When I first started writing, I tried to make all my chapters the same length, about 5k words. As I edited, honed in on the details of my story, and figured out the style, I figured out the pacing for certain chapters. For some chapters where the pace is really fast, I try to make them smaller, 3k words. For slower chapters, it can be 6k words. I think my longest chapter is 7k, but it's really slow, and full of plot things. Too short is below 3k, but my book has a certain rhythm I've established, and that length spread, 3k to 6k, works for me.
It depends. Latest novel is about 3k are fairly consistent throughout. Didn't plan it that way at all, but I have several POVs and for whatever reason each character only felt like carrying the ball for about 8 or 9 word pages before they handed it off. In other works I've done them as long as 10-15k, but those usually had numbered sub chapters. I try to help the reader out as much as possible by using breaks to make the text appear manageable. I go bat-shit crazy when books have long chapters uninterrupted by page breaks. I need a place to stop or at least to rest to hit the bathroom or grab a beer or whatever. The old 19th century classics will have reams of pages without pause and I'll be flipping through them thinking, crap, I can't take a break for 20 pages? See ya. I hate stopping in the middle of a page for whatever reason. Short chapters don't bother me at all unless they're a clear affectation or something. Kurt Vonnegut used super short chapters. I think Cat's Cradle had a new chapter every page or two and never went longer than three.
800, huh? That's pretty abrupt. What's you timeline look like? Are they all in separate locations following separate events/subplots?
I used to try to keep my chapter lengths similar but came to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter. I've read books that have 1-page chapters and then the next one is 50 pages and it didn't bother me in the slightest but maybe that's just me. I worry more about making the chapter as good as it can be than its length. There's no need to create filler because you want it to be a little longer, or to take out good stuff because you think it's too long. My novel's chapters vary between 4-8 pages with the occasional 10.
All in the same place, at the same time. They just cant talk to each other with words, because they're being listened to by the enemy. So I've had to get creative with how the story is told. If I kept it first person with longer chapters, not a lot would be happening. Each character knows things that the last did not, etc. I'm trying to fatten up the chapters but wow. They do not cooperate.
My chapters are usually 8k to 11k words long. I know most writers use shorter chapters, but I like fairly long ones. Each chapter, however, has several scenes in it.
Tough to tell without seeing it. Quick cuts usually signify simultaneous action, which doesn't lend itself to fattening up without diluting the action. Can you throw some up in the workshop or are you not ready to do that?
I would, I'm not past the two weeks yet I don't think. Not far off though. The whole story, at least the beginning, feels fast paced to me. Probably why I'm having so much trouble with it.
Right. Didn't see that. Once you put it up we'll have a better idea of how to address your concerns. In general though, if they're all in the same location but can't communicate because the enemy is eavesdropping, thereby causing you to "get creative," which in turn is leading to pacing and structural issues on the first pages, you might want to reconsider the eavesdropping thing that started this mess in the first place. Again, it's tough to tell without seeing it, there may be a simple solution, but any mechanic that blows up the structure isn't worth the trouble, no matter how good it sounded in your head. Juggling multiple POVs is tough enough without any added obstacles.
My minimum is 2,000, and my happy place is 4,000 - 6,000. The original draft of UTK had a monster 10,000+ chapter, but edits took it down to less than 8,000.
That's what I've been considering. I did add a rare bypass that allows them to talk freely and share what they know, and hopefully I can tear down the whole obstacle once they've done what they need too.
Depends for me. If I write a short story, I try to make them around 2k-3k. If I'm writing longer? I average out to around 5k. Though some are shorter, some are longer. I once took the Captain underpants approach and did a whole chapter that consisted of only 3 words for humorous effect.
My average is probably around 3,000. The vast majority are between 2,500-3,500, though I have a few shorter or longer. I don't think chapter length matters at all so I end them where it feels right. Edit: Oops, forgot the other question. How short is too short? Well, I suppose I DO think chapter length matters, because if a book consisted of a string of >1,000-word chapters, I think that would feel stilted or... rushed, maybe? Perhaps I should say I don't think a chapter can be too long, because I'm happy putting a book down in the middle of the chapter and picking it up again, but it can be too short.
I wish I had that skill. I just tried to make a chapter longer and it got shorter by 200 words. It was 700ish to begin with. Maybe I should just write poetry.
That's a very good point. Do readers really count words or chapter length? Maybe some do, but I suspect most just get on with reading the book. I always think chapters should be a story in miniature, and they take as long as they take. Feeling the need to add or subtract text for artificial reasons seems like a mistake to me. Terry Pratchett doesn't use chapters at all in most of his books, and they are wildly popular and readable. In essence, each of his books is one continuous chapter.
