A question concerning chapters...

tceisenbrandt · Sep 29, 2009

I have finished my novel, given it a title and edited it. It's 66,000 words and 12 chapters. Over the past week I have been wondering though...are my chapters too long. Most cover about 20-30 double spaced pages.
Is there a rule of thumb on chapter length?

~Tina

ChristineR · Sep 29, 2009

Not really. Some books have only three chapters, others have hundreds. Some people say they like chapters a certain length, others don't care. This is something that can easily be changed by an editor, so I wouldn't worry about it. Anyhow, 30 pages is not terribly long.

The only thing I really think about is trying to make all the chapters roughly the same length. If some are off, I'll combine two or divide one.

S.J. · Sep 29, 2009

I don't think it matters. 20-30 double-spaced pages sounds good to me!

Libbie · Sep 29, 2009

Nope, there's no rule. Make them as long or as short as they need to be.

MGraybosch · Sep 29, 2009

tceisenbrandt said:
I have finished my novel, given it a title and edited it. It's 66,000 words and 12 chapters. Over the past week I have been wondering though...are my chapters too long. Most cover about 20-30 double spaced pages.
Is there a rule of thumb on chapter length?

~Tina

I've never heard of any rules concerning chapter length. Virginia Woolf's Orlando is over 300 pages, and is divided into six chapters. The first draft of my WIP, Starbreaker, had 142 chapters, each roughly 1500-4000 words.

Freelancer · Sep 29, 2009

There is no general rule for it. i.e. the first version of the last chapter what I finished in my WIP last week is around 63000 words, which almost has the same length what your novel has. And the shortest chapter in this WIP is 4200 words. So, the length is always depending on you and your story. If your story requires a long chapter, feel free and write it to a long one.

Good luck with your WIP!

kct webber · Sep 29, 2009

Is there a rule of thumb on chapter length?

No.

kaitie · Sep 29, 2009

Mine are about double that, if it makes you feel any better.

ThePaperGypsy · Sep 29, 2009

tceisenbrandt said:
I have finished my novel, given it a title and edited it. It's 66,000 words and 12 chapters. Over the past week I have been wondering though...are my chapters too long. Most cover about 20-30 double spaced pages.
Is there a rule of thumb on chapter length?

~Tina

There aren't any rules that I know of.

Just end the chapter where it needs to be ended (at a climax or end of a scene), and try not to worry about the page lengths. To make you feel better, those don't sound to long at all. :tongue

Caitlin Black · Sep 29, 2009

I always thought the following was average chapter length...

"See Spot.
See Spot run.
Run Spot run."

Cella · Sep 29, 2009

that's what mine are

ejwriter · Sep 29, 2009

this is really interesting. if you are questioning your chapter lengths, i wonder if it's because YOU think they should be shorter or longer.

i say this because, as i prepare to dive into my first revision, i know one of the first things i plan to do is break down all my chapters into shorter chaps. there's nothing wrong with my 4-5k word chapters, as a rule, but reading over my work, i can see cliff hangers and potential breaks about midway through each chapter.
i also write YA and want to increase the pace.

so while it may not matter to an agent or editor at face value, i can see -for my own story- that changing the chapter lengths will actually improve the feel and flow of the read.

in short, i'm saying it's a question only you can answer, because you know your work best. but based on the awesome advice already on here, it certainly seems you don't have to change 'em if you don't want to.

tceisenbrandt · Oct 1, 2009

Thanks to everyone gave their two cents, LOL. I feel better about my choices at breaks. While I was writing I tried to make them as even as possible but was more concerned with the flow. After reading some posts for crit I began to wonder.
Doubts are hence forth banished! :Sun:

~Tina

SWickham · Oct 9, 2009

This is a perfect thread for me...I did a search for "chapter length" because I had a similar question! (gotta love AW!!)

Thanks for asking the question in the first place, and for all the great answers. My doubts are now banished as well.

LuckyH · Oct 10, 2009

I don't want to unbanish any doubts, but it depends what you're writing. If it's modern, commercial fiction, then the loose average appears to be 120,000 to 180,000 words, spread over 30 to 50 chapters. Different genres require less or more of the loose average.

But I don't like rules either, which is why I left in the word unbanish despite heavy protestations from Bill Gates' mob.

donroc · Oct 10, 2009

You can always double space with *** between if there is a natural scene break within the chapters.

The Lonely One · Oct 10, 2009

As a reader, I'm reading a book where the chapters are about 40 pages each, single-spaced with only line breaks in between.

I hate the format. I like shorter chapters.

But you know what? I'm reading it anyway. Why? Because I like the story itself.

That's all that's important people. The story.

Birol · Oct 10, 2009

Most of the questions about chapters that I see on AW are focused on length. This is incorrect thinking. Chapters are not about length. They are about action and giving the reader a mental break or creating a pause why you redirect some part of the story. For example, if you were jumping in time or changing POVs.

Instead of asking, "Are these chapters too long/too short?" you should be asking, "Do these chapters have too much/too little action? Will this chapter break aid or distract the reader?"

Stijn Hommes · Oct 10, 2009

Chapters are supposed to end on a natural end. The end of a day, a cliffhanger, or any other natural moment. The amount of words has absolutely no bearing on this.

blacbird · Oct 10, 2009

Chapters must be 2,137 words long. No fewer, no less. This was Commandment Twelve (Thou shalt write no chapter longer or shorter than two thousand one hundred thirty-seven words) on the tablets Moses carried down from Mt. Sinai, but he was clumsy and fell down and the bottom of those things was cracked off, so it's only been known more recently.

In case you're interested, Commandment Eleven was Thou shalt not be a pain in the ass. You'd be amazed how many people I meet every day who violate that one.

caw

Ruv Draba · Oct 11, 2009

blacbird said:
Chapters must be 2,137 words long. No fewer, no less.

2136 actually, since editors switched to Courier New.

It's really annoying because since they changed the rules a lot of my chapters now end on 'the'.

Arkie · Oct 11, 2009

I'm currently editing for the umpteenth time a novel of 76,500 words with no chapters. I do have space breaks indicated with ###. There are some authors who choose not to designate chapters with numbers or titles. After I submit this thing a few times and get back the "not for us" rejections, I suspect I'll go back and number the paragraphs, like that will make all the difference in the world. I keep hearing James Carville saying, "it's the story stupid." Write a story that some segment of the population wants to read from beginning to end. Build a story and they will come.

LuckyH · Oct 12, 2009

I know this isn’t strictly a discussion over rules, and I’m as much a rebel as anyone else when it comes to them, but my earlier rebelliousness was knocked out of me by a kindly literary agent who put me straight.

“Of course you have the freedom to write exactly how you want to, in the same way that I have the freedom to tell you to stick your precious MS right up your arse.”

One of the things we were disagreeing over was chapter length.

OpheliaRevived · Oct 12, 2009

I just think as long as each chapter has a mini beginning and end, you're golden. I like to be able to read a chapter in whatever book I'm reading and be able to put it down to take up the next chapter later.

motormind · Oct 12, 2009

I use chapters primarily for cliffhangers.

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