How long should a first draft novel chapter be?

First draft?

However long the chapter needs to be. Heck, I'm near the end of my third draft and I'm only just now starting to consider thinking about chapter lengths. Getting the story told is the important thing in the first draft.

And just consider: some novels don't have chapters. Some have chapters that are three sentences. Some have 10 chapters, some have 35. There's no "proper" chapter length.

I'd write it and bulk it out later.

I tend to start with bullet point outlines and work up from there, so in early drafts a lot of my chapters are extremely barebones.

Besides, you might get to the end and find you have a novella instead, which is also perfectly fine

I tend to write shorter chapters compared to some folks. I finished up a MS a few months ago that had a few chapters that were close to 4k words. And a couple that didn't even break 1k words, with most of the rest falling about 1.5k-2k.

For novellas I usually keep it a little shorter than that even. But, it just depends on the story and pace and style as to whether any particular length is right for your story. (And the key there is that any length is probably right, but one is probably better than the rest, but you won't know which one 'til you start revising.)

First drafts always have more short chapters for me because I always have scenes that I know will get bigger later, but I'm more concerned with getting all the key points on paper. So I know that when I revise things will get longer or I'll add in more scenes to bridge. The only thing to watch for, really, would be if you find yourself writing a lot of summary paragraphs. (We walked downtown and met Jimmy for lunch to talk about what to do next. Afterward we caught the bus up to Susie's.) While sometimes that kind of narrative is what you need, if you do that a lot you may be missing out on areas where you can flesh out the characters, and it may also be making your chapters shorter than they need to be.

My typical first draft ranges from 110,000 words to 120,000 words. My last novel was exceptionally long and the first draft was pushing 152,000 words (final draft was 125,000). First drafts, for me, are quite long because I'm throwing everything I have at the manuscript. I'm taking every alleyway, opening every door, I'm snooping around, describing as much as I can, having characters shoot the shit just so I can see how they sound; whether they're smart or dumb. It takes me pages and pages and pages just to make a point. That's where editing and rewriting are your best friends. Make your first draft as long as you want it to be. Make your final draft as long as it has to be.

Harlequin said:

I'd write it and bulk it out later.

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Or not. There's no cookbook for this kind of thing. A chapter needs to be as long as it needs to be, or as short as it needs to be, whether in first draft or final draft.

caw

Ive seen chapters in a full blown popular book be <500 or one page. Its all on your pacing and what you need to get across.

I tend to be long winded, my short chapters are between 1-2k and my long chapters are 5-8k but thats just me

My prologue was 1.2k

Canislupus54 said:

I feel like I'm always coming up short when I try to write a novel and I'm trying to get an idea of if that feeling is right. I average about 1000 words per chapter, give or take 500 words.

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Write SCENES when producing drafts, not chapters. Scenes are the natural divisions along changes in POV, time, place, and context. They are easier to spot weaknesses in the flow, edit as a unit, and stitch together. Where you put chapter divisions can be determined at final editing, when you have all the pieces together.

Something you might want to examine further: http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/articles/writing-the-perfect-scene/

Hope this helps.

-cb

Let me just add that I break up chapters either: Because a scene has ended. OR because I want folks to turn the page.

This is why I worry about chapters during a later draft and not so much during first drafts. (Although I will start a new chapter based on the idea that "Here's a mini-cliffhanger. Now I want folks to read the next bit." even when in the rough/first draft stage.) Because first drafts are just getting words on the page. And second/third/eighth drafts are about refining the story and keeping the momentum until the final scene.

42

I've seen chapters two words long and others 90 pages. Mine begin and end when the chapter has completed its use. I've got whales, dolphins, and a tadpole or four.

All chapters should be the same length as a piece of string.

Chapters are what they are. When they're done, they're done. Move to the next. There really is no other rule for them. Besides, at first draft, worrying about chapter length is just another way to delay putting the story on paper.

Jeff

cbenoi1 said:

Write SCENES when producing drafts, not chapters.

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Exactly right. Chapters are containers of scenes. They can be one scene long, contain several scenes, or parts of a very long scene. They are more important to writers than readers as organizers of our thinking. Readers will treat the end of a chapter as just another page turn if we've locked them into our story, and as a good place to turn the book face down when they want to timeout for a few minutes to go to the bathroom or make a snack.

As with most other posters, I'd say a scene (not chapter) should be as long as it needs to. It could be very short with a simple purpose, maybe advance the plot a short notch further toward story end. It could be very long, if a series of closely related plot points need to be shown.

You can end the scene with a mini cliffhanger to launch your readers into the next scene. Or conversely end it with a mini resolution to give your readers a satisfying rest-stop if you feel the plot is moving too fast.

I've written books with a few very long chapters, and others with lots of very short chapters. Both work, because I had a reason to do each one. So, sorry, we have no One Right Answer to your question!

Sometimes, I pretend my chapters end as if it was a television show with a cliffhanger commercial break. Not sure why.

Melanii said:

Sometimes, I pretend my chapters end as if it was a television show with a cliffhanger commercial break. Not sure why.

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Cause that's actually a decent technique. You don't want your reader to be able to put the book down and not come back, because you want to make sure your chapters always end with a question that hasn't been solved. A "commercial break" cliffhanger is a great method for keeping your reader reading, just as the actually CBC would make sure the watcher stays around.

cbenoi1 said:

Write SCENES when producing drafts, not chapters. Scenes are the natural divisions along changes in POV, time, place, and context. They are easier to spot weaknesses in the flow, edit as a unit, and stitch together. Where you put chapter divisions can be determined at final editing, when you have all the pieces together.

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This is very good advice. When I write my novel I have a few notable scenes in my head that demand to be written. I write them down and they serve as way-points for the story to touch upon. In most cases they get edited to make them fit the natural evolution of the story.

Melanii said:

Sometimes, I pretend my chapters end as if it was a television show with a cliffhanger commercial break. Not sure why.

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I picture my story as a TV series and each chapter is an episode and with the scenes filling time between station breaks.

My first drafts are notoriously thin. I'd say 1000 words per chapter on the first draft is pretty average for me.

When I go back through, I usually end up with somewhere around 3000 words per chapter on average.

Myrealana said:

My first drafts are notoriously thin. I'd say 1000 words per chapter on the first draft is pretty average for me.

When I go back through, I usually end up with somewhere around 3000 words per chapter on average.

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Pretty much same for me. Several of my chapters are around the 1,000 word mark. The only ones that are much higher are the ones that I consider corner stones and have a better feel for what is going on all the way through. I tend to write what needs to happen, without thinking much on dialogue or inner monologue, descriptions, etc. All of that gets brightened on draft two.

IMO it makes editing much easier as I find it more enjoyable to add the "details" rather than cutting a lot of things out.

Canislupus54 said:

I feel like I'm always coming up short when I try to write a novel and I'm trying to get an idea of if that feeling is right. I average about 1000 words per chapter, give or take 500 words.

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It sound like you're writing consistently short scenes, and then making each one into its own chapter. But a chapter can consist of more than one scene, if they fit together to form a unit.

Meanwhile, it could be (though not necessarily; hard to say without actually seeing the work) that your scenes need fleshing out more. More depth and complexity, maybe. But that's only a guess.

Cut and pasted from the 'chapter' question in Basic Writing Questions.

A chapter for me is almost a stand alone story - sort of a story within the context of the novel. I pre-plan everything so to make each chapter a comfortable length someone can easily read in one sitting, so I try to keep them to about 5K words or so.

My intention is for the reader to have a comfortable place to stop after reading 1 or 2 chapters, and be intrigued by what is going on, and so compelled to pick up the book the next day.

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Isn't that like asking how long a word should be? It's as long as it is.