Thanks, m. And for anyone who thinks when they read a book (of any genre) 'this is rubbish, I could do better' well, you're free to go ahead and do so. But I don't want to take this off topic. Just wanted to say that if you do have a particular publisher in mind (like I did), IMO it is worth asking them for their guidelines on length, chapters, etc before starting out (or going too far). Same goes for agents, read their guidelines carefully to see what type of manuscripts they take. Good luck everyone.
Let me first state that I am an unpublished novice. Let me state, secondly, that there are many publishers and so long as your work falls within acceptable conventions, I'm sure that someone will pick up your work. Someone mentioned that the author of Dune had to approach some forty publishers before finding one who would bite.
I posted my own chapter length question, but now wish I hadn't! Sorry! Yes, chapter length seems to come naturally, so the question was more a curiosity, and not so much a worry or a stress.. but what I was wondering was more specifically related the the first chapter. To expand on what I was thinking, with the length of the first chapter, I was more interested in it's length related to the rest of the chapters in the book. Seeing as how the first chapter is the 'hook' for the novel, do you think shorter might help it to better serve that purpose?
How many words/pages it is makes no difference in hooking your audience, esoecially since everyone has their own taste. It's what you do with those pages that matters.
I don't think you should necessarily think of the first chapter as a hook anyway...at least not as a general rule. There are some genres (I'm thinking crime/thriller) where its standard to begin with a gripping crime and go from there, but in lit/general fiction and a lot of the scifi/fantasy I've read (which isn't a lot, and tends to be drawn from the more 'literary' side of the canon) the opening chapter isn't particularly gripping in the same sense. It 'hooks' you in that it shows us what your writing is like and where the story might be going, but I think its very easy to make it annoying to the reader by filling your intro with obvious questions and trying to string them along. So, chapters should be long enough to get across whatever plot/thematic/character elements you intended to. Hook them with your writing, not by trying to trick them into reading on....
it's not the first chapter that has to be the hook, but only the first words! if you haven't hooked browsing book-buyers with the first sentence or paragraph, chances are they'll never read the whole chapter...
Ending a Chapter As I'm writing my novel, I find I am sometimes wondering if my choice to end a chapter in a certain place (or the reverse: not ending a chapter in a certain place) will go over as choppy, too 'set up' or just right. For example, I have eight chapters so far... Two of them end at the end of the day, which seems a bit 'set up' and kind of juvenile (one would be okay, but I have two like that!) A few chapters end so that I can pick up the next chapter when it's a little bit later time in the story, which I think are fine - do you? Sometimes I find a place that would end a chapter nicely, but it would end up being much too short of a chapter as compared to the rest of the book and if I did it as often as I see them, they would most definitely be choppy. One ends just right (though in actuality it's not so right at all), with a little bit of suspense at what's behind the door... however, I think the reader would be upset to learn nothing really is behind the door, and that's just where I happened to leave off... should I separate them or leave the door and what's behind it in the same chapter? Now your turn: How do you decide when it's time to end a chapter? Ex. do you plan with a suspense at the end of a chapter or do you just let things go as they go?
When I write anything longer than a short story, I don't make chapters inmediatly. I just write, and then go back later to break off the story into managable sections (or chapters). I find it easier to figure out where to break off when more of the story is there to guide me. It sounds really cheesy, but the story tells me where to make the breaks. And I wouldn't worry about the lenght of your chapters. I've seen plenty of chapters only a page long, sometimes only a paragraph. It worked for story they had written, so if it works for yours, do it.
There are probably a number of ways to effectively end a chapter. Personally I treat each one as a miniature story that has its own arc and climax. At a certain point the scene is concluded and I am ready to move onto my next point. Thus ends the chapter. And don't worry too much about consistent word count. Chapter length isn't one of the more important issues in writing.
Like Rory, I, too, tend to write until I finish the first draft, at least, and then go back to see where the logical breaks in the story are. Your chaps should break at the logical end of a scene in place or time. And, as Rory said, don't wory about the length of each chapter let the storyline dictate where the breaks are and how long the chaps are.
I usually end to build up some suspense. Almost all of my chapters are the same length. It just happens that way for me. I would not worry about it on your first draft because usually a writer will add a lot of stuff in in the following read. I do something really weird and that is I have a separate document for every chapter. It just helps me with the organization and if I want to go back and something in I know exactly where to go and such. Also, if You are having a hard time ending it, you can just put a reminder there and come back to it another time and see if you have something else in mind that would not make it, as you say, choppy. Good luck
There are many strategies for choosing chapter breaks. Some writers even split a scene at a moment of tension (because they don't really want the reader to put the book down?) Others don't use chapters at all.
that's not so weird i did that my first book, too, but i found that having five or so chapters together worked better when i suddenly think of somethinig that should have gone back a few pages. my 'weird' thing, that i'm not sure is weird or not, is that i have a separate document for "misplaced" things - where i write something that will happen in a future chapter or something that i wrote in a previous chapter that didn't work there but might use for later. when i make it to the right place, i go to the "misplaced" document and plug it back into the story. also, as for short chapters being choppy: it's okay in some settings (some people can do it right), but i have read some books where they would throw in a tiny little chapter for no apparent reason, and it just sort of chopped up the book unevenly. have you ever encountered that? i fear my short chapter would end up giving that sort of feeling to the book. edit: and cog, i've read that kind of book before. it's okay and sometimes i enjoy it, but when the book is too long and every single chapter ends like that, i get kind of annoyed. i don't know why...
i'd never 'plan' the end of a chapter... imo, they should let you know when they need to be ended, not the other way 'round... and not all should end the same way, or for the same reason... most seasoned writers can slip from chapter to chapter almost automatically, as they write...
Chapters are actually a good way to set up your story arcs, whether it be a full arc start to finish in a chapter or a longer arc that is divided up by others. Chapters = short stories is good but I find that a lot of the time they create weak points where they are tied together. The idea of using a specific time frame to end chapters is fairly common. That style creates a pattern which can become an issue later in the story if you want to break out of the pattern. Also, there are successful books that have no chapters, just page breaks. The page break, instead of chapters can be best used when you are showing a lapse in time but have only one main arc. Easily done in first person.
Me too, though it does appear to be growing faster than the actual story which is a little bit of a worry.
I would say like the other did; the rule is, no rule at all. Whatever fit your story; it's good. My former novel had 5 pages for every chapters, which perfectly fit it while my current has no limit at all. My current novel is divided by date, which perfectly fit it too. Well, I'm not say that novel shouldn't have word amount limit per chapter, some novel should while the other shouldn't.
My chapters typically range from 2000-6000 words on average, with a few being longer. However my chapters tend to be divided so the sub-chapters are shorter. I don't think there is, nor should there be, a set rule. But a chapter that is too long is harder to read whereas shorter chapter might make readers more inclined to read "just one more" again and again until they can't put it down, whereas a long and intimidating chapter might make them save it for tomorrow.
I aim for around 2500 words per chapter, but it can change regarding the kind of story that I am writing.
I have seen chapters as long as a small paragraph, while others never seem to end. I try and put chapters where it fits best or when I get through with what I want to accomplish in that chapter.
uniformity in chapter length makes no sense to me whatsoever... each chapter should be as long as it needs to be in order to make good sense and move the story forward... and there's no 'better' or 'right' size... patterson likes 2-3 page chapters, while you'll find michener's and clancy's to be near endless... and all three authors' books sell like hotcakes...
Preferred chapter length? I know that for starting authors, publishers prefer the 80/90,000 -- 120,000 word range for novels. Are there similar guidelines for chapter lengths? Does this even matter? My chapers are about 3,400 words each, as an estimation. Just wondering, thanks!
I contacted the publisher direct about guidelines for my work in progress, and although they had strict requirements for word count, they said the number and length of chapters could be sorted out later. The one other time I went to print with a novel, it was the editor who had the last word on this. If you have a publisher in mind, ask them. If not, do a bit of a poll of similar length and genre works to your own.
