how do you choose chapter breaks?

I write until I've done all the work I wanted to do in the chapter.

Usually, that's 2-4 scenes, but sometimes it's one or part of one. They're as long or as short as they need to be to do the work.

How can you have a chapter break in every scene?

There's no set length to chapters.

My chapter breaks tend to happen at moments of tension.

The choice is there to close the book and go to sleep if one wishes, but the break is deliberately positioned so the urge to read on and find out what happens next is strong.

Major change of direction or topic or location may help dictate where a chapter break occurs but there's no rules governing where a chapter should stop -if at all.

The book Self-Editing for Fiction Writers has a section on this that might be helpful. It talks about pacing -- how a longer, more introspective chapter might best be followed by a shorter, more action-packed one. Also the book discusses how chapter length is tied to the topic and overall mood of the book. Short chapters and scenes feel "quick" and so in, say, a thriller, that would be helpful, but they might seem abrupt in another kind of book. For some kinds of books, it's compelling to have chapters end on a cliffhanger, but that can also get old. With other books it can be better to have each chapter resolve at the end. So it's something to consider when you think about the overall book.

For me, personally, I don't split the book into chapters until the third or fourth draft. However, there are certain points in the story where I know there is going to be a new chapter and I'll literally write "NEW CHAPTER" in the ms. to remind myself of that. Sometimes the chapter breaks are obvious, sometimes it's more mundane (like, wow, this chapter is super long, it should probably be two)

It might be useful to take a book that you like that is in a similar genre to your WIP and see how that book does it, just for comparison.

I've decided, just yesterday, to get rid of all my chapters and write continuously, then work them back in on an edit. I want to concentrate on my plot, and not needlessly stretch things out to fill a chapter, or conversely, cut things out so it fits im.

I think of each chapter as a unit of time. One or more things can happen in it, but once the scene shifts to a new period, it's time for a new chapter to begin.

Here's a link to another thread where this subject was addressed. Hope it helps!

(If you want to read the whole thread to find out what others said, just click the "Thread" link in the upper right hand corner.)

I determine chapter breaks by chapter structure. Short, medium, or long, a chapter has a structure much like a paragraph. When the chapter is complete, it's time for a new chapter.

I have to agree with James. It's about structure, not length.
You're chapters might be too long because you're not sure how to structure them, or you're overwriting in general.

> How can you have a chapter break in every scene?

Cliffhangers.

---- Chapter 17 ----

{Nora is holding a knife while chopping ham for an omelet. We know she will kill him at this point in the story.}

Connor's footsteps were just behind her now, getting closer and closer. She felt his warm breath on the back of her neck. He was right there, within reach. She spun around quickly, her hand raised high.

---- Chapter 18 ----

"Does this tastes okay to you?" she asked.

Connor opened his mouth for the piece of ham hanging from her fingertips. He chewed it for a few seconds.

"Delish"

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There you go. Okay, so this is taken from James Patterson's Honeymoon. But still.

-cb

I write until the central conflict of that chapter is cleared up and also so it can be left with a bit of a cliffy, something to make the readers need to read the next chapter.
There is really no formula on how chapters should be, how long, or short and what not, so go with you instincts on this one. You are the author so it's all up to you.

For me, it depends. The first part of KINGS AND REBELS sorta comes with a chaper structure despite the fact I don't even outline, or write in order. I just know where the chapter breaks are. A LAND UNCONQUERED on the other hand doesn't, so I just write scenes right now and shuffle them around a bit. Chapters will eventually appear, I'm not in a hurry about them.

I print my novel, nail the pages to the wall and throw darts at them. It works splendidly, although I need to re-plaster the walls once a year.

In general, I put chapter breaks at the end of each scene - and sometimes in the middle as well if there's a cliffhangery moment. This ends up with each chapter being 10-15 pages on average, which is the length I'm most comfortable with.

I don't choose chapter breaks, they choose me.

I'm not trying to be cheeky, I honestly don't know. This may not be helpful, but then again, it might be. As a writer, you should have a sense of the flow of your story. You may know when to put in a break even if you think you don't. Try just trusting your instincts and see where that takes you.

Mid-scene when something really cool is about to happen. Keeps the reader reading.

Somehow, when I'm nearing the end of a chapter, it seems to wrap itself up. They always end up being 8-11 pages single-spaced on word too, and so far, no less, no more.

I kind of don't like the way I write though, because, depending on the chapter I have 1-2 scene(s) only, so not a lot of time transpires at all, and I'm finding that it creates a little difficulty when it comes to relationships.

I want characters who meet within the course of the book, not before, to be able to reach the same sort of relationship, but it's hard to do.

OFF TOPIC.

But yeah, I'm not sure how, it just happens. Kind of like what Bufty said though, for me, typically if something is like "whaaaat?" Then it's a new chapter, and sometimes a change in the viewpoint characters.

InsanitySquares said:

I've decided, just yesterday, to get rid of all my chapters and write continuously, then work them back in on an edit. I want to concentrate on my plot, and not needlessly stretch things out to fill a chapter, or conversely, cut things out so it fits im.

Click to expand...

This is exactly what I do. I'll denote the space between the scenes, but once the whole story is on paper it's easier to see where the natural breaks are.

My first book I outlined and chose chapters ahead of time. Second book also like this. Third book I broke my chapter outlines by usually adding more into one chapter, if the points that I had planned seemed too short for a chapter. Judgement call after seeing how long each point was being - I'd usually decide after each point whether that was enough for a chapter. But I had groupings of points, that I knew had to be together in a chapter, based on the outline. It's just that sometimes I joined together two groupings.

Fourth book same as first two. Fifth book (10k in) and I had a lot of switching viewpoints, usually every k or so. I put chapter breaks in every 2k at the end of a viewpoint. Once it's finished, I'll reassess where the chapter breaks should be, probably looking for themes.

So my suggestion is either judgement call based on the outline (whether you outline ahead of time or not) or look for themes running together. Like, if 4k is people lost in the woods, and then the next 3k is set in a city, and then the next 3k after that is travelling a dangerous road, maybe those should all be their own chapters.

With my fifth book it will be harder - my POV shifts take me from place to place, so every subsequent k is in a different place to the k before or after it. So I can't use location as a theme for deciding on chapters - I'll have to look elsehwhere.

I tend to base new chapter on when the story "shifts". Previous chapter built up to a crisis, and then we shift to the next chapter to see the aftermatch. Previous chapter ended with a resolution, and then we shift to the next chapter (and usually a different place/time).

It all depends on what you're trying to do with your chapter. Take your current/last work and write a brief statement about what happens. My last work would go:

1. White Lady arrives in Kendall's village. Villagers amazed. Rennyn's divination detects the arrival and she sets off for the village.

2. Rennyn arrives in village and casts spell on White Lady. Rennyn spots Kendall in reach of danger and sends her away for the night.

3. Kendall returns to the village to find that the White Lady is a Bad Thing and her house was destroyed overnight. Visiting authorities realise that the area of destruction is going to expand and order evacuation.

4. Rennyn returns home and casts next part of her spell. Kendall's village is evacuated and she is taken along by authorities on a hunt for Rennyn.

Because I'm swapping between two pov's, some chapters have a scene break in the middle because the events happen at roughly the same time. Chapter one, for instance, could be said to be "White Lady arrives, main characters react".

There's a logic to chapter breaks, whether you're making the breaks on an event/event/event basis or a crisis/resolution/crisis/crisis/event/resolution basis. A chapter is about some _thing_, but only you can decide what that thing is.