Questions about estimating fic lengths

[birdsofshore]

Hello! I don't know if people still have discussions on here, but I can't find any other platform where I can follow the conversation, sooo... Any advice gratefully received.♥  

I've signed up for the H/D Bang, and having finally got started with it, I'm now having a crisis that the fic I've planned is not going to reach 50k. 

The length my fics turn out is always a surprise to me. This year's erised ended up being 65k, and I had NO IDEA that was going to happen. I still don't really know how it did. Foolishly, I let this give me confidence to sign up for the Bang. After all, if I could write a 65k fic by mistake, how hard could it be to write 50k on purpose? /o\

So, I got a rough plan together and it's around 30 scenes long. No problem, I thought. My 65k erised only had 25 scenes! This was going to be easy!

Then I wrote the first scene and it's only 800 words long. FUUUUCK. What's gone wrong? No way is this going to be 50k! I looked back at some other fics. My next longest fic has 42 scenes. But it's only 41k! OMG! 

I looked at my other mid length fics.

28k = 18 scenes
28k = 19 scenes
22k = 14 scenes
32k = 19 scenes
28k = 16 scenes
34k = 18 scenes

This is reassuring. But what about the rogue '42 scene / 41 k' fic? How can I be sure this one isn't going to go fucked up like that one? 

I have so many questions. How do you estimate the length of a fic? Are you anywhere near being right when you do so? I've never even TRIED before, so I have no freaking idea.

Thank you if you can help! ♥ And I hope you are all well?

Comments

[birdsofshore]

Ahh, thank you LQT! This took me by surprise, because I was honestly feeling quite confident about the word count, and then this happened, and it was as if someone had pulled away the curtain and shown me my pathetic, puny plot lying in a heap on the floor, like Voldemort at Kings Cross or something!

I wrote 52k and then 44 or 48 or something for Erised, and so I'm all confident like, 'Hey this happens easily by accident; let's take this pro!'
HAHA exactly!

I love your advice about not holding back during a scene, but you know, I don't think I've ever been one for effiency and brevity. I think I generally let myself blather on as much as I like... Well, unless I'm bored, or about to hear the sound of another deadline whooshing past me.

And your last paragraph has made me panic in case my fic goes SUPER LONG. Oh god! Why do we do this to ourselves? ;-)

[lq_traintracks]

And your last paragraph has made me panic in case my fic goes SUPER LONG. Oh god! Why do we do this to ourselves? ;-)

LMAO, damned if we do, damned if we don't. ;) Wouldn't it be nice if at the outset, Draco just looked up from whatever you have him doing in a scene, looked you straight in the eye, said, "Potter and I have decided this is going to be 56k. There. Are you happy?", rolled his eyes, and then just went back to whatever you had him doing? :P

[birdsofshore]

OMG, I'd be a happy bird <3 I have such delusions when I am writing. It often feels like they are 100% real people and they start hassling me at really inconvenient times to keep telling the story :DD