Got some ideas for fanfiction, need advice [Dragon Ball or Naruto]

So, I'm thinking of delving into fan fiction and I've got a few ideas for fanfic, for Dragon Ball or Naruto (and one idea for Yu-Gi-Oh! ignoring/set before GX titled Yu-Gi-Oh: Ritual Rebirth, but that's a really old idea and I might never pick it up again) and was wondering on a few things before I get started.

Firstly, what's a good word length to strive for each chapter? I havn't read much fan fiction myself (Just Team 8, two Hercule fics, and one South Park fic... and My Immortal) so I'm not really sure of the format either.

Secondly, I'm still undecided on what to write. I want to do either a rewrite of Dragon Ball (Z) to include some of the movie villains in the continuity with a few other changes, or a For Want of a Nail fic for Naruto, set just after the Third's Death with Danzo being nominated for Hokage in place of Tsunade (Still need a good title for that one). Any suggestions would be appreciated!

As for chapter length, I think a minimum of 3000-5000 words is a good starting point for new writers who're only interested in writing as a casual passtime. If you're trying to be ambitious about it, I'd say 10,000 words per chapter would make for good, long, novel-length chapters, but anything below 3000 words for a chapter-length chapter (anything apart from prologues, epilogues, interludes, etc.) just strikes me as too short. And that is why I hate all of the stories on FF.net that are posted in 500-word increments. I mean, how do you fit any kind of "story" into that?

Pretty easily, if you're me. This is Bad Advice and should be ignored. Chapter length is intensely variable and can easily be under 1000 words or less even in professionally published works. It will rarely if ever reach ten thousand words in a normal-length novel.

But really it all depends on how you feel like breaking things down into chapters. I've ranged from 1200 to over 5000 words, with a 495-to-550 series off to one side that exists primarily to exorcise writer's block.

edited 23rd Oct '11 7:17:54 AM by Night

Night's correct on chapter lengths.

It kinda depends on where you're posting this, too. Blog readers seem to have fewer expectations on chapter length. People in the Pit may find anything less than 2000 or 3000 words short for a chapter, but if it's good they're less likely to notice and they can go stuff it anyways.

Opinions and philosophy differ on what should constitute a chapter and you're the only one who can decide what's right for a particular story. Mine usually run anywhere from 1500 to 7000. I try to have one significant event happen a chapter, and I try to enter each one late and end each as early as possible.

There are no set rules on chapter length, really, though many people will spew their arbitrary rules at you. Screw 'em.

Many are just upset that so many children writers post short little 500 word snippets as "chapters" in the Pit and then they want to outlaw it forever so their eyes are never offended again.

edited 23rd Oct '11 8:04:31 AM by MildGuy

My chapter lengths usually vary from 3-8 (750 to 2000) words, so...

I rarely hit 3000 words.

edited 23rd Oct '11 8:22:26 PM by chihuahua0

I think my longest chapter ever was 5k when I drafted it up, but I split it into 3 smaller chapters that totaled about 7k.

Not that they were brilliantly written, either. Length =/= quality.

My chapters (now; they were shorter at the start of the story) tend to run 10k-12k. I myself like long chapters and find anything under 6k disappointingly short, but it's a personal style decision and quality of writing always trumps.