Wednesday, May 20, 2009

New Trials Fanfiction Word Count and Length


Sakura and Syaoran Yawning by ~wishluv on deviantART
I was in the midst of figuring out word count and whatnot for something else and then it occurred to me: How long IS New Trials?

You may all have noticed a lack of consistancy in the length of chapters in New Trials. Arc One definitely has the shortest chapters and average around the 3,500-7,000 word mark. Arc 2 gets longer, I think averaging between 6,000 to 16,500 range. I think Arc 3 is the real monster. I may be wrong, but I think the longest New Trials chapter to date is Chapter 50: A Winter's Conundrum with a whopping 61,600 words. To be fair, I did divide the chapter itself up to 7 sections. The Arc 3 "Finale" chapter was 47,000 words. I think a little over 30,000 words is a good approximation for the length of current chapters (which will inevitably get longer towards the end of the arc).

For a good comparisons sake, "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone" is said to be around 80,000 words, while Deathly Hallows is 200,000. I would think New Trials currently is over 800,000 words counting all the specials. An adult novel is usually around 100,000 words, YA a little shorter. So, those of you who have read all of New Trials, you have read about ten novels around the length of "Sorceror's Stone." Congratulations! That in itself is quite an achievement, especially those who claim they read the whole thing in a week or two.

I was the one who got in trouble at school for writing essays twice the wordcount. Sighs. I began writing this monster of a fanfiction at the age of 13 and it is ten years later now. Obviously, I have had months of dry spells where I was too busy with school to write New Trials; when I am on a roll, I can produce an approx. 30,000 word chapter a month 50-70 pages 11 font Arial in Microsoft Words. As a history and English double major, I have written multitude of essays and papers and short stories for my writing classes and New Trials has constantly been a side project whilst I have graduated from high school as a National Honor Student, college with honors and currently have a normal functioning work and social life. I try to tell my self, 8-10 "fan novels" in ten years is not too bad were I to ever try to pursue a writing career in the future while carrying out all the duties of life as a woman. Yes, I am having a quarter-life crisis when I have to measure my life in the number of words I have produced (alluding to "Seasons of Love" RENT).

Tee hee. New Trials seems to have made it to the Card Captor Sakura Fan History Wiki page under "Influential Works." I wonder who put it there. I don't think it's the longest fanfiction on fanfiction.net, but I'm sure it's up there. It's just ironic to me that this fanfiction has lasted this long, and it's all thanks to YOU, my readers. Arigatou, Arigatou, Arigatou!
Posted by at

10 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 20, 2009 at 4:52 PM

    as long as you keep writing it, I'll keep reading it ^____^

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 20, 2009 at 6:58 PM

    Wow. I knew it was long, but 800,000 words?! Amazing. And to think, I read the first thirty-two chapters in two days when I discovered your story on its original geocities page in 2000. O_o

    Well, I love your story. It's epic and you should be very proud. Keep going!!

    ~Animefreak242

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownMay 22, 2009 at 12:58 PM

    If you published a novel, I'd definitely would be on top of it like white on rice. ^_^

    ReplyDelete
  4. kireiblossomMay 22, 2009 at 10:20 PM

    Goodness, those are a lot of words - it all makes my head spin. Yes, I can confidently agree that Chapter 50 is the longest chapter, because I remember some years ago when I was re-reading all of NT, normally the arc 3 chapters were taking me around 4 days each, but then 50 stretched on and on for more than a week. loL! But its still one of the best written chapters in all of NT, and one of my faves, and thats a huge achievement to make something so bulky still hold together.

    If you ever decide to become a professional writer, do let me know, I'll buy your books ASAP ^_^ I wonder what you'd write about...

    Kirei Blossom.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousMay 24, 2009 at 12:46 PM

    Wow, This huge project has been given so much credit. You have done so well. It came under influential works. At this rate, you think they may want to use it? I will not be surprised if they do. Although unofficial, I think NT has been publicly accepted as the continuation of CCS. And just to let you know, I'm halliwells from FF.net. I left a crazy review or 2 before. I guess I over-reacted. It was around when Syaoran transferred his powers to Sakura that I left that review. Your story really got to me. Trust me, I went on an emotional roller coaster when I read it, and right now I am hyper about your story. I laughed, I smiled, I cried as I read your story. You know I just reread the scene where Syaoran transfer his powers to Sakura? I was like so touched. It is so sad how Syaoron's family is forcing them to separate. They are so truly in love. I really hope to read more of your wondersul work. Support support support

    ReplyDelete
  6. Stephanie Anne TanMay 25, 2009 at 5:39 AM

    You are such a great writer. I don't know how you came up with this incredible story. New Trials has such a complex plot. I really believe you will get far as a writer. I do hope that you can update faster. The suspense is killing me.

    ReplyDelete
  7. ilaMay 26, 2009 at 3:51 AM

    You totally deserve to have New Trials under "inspirational works" - it's still hands down my favourite fanfic in the world :) I started reading back when you had four chapters in total out and I still get super excited whenever I see a new chapter out.

    I'm abit scared of how I'll feel when New Trials is over. I think abit empty - but I've loved every step of the process of reading it :) Thanks so much for continuing to write. ^^

    ReplyDelete
  8. wishluvMay 26, 2009 at 8:16 AM

    Thanks everyone for all your comments! This was just a random post. ^_^ I'm working on Chapter 62, aiming for a mid-June update but now guarantees. >.<

    @halliwells: I remember your comments and no worries. I like reading all sorts of reviews. :)

    @animefreak242: Ah, the Geocities days makes me feel so nostalgic; you've been around since the near beginning! Thanks for sticking by!

    ReplyDelete
  9. JaelleJune 18, 2009 at 4:57 PM

    Congrats! It's been years since I've started reading NT...and I can't wait for the next chapter :) I can still remember those days when I'd just sit infront of my computer and read until my eyes got blurry...

    Anyways, you are an amazingly talented writer! :) I'm sure you get this a lot but it's true. You're an inspiration to us all.

    Can't wait for the next chapter!

    -Jaelle

    ReplyDelete
  10. essay traditionsSeptember 14, 2018 at 4:23 AM

    This topic is certainly popular, but I do not consider it so important to waste time on learning more about it.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)