Chapter length consistency

[JNG01]

I'm interested in thoughts on the importance (or lack of importance) with chapter length consistency. I've read books where the chapters beat like a metronome, and others where the length was seemingly random. I'm in the middle--there's broad variation, but not crazy.

Is this a thing that matters to you as a reader? What are the advantages of the different approaches?

 

[HareBrain]

I'm not a fan of really short (<500 words) or really long (>5000 words) chapters, but within that range I don't care. I'd much rather a chapter feels like a chapter than artificially be the same length as the others.

 

[sule]

I'm of the opinion that the story sort of dictates the chapter length and that as a writer I should be worried less about the length of chapters in comparison to each other and more about how the length of the chapter works to tell the story. I think that chapter length, if they're written well, sort of fades into the background. As a reader I've torn through chapters that were twenty-plus pages long, and slogged through six page chapters. As a writer, if a chapter feels long it likely means I should probably cut or rework some of it as parts of it aren't working and making it feel like an artificial slog.

I feel that most often short chapters are used for punchy scenes that are in and out then move on to the next thing quickly, while with long chapters the author is often framing it as a short story within the novel itself, with its own rise and fall and resolution. Again, I think that when done well either of these approaches can appeal to me as a reader, because it means the author is conscious of the choices they are making with regards to telling their story.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I'm of the opinion that the story sort of dictates the chapter length and that as a writer I should be worried less about the length of chapters in comparison to each other and more about how the length of the chapter works to tell the story.

I agree with Sule and I think the above, in particular, sums up the whole matter very well.

 

[Steve Harrison]

I agree with those last two comments. I mostly write from multiple POVs and my chapters (or POV sections) vary widely in length according to their needs. My WIP, though, is told from first person and each chapter is the same length due to the structural and story requirements. And instinct.

I'm finding it difficult because there's a dangerous temptation to include filler in some chapters and having too much content to cram into others, but it's a nice creative challenge.

 

[Robert Zwilling]

I agree with the length of the chapter is determined by what's in it and adding ordinary filler to fill out a chapter isn't needed. To open a different can of worms, I prefer the chapters have titles.

 

[The Big Peat]

I can't say I've thought about it all that much. I think most books with chapters that I read seem to be fairly consistent and I probably prefer that but I'm not hard set. Lindsay Davies' Falco books have chapter lengths all over the place and that works there. She often uses short chapters for humour, or for narrating the parts of a detective story where the detective strikes out and doing a quick overview of it.

I guess if I was doing chapter length, the main thing I'd be thinking about is if they're uneven, do I have the pacing right? Am I selling ever subplot equally? I tend to write fairly regularly sized chapters so if some of them are too long or too short, there's a good chance I might be doing something wrong with the scenes in it. Not a worry for someone who doesn't trend that way though.

 

[ctg]

There is no hard and fast rule for a chapter. Some say it's three scenes, but you can do a single scene and use whole chapter for it. Essentially it needs to fulfil its part on carrying the story forward. Everything extra is frilly bits that can be cut off. Difficulty comes with the world-building and descriptions. Especially if you try to tie the story elements into it, or make some place central to the overall story. So the answer is, anywhere between five lines and thousands of words.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Doesn’t bother me at all either way

 

[sknox]

@JNG01 did you find any differences in your own enjoyment of the reading? Any advantages or disadvantages?

 

[JNG01]

@JNG01 did you find any differences in your own enjoyment of the reading? Any advantages or disadvantages?

No, not really. I hardly even notice chapter breaks--usually just charge right through them. It makes no difference to me as a reader.

It's good to get so many different perspectives on this.

 

[sknox]

>It makes no difference to me as a reader.
Me neither.
And yet, somehow we seem to care about this as writers. And editors seem to care about this even more.

Anyone who claims humans are consistent creatures is consistently wrong. <g>

 

[ginny]

A chapter is as long as it takes to carry the scene to its complete content.

 

[.matthew.]

A chapter is as long as it takes to carry the scene to its complete content.

It depends what you mean by scene though, most chapters have many.

Some people like to break them up whenever time/location/something big changes.

Others when they want a mini cliff-hanger.

Or you can just do a Pratchett and drop them all together

 

[HareBrain]

It depends what you mean by scene though, most chapters have many.

Some people like to break them up whenever time/location/something big changes.

Others when they want a mini cliff-hanger.

I agree, often it's down to a nebulous "feel". Which isn't very helpful when discussing technique!

 

[Astro Pen]

I try to make them about 8 - 10 pages. Then I tend never to leave my main character, ( 1st person or 3rd limited ) so the aren't awkward little excursions to a "meanwhile" elsewhere. If I find a scene is so short that I can 'see white paper at both ends' as it were, I will incorporate it into the next chapter with a blank line or two wider division.
There are layout issues but they are not as odd as a "mini" chapter.

8 Solutions to the Text Break Dilemma

 

[zmunkz]

Like many others, I don’t care at all the length so long as it suits the scene / pacing. When I first started writing I obesessed over things like that (closely related chapter lengths, always alternating POVs in the same order, capturing everything perfectly sequentially, etc). I’ve come to find they hardly matter to just about everyone, and just complicate the already tricky task of storytelling.

 

[Steve Harrison]

Like many others, I don’t care at all the length so long as it suits the scene / pacing. When I first started writing I obesessed over things like that (closely related chapter lengths, always alternating POVs in the same order, capturing everything perfectly sequentially, etc). I’ve come to find they hardly matter to just about everyone, and just complicate the already tricky task of storytelling.

I agree. If readers cared about all the little, inconsequential things we writers fret about, reading would no longer be an activity.

 

[Elckerlyc]

As a reader I don't care much about chapters.
I even wondered if chapters weren't a leftover from times when stories were published as a serial.

 

[.matthew.]

I'm not that fussed about chapters but they do provide a nice pause point when reading.

"I can fit one more chapter before 3am, then I can sleep..."

They're just helpful markers for a convenient pause.