I want to know how the characters get from point A to point B. It doesn't matter what it is as long as this is evident. I couldn't care less about being with the actual characters and honestly, I don't understand it, how someone can be attached to fiction characters. Sure I like certain characters but not enough to follow them for eternity, I'm looking at you One Piece. Comedy Shows, Slice of Life, drama, and Mystery stories are usually an exception for the whole show because each episode has its own point A to point B, so I don't have to watch other episodes.

For Webcomics I have no idea how long the story will be or if it will ever finish. So I will read them till I get sick of it or forget what happens.

[VermillionWorks]

Well, for a bit there I was beginning to think I was alone on this and was starting to feel like an impatient old fart. XD Glad they're ended up being a few people who do feel similarly.

Again, don't get me wrong, if they're good enough I'll take a longer story and have watched/read and appreciated my share of longer ones, I just feel like the shorter/medium length stories tend to leave more an impact with me than ones that are very long or have sequel after sequel. Not only do I also sometimes tend to forget details if it goes on forever, but I also start to care less, even about the characters I originally had some concern for.

It's like...being a person who sits around a campfire while someone tells me a story. If it's a longer story he's telling, I'm willing to stop and come back a few times if I know the storyteller's obviously building up towards a big conclusion, but there still has to be a certain....formula here to keep me interested and also for me to remember everything or to continue caring about the protagonists. If the story just seem to be dragging or is full of details or subplots I don't really need that much, I ain't coming back to that campfire. XD Give me a one-two punch, not several martial arts lessons. (<-- Lamest thing I've ever typed.)

To me, I like one, solid tale I can continue to think about and interpret my own way, one that I can revisit again and again instead having to kill myself trying to revisit an insanely long story that I may have only liked for certain parts of and can only recollect certain details about. (Again, there are sometimes exceptions here. I don't avoid every old story-based TV show I used to love because it was long, for example.)

I believe you can get to the point relatively quickly while still managing to make me care about the characters.

Webcomics are different because they are usually put out a much slower pace - it's only natural they take a long time to get through or are even never completed (plus more creator freedom, so it's typical for reboots or new projects to be started out of nowhere), but even webcomics can drag unnecessarily, and many do/have.

One problem with webcomics is it's hard for a creator to let their story end, if they've grown a love for their characters/world/ect., they can't bear the idea of not working with them, so even if they have an ending in mind they put it SO far down the line of the story that it becomes that much harder to reach. Even I did this with a past comic of mine, to the point that I ended up disliking the characters to an extent, when originally I couldn't bear the idea of no longer working with them. XD So yes, beware of clinging too hard to your beloved characters/concepts.

[okellymx]

I need a lot of time to get invested

What does this even mean? I'm not trying to be rude, but everyone always says this but I don't understand it. I personally just watch stuff. If I don't like it I move on, if I like it I move on after it is done.

[kazukitakamura126]

I agree, you can't have your story too short or major details can be left out and if its too long it becomes harder to keep the reader/watcher invested. A balance has to be stuck in order for any type of story to work and remain engaging.

[niinasalmelin]

I need time to get to know the characters and the world they live in basically. If it's a 30 page long comic I've just met them and the story is already over so I didn't feel invested and I don't care enough to buy it or even read it again. There's of course exceptions but usually I warm up slowly for story. Love at first sight is rare for me. So personal taste.

Hopefully this clarified it for you.

EDIT: also I don't talk about forever ongoing comics but just longer ones. So I think I kinda forgot what sagas meant .____.

[kazukitakamura126]

I believe you make a valid argument, as long as the story has a goal and its not dragging its feet the length can vary.

I feared not being able to work wit hone of my favorite OCs Eota, which I made in 2009. From her year of conception all the way up to 2014 I kept recycling through many different stories. I eventually grew a love/hate relationship for the character; she has taught me so much about how to write characters. On the other hand I had to drag her along for so long the original flare she had was lost by the time I quit using her.

So this incident has taught me to plan every chapter before diving in the story so no unnecessary sub plots are formed and I actually know how the story will end.

[joannekwan]

One problem with webcomics is it's hard for a creator to let their story end, if they've grown a love for their characters/world/ect., they can't bear the idea of not working with them, so even if they have an ending in mind they put it SO far down the line of the story that it becomes that much harder to reach.

Yeah I can totally see that happening!
In my case I see my characters as real people and once their part is done being told, I like to leave them alone to "live out" the rest of their lives with whatever conclusion I gave them. Then I shift my focus to a new set of characters to let them shine in a new story, since I have so many characters and stories anyway.