hi as some of you know i have written the first draft to a book, thhe only thing is, the chapters are realy short. how do i make them longer? do i go into more detail; make more speech. i am realy clueless so please help me.
Don't overdo dialogue. Don't overdo speech. Interrupt one with the other, and break up speech by describing what characters do whilst talking (turning around, linking their fingers, side-eyeing the barmaid, etc.). You'll soon get longer chapters if you use both things in moderation.
There is nothing intrinsically wrong with short chapters, as long as they cover what they need to cover. Does each of your short chapters advance the plot, illuminate the setting or characters that back up the plot advancement, enhance the tone, increase suspense, escalate conflict or foreshadow future events? All these things, and so many more, are far more important that the length of the chapters.
some successful novelists always write short chapters... james patterson's, for instance, are only 2-3 pages long... and others write such long ones, they could almost be books of their own... so, if your chapters work short, leave them be... it's not the length of the chapter that matters, but how well it works for the story and how well it's written...
