1. Bertthewriter

    Bertthewriter New Member

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    Do chapters have to be same word length

    Discussion in 'Self-Publishing' started by Bertthewriter, Feb 25, 2017.

    Hello i was aiming for 5000 words for each chapter but some reason the first and second chapters only could get 2000 words. So if the remaining chapters are at 5000 but first 2 are shorter is this a bad thing if my book only has 44,000 words opposed to 50,000 words for a non fiction how to book . i also dont want the book to be long just to be long i just want necessary info in it.
     
  2. Spencer1990

    Spencer1990 Contributor Contributor

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    There is absolutely no reason you need to have uniform chapter length.
     
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  3. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Each chapter should be a mini story within itself. And each story takes as long as it takes. I think it's much more important to make each chapter work in a completed fashion, than it is to worry about balancing word count. Your readers won't care. Have you ever heard of a reader rejecting a story because the chapters aren't all the same length?

    You should ask yourself at the start of every chapter you write: What do I want this chapter to accomplish? And go from there.
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2017
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  4. Tenderiser

    Tenderiser Not a man or BayView

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    There are no rules. A chapter doesn't even have to be a completed story; plenty aren't. Just start a new one when it seems right to you.
     
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  5. Thomas Babel

    Thomas Babel Member

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    I do think it can throw a reader off if the chapters are of disparate lengths. But that could be your aim, if you want. Bukowski for instance "gave no fucks". I would only say for sure that you should be aware of the psychological effects of this convention, and decide whether your vision fits those effects.
     
  6. Komposten

    Komposten Insanitary pile of rotten fruit Contributor

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    I've read books where chapter lengths varied from over 30 pages down to only half a page. I don't think having varying chapter lengths should be a problem. Maybe it can throw people off slightly if you establish a pattern (say all chapters are 3500-4500 words) throughout the book, but have one or two chapters that break it. Though I wouldn't worry about it, especially for a how-to book where different things simply will require different amount of words to explain.
     
  7. Neovarch

    Neovarch New Member

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    Quality is more important than quantity.

    As mentioned before a chapter should be thought of as its own mini story. One complete with characters and a "plot" whose conflict is either introduced, resolved, or exacerbated.

    Furthermore is the question as to whether or not a chapter forwards the story. I've seen chapters as tiny as 300 words and others pushing a whopping 10,000 words! But, they forward the story.
     
  8. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Was the chapter of only 300 words its own mini story? Did it have characters and a plot?

    I think chapters CAN be mini stories, but that's only one way to approach chapter divisions. There are other, equally valid ways.
     
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  9. Spencer1990

    Spencer1990 Contributor Contributor

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    I think there might be a confusion here, or a potentially loose use of the word plot.

    I do think that we should strive to add conflict to every chapter (like every other part of the book) but even that doesn't always happen.

    All I can say is that before I write anything, I identify the immediate conflict in what I'm about to write to guide myself.
     
  10. Cave Troll

    Cave Troll It's Coffee O'clock everywhere. Contributor

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    Denied.jpg
     
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  11. psychotick

    psychotick Contributor Contributor

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    Hi,

    Yes! It is an unwritten rule written down in the rules of writing that all chapters must be the exact same length, both in tems of words and letters!!!

    Of course I may be drunk and so this post may not be of the exact number of words and letters it is required to be!

    Cheers, Greg.
     
  12. A.M. Rousso

    A.M. Rousso New Member

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    As a reader......
    If the story is good, it doesn't matter. What reader would actually count the words of a chapter?
     
  13. MusingWordsmith

    MusingWordsmith Shenanigan Master Contributor

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    As a reader, I generally don't even pay attention to chapter length. I can only remember one book that I actually noticed chapter lengths in was because they were super-short. Like not even a whole page sometimes short. Weird, but I finished the book anyway and I don't think the weird chapters detracted from it.

    As a writer, I'm not even worried about chapters right now. I struggle with even finishing a novel, which is what I'm working on now. Chapter breaks I will figure out when I've got a better handle on how the story works. So, there's my two cents.
     
  14. S A Lee

    S A Lee Contributor Contributor

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    Inkheart by Cornelia Funke has a chapter of Dustfinger berating himself and it's 1 1/2 pages IIRC. Others were more.

    So I'd say absolutely not.
     
  15. terobi

    terobi Senior Member

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    No, they don't. The Gormenghast trilogy manages to have chapters of a dozen pages, and chapters of a dozen words.

    Personally though, I like my chapters to be at least ballpark similar. I think it keeps a good reading rhythm as well as a good writing rhythm.
     
  16. Homewriting

    Homewriting New Member

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    To be honest, chapter lengths can be ANY length. I've read books where they had chapters as little as 50 words, or as long as not having ANY chapters at all (granted those were novella's, but still). Just as long as the content you write is relevant to the chapter itself, it should be alright.
     
  17. EstherMayRose

    EstherMayRose Gay Souffle Contributor

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    I wouldn't worry. When I write, I plan the story chapter by chapter, deciding what I want to happen in each chapter, and it takes however many words it takes.

    When I write my fanfic, I aim for 5,000-word chapters divided into 1,000-word "scenes" focusing on different characters. However, I often find scenes easier or harder to write, meaning it's often more or less than the expected 1,000. No-one seemed to mind my 10,000-word chapter.
     
  18. joe sixpak

    joe sixpak Banned

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    A chapter should be as long as it needs to be and not one word longer. It would be unlikely that all the chapters would be the same length if they were the best possible chapters.
     

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