How Long Should Your Story Be? 10 Tips to Help You

[@NapperNeru]

I think the tips can be summatized this way: 1. Get to the core of the story to not waste time. (You can add fillers later.)* 2. Get to the point, don't ramble on unimportant details. 3. Draw out your core timeline 4. Everything should be there for a reason. Don't put unnecessary things. 5. Don't work things out along the way, plan everything from head to toe and polish it accordingly. That way the story as a whole would make sense. A story has versions, improve them to the best they can be. Sometimes making the end then the beginning makes a story much better. 6. Simple and short story, smaller cast of characters. Big and complex story, long and "epic" story. But don't be pressured to write a long story. 7. You don't have to show everything. Not every little detail is important. Hint at it, but don't show it. If it's unimportant, just drop a line or two on it, or make it an Easter egg. If it's somewhat relevant, make it a montage. 8. Character driven stories are hard to end compared to story driven ones. To know when to break down the story into episodes, (I personally recommend using cliffhangers to keep the readers interested. However, don't overuse it, only use it when necessary. It can be used not only to keep the readers at the edge of their seats but also to make them wonder what would happen next.) 9. If you have too many works in progress, maybe you're being too ambitious. Try to make your job easier for yourself. Short and special may be the way to go. 10. Follow your instincts, that gut feeling is your guide. Trust yourself to make the right decisions. *Fillers can be used to develop the world or show characteristics of the more important characters, but they must make sense. Ask yourself how this info can help in the main plotline. If your fillers are not beneficial to the main plot at all, it would likely bore the reader.

[@akaneakane7893]

*claps*

[@sutil5078]

thanks for the summary, if you think about it, it all comes down to be brief WITHOUT sacrificing the essential. Most of these points comes to that. Dossification is key.

[@duchi882]

How Long a Story Should Be: 1. *In the first Age, in the First Battle..*

[@davidxlte]

Man angry because rabbit died.

[@strickerarts]

Oh yeah yesterday, I was at Barnes and Noble and saw some of your books, my brother was like who's Mark Crilley? I'm like, oh he's done quite a few projects, like drawing books and Brody's Ghost, I even told him about Bone, because I believe you illustrated the Valley for Jeff Smith. My brother loves the bones book's. He thought that was pretty cool. Thought I would share. 😊

[@FloatingSunfish]

I always love watching these types of videos. You're like the Bob Ross of writing and drawing. 👌🏻

[@sociallyineptspider-man2366]

I've been working on a three volume graphic novel for about four years now and your videos have helped me constantly along the way, thank you for always being there every Friday

[@dungeon-wn4gw]

In my experience writing, it's better to write too much and then go back later to tighten it up than to write too little and then go back to add more.

[@monap8552]

I'm working on an animated project of my own, I've done what you mentioned. But since I'm still working on the characters and all, I haven't got the chance to go back and rid of a few loose ends in the story plot. I'm not a writer, but I know story/character plot is important for everything.

[@strickerarts]

Love the plot out the story advice as well, that's also what I like to do. It makes it easier to throw readers in a loop and still have it be comprehended. It's definitely for organization mostly but it's a good method.

[@ashnikfield4224]

You posted this at the PERFECT time! I was planning out a graphic novel and I was contemplating how long it should be. I have my characters drawn and such and I really wanted to push this forward without dropping the concept like I've done in the past with many other comics I've tried.

[@silentfox1738]

i have the book that he is illustrating and i think it was interesting, i will probably continuously come back to it and read it

[@thatguy779]

Hey Mark, ever since I became a HUGE Jojos nerd, I’ve become obsessed with how a writer/illustrator can convey information about a character without using exposition. That being said, I would love to know both your thoughts on this type of thing and what your stand would be✨

[@fishussugon3215]

nice pun

[@adrithmanvik1853]

Really? I've read all JoJo parts (and watched all 5 parts) and I feel like there's lots of exposition especially when the characters are talking about their abilities

[@thatguy779]

Anirudh Saravanakumar yes, but there’s a lot of fun characterization in the small details and designs which is absolutely fascinating. Much of the exposition about abilities over time and especially in part five happens once a character has deduced something using information that they and the viewer are presented with. Aside from that, much of the remaining exposition is mainly stuff that teaches the reader/viewer about the world and I’m a sucker for learning about foreign cultures✨

[@adrithmanvik1853]

@@thatguy779 yeah true (btw I wasn't criticising JoJo because I too like it as well)

[@thatguy779]

Anirudh Saravanakumar no worries, I hope I didn’t come off as hostile in any way

[@BlackHei711]

I don't draw comics anymore, I did finish one. I've now moved on to game making, and a lot of this applies to that too. You can find story telling in just about all forms entertainment.

[@ReubMann]

interesting. I moving inverse to you lol. going from game making to comics

[@cosmicroar1277]

When you're that guy who spends hundreds of hours trying to perfect the first chapter.

[@andrewgarfield9898]

Emirou『えみろう』 just hours?? One pages takes me days and it still doesn’t come out the way I want it too😭

[@vermister341]

Bruh, fucking same!

[@Cartoonkal]

Yep. That's me.

[@Millicomics]

I feel you !

[@Lily-mw2ki]

i think im kinda that guy. i tend to write the first 10 pages then spend hours turning them inrto like 30 pages

[@Cavalier753]

Last time I was this early- No, I've never been this early. But Mark posts, I fly.

[@user-uf9xk1uv2z]

How long? *Laughs in Naruto*

[@MildlyAggressiveOni]

A Person How Long? *Maniacal Laugh in One Piece*

[@user-uf9xk1uv2z]

Mildly Aggressive Oni mwhahahaha

[@TheeFlashbackMan]

DATTEBAYO!

[@akero1388]

**Sazae San dies laughing**

[@monap8552]

I think the DBZ/DBS series should belong in here too.

[@waustii7470]

Hey Mark! I just wanted to thank you so much for the continued uploads to this channel. I’ve been watching for years, and a lot of my progress as an artist and storyteller is a direct result of your advice and guidance. Thanks to your help, I’ll be publishing my first official comic this coming May. Thank you again for making such invaluable content! 💖💖💖

[@sflematti]

You've continued to be such an inspiration with your traditional artwork. I don't have anything against digital art but there is such a genuine charm watching someone skilled enough to put thought to paper.

[@monap8552]

these storytelling vids of yours are awesome. Whenever I get in doubt, I come back to watch a couple more vids to have a better understanding.

[@emeraldqueen1994]

I have a werewolf character named Elena who is always making puns like that... I thank you for a much needed smile to end a relaxing day with! Love your videos and I look forward to seeing your next one!

[@wolflahti412]

"When you write, try to leave out all the parts that readers skip." ―Elmore Leonard

[@annmccarthy1354]

Looking forward to your new book!!! And for years I have meant to comment on how much I have enjoyed your musical intros..such a talented fellow!!!

[@jejehdh]

Can’t wait to see your comic

[@laurawilliams8952]

Great advice! I am working on my first short story/comic 🥳 will definitely try to use these tips!

[@normas_sketchbook]

Yes! Well summarized! If I not procrastinate watching your wisdom videos, I work this way, writing my books. The plot driven part - that is new to me. My books are always character-driven.

[@rafaelinio1]

man the youtube algorithm hasn't been kind to you! I remember your videos used to pop up in my feed years ago, but not anymore!

[@mystryninja1175]

I'm so glad that after all this time, i come back to find your channel still posting!!!! It's been like 8yrs since an i really been wanting to draw an learn again. i'm totally gonna check out much of the content you've posted

[@ToriKo_]

Wow getting this in my recommended was a throwback, so many memories of watching you when I was young

[@cicero2548]

I forgot how much I genuinely enjoy watching your videos Mr.Crilley.

[@poisontribal9909]

Awesome! Could you do a video on drawing in small details? Like when you’re making a graphic novel and you have to draw something super small?

[@jonathanfaber3291]

So basically it boils down to making choices and testing them. Like you could have the bank robber wake up, have breakfast (show overdue bills on table maybe?), get dressed, go to the bank all that malarkey and then suddenly BANG POV character is a bank robber

[@AwkwardPain]

One thing that I would add after listening to this - #9 - Another thing you can do if you already have been working on an epic story is to break out a specific event that has you excited. Create a short story about this specifically to both get something 'done' and to build confidence going forward. (Disclaimer: This is something I have only started adopting fairly recently)

[@jak100abc]

Not gonna lie. When You corrected yourself in saying "The BELOVED white guache" I about passed out. That was too funny. Keep up the great work. 😂😊

[@diditsuto9193]

Mark, watching your videos is like watching an excelent show. Only wanting for the next season more & more 👏😁👍

[@goldenbuffalo1987]

I congratulate Nowruz on all Iranians and Persian speakers around the world. Nowruz begins with the start of spring. Which is a sign of the flourishing of the body, soul and humanity in the existence of dignified human beings.

[@qwekunash2]

Really inspiring MarkCrilley👍❤. You inspired me to start my own channel. Draw with Qweku Nash. U are the man👍👊🏼😎

[@sosiem.s.80]

Mark crilley sensei !!! 😄I like listening to your explanation and it really helps in my writing aspirations and your own thoughts; sense of humor, passion in your work inspires me...

[@MarluART]

I got a small degree for illustration and gave up on it to start working a decent general labor job. I've been wanting to start it up again so looks like I have some Mark Crilley backlog to catch up on :)

[@glasperle77]

I think it's a huge difference if you write or draw a comic due to its lengh. Problem is moreoften that in books you can put a lot of information plot wise into one sentence while in a single panel it's hard to cut the whole text shot to one or two bubbles. As comic artist who focuses on fan-comics I mostly have the simple rule: Make a first comic that isn't too long but still gives the necessary plot, keep it canon (like the characters act like they would in the show/game) and just let them focus on one issue they will solve in the end. That way people have something to enjoy, you get them into a new fandom with new characters they probably didn't know before and if you end it , they had fun. But THEN I make a second one , sequel like thing where I explicit warn people that this is not canon. Means you can make it as long as you want, you can make the chracters OoC as you like and people who read the first thing will likely also enjoy the second xD hard to explain but until now for like 15 years it always worked fine like this. But sadly there are also writers or comic artist who combine both. And over past years I saw they lost a huuuge amount of readers-simply because it's too long. Meaning the issue they face won't be solved at one point and then they start a second story-the issue remains and will be stretched, more and more characters appear and people get confused and at some point forgot what the main issues are-and stop reading. I don't somewhat agree with that people have to show people exactly what's meant. I am more the shortstory-telling-person. Maybe because I grew up with good german but also very complicated literature in school where it was common that the information won't be given directly but rather indirectly. Meaning the reader have to THINK to understand the story. The problem is that there are just a few who do and the rest will be confused especially when they are too young. But I think it's important to create something where people have to actually not just plain read it down for humor, but try to think about your story, about the actions of your characters and question themselves "why do they say this and that?" then they -in their head-go back your whole plot and find eventually the explanation there and be like "aahaaa wow smart!" I think that's the greatest reward a writer could get xD" But well it's just a subjective opinion of mine after all

[@godeatslemons2288]

I really appreciate all of these videos you make,

[@thelostlegendnoe4502]

Wow just what I needed was just working on my comic and wondering how many pages I should make! Thanks Mark you always have the good stuff 😊

[@squidsquad9460]

In the next video could you give advice on page layout? Like panel sizing and spacing?

[@jumpiestudios5265]

About number 5, I'm currently writing a webcomic and I had an idea of where to start the story but then later realized that I actually had to pull back and add a lot of scenes before that to get the most out of the story.

[@aswanthsbabu9444]

Hi sir, Your videos are too helpful to build up my own comic books.. Thank you for the tips.. Thank you for all...❤️

[@devonteedwards2093]

These are some great tips for stories

[@ghostofcanidstheinnovator4275]

Thanks Mark Crilley

[@SillhouetteSonata]

Awesome video! I swear you always come out with just the video I need. :)

[@DARKGORZ]

It took me two days, but I have compiled every video in this series into a set of notes!

[@HTMangaka]

Not quite sure about this, but it looks like you and me are wearing the same shirt. I was holding my sleeve up to the screen to compare during the video and...they seem identical.

[@gumshoestudiospresents557]

Nanu nanu, everybody! It's Mork Crilley, back with another shazbot video!

[@valasafantastic1055]

Useful tips! Thanks.

[@dustinrichardson1113]

Markcrilley, I love your channel and want to start one of my own, do you got any tips for me?

[@DecoyAUT]

Hey Mark! Loving your videos, you are such a nice inspiring guy. I hope those videos make you as happy as they make us. On a side note, I would appreciate if you'd think about getting a camera which is a bit more high res, the current one is fine, but the videos are a bit blurry looking for 2020 :)

[@daikaijuzilla]

May I ask how you can express a montage through writing alone and not visually? That's what I'm having trouble with!

[@batjoke777]

Tip number 1: *EXIST* One Piece: *Sight*

[@FuryofTiamat-Flip]

18:50. That cut me deep... great video man

[@lilkittyanime]

Every great manga i ever read eventually ended around the 8th or 12 book. Yes One Piece and Bleach went on longer, yet you see people complain more about that then they praise it😂. Thank you for the vid Mark!❤❤

[@محمدالحورانييوسفقشطهقشطة]

Hey guys when I see the videos in this channel I am really confusing there are many videos and many lists of videos how should I begin watching those videos ? I hope someone that tells me .

[@JohnPeterPressonProtopsaltis]

@markcrilley would mind addressing longer story. The project I am working on is more novel scale (outlined and scripted out).

[@LeyahCheney]

Thank you! I really needed this ;-;

[@dks9269]

Hey Mark, I was hoping to ask some advice on the kind of camera you use for recording your video tutorials? I'm an art instructor in need of putting my course work online for remote instruction (due to concerns over the pandemic), and am going to make some of my own video demos for class. I wasn't sure who to ask, but I've been showing your videos on 2 and 3 point perspective for years, lol, so I thought it might be ok to ask :) Let me know if you have any advice.

[@larrytoons6220]

Mark just in time I'm making a story and my friend says that I should make the story go as long as it can go so my characters can be immortalized but I want my first series to have a good ending. So this video was helpful for me with the layout of my story.

[@SuselLee]

You have a new graphic novel ( grouppy scream)!!!! I can't wait for the re-sale.

[@mitsubas-swagger-soda]

I have a question markcrilley Do I draw one of my book pages full page? And do the pubishers put the pages together or not😊?

[@elation00]

I wonder if I should make clear what the world setting is in the first chapter or in the first volume gradually and then some backgrounds for the characters, for the world...

[@elation00]

actually nvm I think I got an idea

[@skellynator]

I know this has nothing to do with the video but do copic markers work with Bristol paper and do not bleed through?

[@dinosar9230]

Is it a good idea to draw on both sides of the papper for a comic?

[@Wolf31222360]

My problem is I have too many ideas and I'm good at starting them and ending them, but terrible at the middle portion. I currently have five stories open that I'm at various degrees of "working on". Then I get writers block, or have a new idea that I start that the one I was working on gets left behind.

[@Cartoonkal]

Will Brody's Ghost be back in print any time soon? I've been trying to get the collected edition but I don't want a kindle version, nor do I want to spend 40+ dollars on a paperback from a 3rd party seller. Thanks in advance.

[@Adamaris_the_Witch]

Hey, can you make a video in how to make Manga/ Comic covers with some tips as well...that whould be kinda helpfull

[@davidheard709]

As of the length in story, it depends on what the writer plans. Likely for the common fact, less is more.

[@swingtop632]

Hi, for the manga book (first one) is it necessary to have prior knowledge or experience about drawing before starting it? And about drawing human anatomy as well? Or will the book teach how to draw anatomy?

[@Clips_I_Guess]

First thing I thought of when reading #10 is how many sports animes I've enjoyed...and I don't care for the sports at all. Baby steps and Ace of Diamond are two that stick out in this regard. It's weird how great story-tellers can make any type of story interesting...weird in a good way, of course.

[@HIDDENWORLDS00]

Okay I got a question You said certain things need to be cut if it's not important to the overall narrative but what if it's a scene that doesn't necessarily diver the current plot forward but the overall effects of the scene is to leave an open thread for something important in later chapter's?

[@rachellynncreates2703]

Kaivon saddler then that would be necessary. It’s necessary for the future of the plot.

[@ramizshould]

Awesome video

[@DezzieYT]

I tend to write short stories because I find I start to get "lost" as it gets longer. Though I've been writing a continuing series of short stories with the same characters / setting for two years... Not sure that qualifies as "short stories" anymore. Chapters?

[@AznPwnK4i]

Hey, Mark. When you sell your books on Amazon, are they sold directly by you or by a publishing company?

[@geminiflameking7384]

in my manga/comic that i make on my channel, i try to make each chapter 60+ panels long.

[@demonkingtengoku9034]

@markcrilley could you make your next video about how to color the sky I'm struggling with this aspect as well as making the coloring look smooth an natural with prismacolored pencils anything would help me

[@superlynx98]

The intro music sounds so much like Moments In Love, you a fan of Art Of Noise, Mark? 😃

[@cheyenneoliver5184]

Whoever wrote rule one, clearly never wrote a long-running manga

[@jumpiestudios5265]

I don't think that's neccessarily true. These stories may be focusing on introducing a vast world and/or set of characters and explore all of them in depths and the overall story may be working towards a certain seeemingly unachievable goal and the incredibly long build-up to that goal (as long as the stories along the way are interesting) can make the moment they reach that goal all the more satisfying. It's like in an RPG where you start out very weak but after like 100 hours you'll be so strong you easily defeat five of the enemy type you used to have a hard time with when there was only one. And you got there! No montage, no quick way, you put in the time and effort and you went the distance. Same if you're following these characters on their way.

[@akaneakane7893]

*uNLeSs...*

[@artloveranimation]

I know you made a video forever ago about story ideas, but I am struggling with deciding on a plot. I can create characters but I am nervous about making goals too cliche

[@DarkoFoxfire]

ArtLover Animation It’s not about if a story is cliche or not but about the execution of it! The story might have things we seen many times before but if your characters and writing is strong then it makes it work very well!

[@athanasiaskondra1222]

a small critique for your intros: either make the intro longer before you start speaking of make the tune shorter. It kinda bugs me when the tune continues for a good few seconds after you started talking. it feels like you fight the music. i believe you can reach a balance of intro and music. on a more cheery tone, why not make a side character for Captain Indicate? Like his battler, Old Man TimeLapse. you know, to be the Alfred to C.I's Bruce. Also, another video i would like to see is hair underwater. I really struggle finding reference for this.

[@MrPokemon248]

For the length of a story follow the experts. A normal comic is 22 pages 11 double sided. A complete story is 6 issues put into one paperback.

[@AlchemistsCookbook]

You should really read Aristotle's "Poetics", it's the gospel of storytelling.

[@castorbr5695]

Indeed

[@OpalKaboi]

I'm doing it. I have Spring break to get my stuff together and work on one of my bazillion characters. I'll start a scene from my childhood and find a way to kill my dad so it fits my character. Thanks Mark!

[@capitanstoodeows8123]

Remove unnecessary plot points Bleach: imma pretend I didn’t hear that

[@andrewgarfield9898]

Watching this as if I’ll ever get past the first chapter lol.

[@geminiflameking7384]

lool hey u wanna check out my story on my channel?

[@dylansearcy3966]

I'm kinda disappointed that you didnt do a tribute for Kobe Bryant

[@qwekunash2]

For once am also early❤😎

[@quiettornado1970]

Most of my old story I have in storage, are all just story idea jotted down. It is not really a story type story.

[@brokenredflag]

Very helpfull 0o0

[@Bloodray19]

If your name is Tolkien, you can just ignore this viddo

[@TreyPDB]

Oda: 2500 chapters

[@supersuave246]

I have your book lol

[@dissonanceparadiddle]

If a scene has no purpose it is a waste

[@derpyman4480]

Cheese

[@LJTILL]

early

[@thelostlegendnoe4502]

First