Chapters, or no chapters?
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How long is your book? If it is a 32-page children's book, you may get away with it. (Obviously, there's no chapters in a picture book!) But if it's a 400-page tome, heck no. Would you want to read a book that seems to go on and on and on and on?
Out of curiosity, why would you not want chapters?
Out of curiosity, why would you not want chapters?
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Right now 13,773 words, and most likely going to be much longer, it's only about a quarter or so done. You have a point about it being easier to read.
My reason for not wanting them is that I haven't put them in there yet, and it might break things up too much for the story to flow. That and I'd have to think about chapter names. (I'm not good at that part I don't want lame ones) it does have 31 pages though, granted times new roman 12 point fort 1 inch margings pages. I think chapters would make it seen artifficial, like paragraphs. In stories I know to make a new one every time another person speaks but in my acdemic writing, I usually ask my mom to put one it when ever she thinks there should be one. (My mom's my editor because my grammer sucks)
My reason for not wanting them is that I haven't put them in there yet, and it might break things up too much for the story to flow. That and I'd have to think about chapter names. (I'm not good at that part I don't want lame ones) it does have 31 pages though, granted times new roman 12 point fort 1 inch margings pages. I think chapters would make it seen artifficial, like paragraphs. In stories I know to make a new one every time another person speaks but in my acdemic writing, I usually ask my mom to put one it when ever she thinks there should be one. (My mom's my editor because my grammer sucks)
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To quote Mr. Kipling:
There are nine and sixty ways
Of writing tribal lays
And every single one of them is right.
No, you don't need chapters any more than E.E. Cummings needed capital letters. However, giving your readers a good place to stop and make a trip to the loo could be considered polite.
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or they could be reading on the loo (eeewewew) (in a weird place right now)
How do you know then the right places to make a chapter?
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Chapters aren't necessary, but scene breaks are in a piece that's over, say, twenty pages or so (5,000 words). And if you've got scene breaks, why not make each chapter a single scene? No need to give them titles. Numbers are fine.
While chapter breaks may be artificial, scene breaks aren't. Scenes have very definite structure, with a beginning, middle and end, just like the book as a whole. They're a logical break (for going to the loo or whatever, although the idea is that if you, as the author, have done your job right, and the chapter ends compellingly, then the reader will forge on to the next scene, regardless of the call of the bladder), not an artificial one, as academic/journalism paragraph breaks sometimes are.
JD
While chapter breaks may be artificial, scene breaks aren't. Scenes have very definite structure, with a beginning, middle and end, just like the book as a whole. They're a logical break (for going to the loo or whatever, although the idea is that if you, as the author, have done your job right, and the chapter ends compellingly, then the reader will forge on to the next scene, regardless of the call of the bladder), not an artificial one, as academic/journalism paragraph breaks sometimes are.
JD
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It is not at all necessary to name chapters. In fact, it is rarely done nowadays. Numbering them is just fine. Some have headers to indicate the geographic location or the POV character. Most people don't read them anyway, from what I understand.
Your work almost certainly has natural divisions, where the immediate conflict has been resolved one way or another and we move on to the next one. It shouldn't be too difficult to decide where to put breaks if you decide to do so. Personally, I'd recommend it, but what I think doesn't matter.
Your work almost certainly has natural divisions, where the immediate conflict has been resolved one way or another and we move on to the next one. It shouldn't be too difficult to decide where to put breaks if you decide to do so. Personally, I'd recommend it, but what I think doesn't matter.
I'm a guy. There is a reason why I also call the loo my "reading room". (It's the best light in the house)
Just as a suggestion, look for a natural break to the flow of the story -- such as right after the body hits the floor, the windows of the bank blow out from using too much C-4 on the safe, or the Eeeevil Bad-Guy steps out from the darkness and says, "No. It's _not_ a dream. Muahahahahahah!"
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Always think of your readers.
1) not a good reason just because you haven't done it yet. I didn't break up my chapters until I was done with the first draft.
2) not a good reason because chapters don't break the flow, unless you write them that way. To a reader, it's just a place for them to take a breath. Either way, they have to turn the page.
Who says chapters must have names? What's wrong with Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc.?
Huh? Have you read any novels?
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I think I'll add numbers to it then. It just seems like it'd be better. I'll do it after I finish writing it, I don't know how long that'll be, it all depends on how fast the story comes to me. Thanks for your help. I guess numbers always seemed a bit textbooky but now that I think about it, it would make things better.
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