My chapters aren't long enough.

[TheSpiritElement]

So I started writing my first fiction book. It's about a girl named Layla who was adopted as a baby and has no clue of her origins. When he birth mother passes away she is pulled into the twisted world of fairies and dark magic. Her aunt trains her to control her powers and she must use them to defeat dark magic and save her fellow elements (basically other fairies that have the power of wind, water, fire, earth) that keep the world alive. If she can't save them and they are sacrificed... mortals lands will dry up and die and so will they.

Sounds lame huh? but any who....



I started writing my stories and after I go back through them...It seems like they cut straight to the point and aren't very long. It's like one second they are having a conversation and thirty seconds later (of reading) someone has died! I don't know what to do!

Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[TheokinsJ]

I have a similar problem with my own book, it seems that my chapters are 4 or so pages and I've said everything that needs to be said and described anything in detail, but it still is short. Perhaps join chapters? Make them longer if you wish by adding more detail- but don't go overboard by writing unnecessary things which tell the reading you are stalling and trying to drag out the chapter. In the end it comes down, in my belief, to the subject matter of the chapter. If not much happens then you can be pretty sure it will be a short chapter, expand on what happens and try to add some extra things in to add to the length, but as I said before, don't overdo it and try to drag it out.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

There's many elements that could contribute to this state. Since you, the author, consider the chapters too short, we'll zoom on by the idea of "what constitutes necessary length". Instead, let's look at primary story components.

1) Characters - have you fleshed them out well? How much does your reader learn about your characters? If they are main characters, the reader probably needs to learn a decent amount about them & rather quickly in the story. You can impart characterization in many ways. For example: A) Actions B) Dialogue C) What other characters think, say, & do to them. Those are 3 basic avenues to improve characterization. There are more that you can easily discover in books & online.

2) Setting - I myself tend to write setting in a minimalist fashion overall. However, I do take time to go back over rough drafts and add setting elements where they will improve the story. Proper description, of important story elements, will improve reader immersion in your world and draw their attention to the aspects that you want the reader (or characters) to recognize and then take notice. In some cases, setting can fill the role of a pseudo-character as well, in opposition to your characters.

3) Plot - From what you wrote above, it sounds as if you have at least a vague idea of your overall plot. In my view, overall plot is what brings all the story elements together. It starts by pushing characters (and possibly setting) either against each other or in the same direction. However, there can be many layers of subplots working within the overall story. There are many types of subplots: Love stories, mysteries involving character backgrounds, power plays, etc. Subplots can lend a great deal of texture to a story by making the world seem more vivid and real....many interests occurring simultaneously...just like in reality.

Those are just some basics. I hope that helps you.

 

[The Unseemly]

I've never had the problem myself (my chapters are 30 pages long...), however, I do know a few people that have.

My usual advice on this sort of matter, is simply not to stress over it. The issue depends on perspective. Would you rather have a 4 page chapter, and not water the story out, or water the story out, and have a 30 page chapter? I achieved my large page chapter count by doing a few things:

1) Adding overall "real life" perspectives. When a character is fearful, I go about explaining it in a "real life" way. Add a few of your own perspectives relating to the story, and you'll get a few pages more.

2) Introducing a "second" plotline: the story revolves around two characters, with the parts in the book interchanging between character A and character B (sort of like Tolkien does, jumping from Bilbo and Sam to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, to Mary, Pippin and Gandalf). This means, you could have one chapter of 20-25 pages dedicated to one character, then another chapter dedicated to the other character, or something like that.

3) Occasional jumps to the bad guy, as per above.

An important thing to note, however, is not to increase chapter sizes for the sake of increasing chapter sizes. I've found that usually the books I've least enjoyed is because the author watered the story out. It's boring. Also remember, that a book does need to have 400+ pages (mind you, A5 pages, about 200-250 A4 pages) to make a story.

EDIT: Oh dear, got ninja'd by T. Allen Smith.

 

[Catharsis]

If your story does develop the plot and characters enough, then the size of the chapters is largely irrelevant. Honestly though, if you chapters seem too short, you probably could expand on character development. For most of my writing, setting up extra scenes or dialogue prove to be very effective in enhancing my characters.

 

[advait98]

Also remember, that a book does need to have 400+ pages (mind you, A5 pages, about 200-250 A4 pages) to make a story.

Hold on, are you saying that a book has to have 400+ pages to make a story or did you miss a not.

If it's the former, I would disagree. Look at J.K. Rowling and her first 2 books. Just a little more than 200 pages and they were two of her best. And John Flanagan. There's a reason he's one of my favourite authors. A story definitely does not need 400+ pages to be one, although judging from the context of your post, it would appear that you did indeed miss a 'not'. Oh well...

Okay, Element, your question... I'd suggest that you keep writing while also taking in some of this advice. I had the same problem a while back, and it pretty much solved itself when I wrote that extra 100 pages.

Go with the wind, and analyse your story in consideration with the above posts. If you agree with what they say, try the best to incorporate their advice into your writing. If it turns out that the above does not state your problem, then write. That's the best advice I can give you.

Keep writing, I say, and see where the wind takes you (I'm thinking of making that my catchphrase...).

 

[Chilari]

As everyone knows, chapter length has a direct correlation on quality: the longer the chapter, the better it is. That's why Terry Pratchett's Discworld books are so good. They're all just one chapter.

Said nobody ever.

Chapters are a means of breaking up the story into managable chunks that share a common theme. I've read chapters that consist of a single sentence. I've read books that don't have chapters at all. I've read books where one chapter is half a page and the next is forty pages. Sure, they're useful for structuring, but mostly it's a cosmetic issue.

Now if what you're worried about is pacing - that the story is moving forward too quickly - that's a different thing. Pacing is about presenting information at the optimum rate and level of detail to keep a reader interested. What I'd suggest is, if the rate you're writing at now is comfortable, don't worry about pacing. Concentrate on finishing your first draft. You can add in some meat to those bones in second draft. Others have well stated what kind of meat that could be - characterisation, setting, subplots and so on.

 

[DSCroxford]

I agree with the general consensus, chapter length does not affect quality in the slightest. I have read many a book with differing chapter lengths, one book (cant remember which one, will have to flick through them) had a chapter that had just two paragraphs on one page, it was slotted in there to keep you up to date with a subplot that followed the main story line. My own WIP has chapters that range from 600 words to 3000, as long as you are happy that the scene has been described enough then I do not see there being an issue from a readers POV.

 

[BWFoster78]

As usual, I have a different take than the rest of the posters. While I don't disagree with the advice above, the question, at its core, didn't seem really to be about chapter length.

It seems like they cut straight to the point and aren't very long. It's like one second they are having a conversation and thirty seconds later (of reading) someone has died!

To me, this seems indicative, perhaps, of too much telling and not enough showing.

If I write:

Joe walked down the street. Some guys attacked him. They took his money and left him injured on the side of the road.

I'd say that's too short, and it's because I'm telling the reader what happened.

Of course, I'm basing these thoughts solely on a tiny snippet of a description of a perceived problem; this may not be it at all. If the OP thinks it is, he/she should research showing versus telling. Shameless Plug: I have a post on my blog where I give a good example of how to show - Writing Example: Show, Don’t Tell | Brian W. Foster

Of much more concern to me is this statement:

Sounds lame huh?

If the author thinks it's lame, no one is going to be excited about it. Perhaps you should examine why you're writing this story if it's not interesting to you.

 

[kayd_mon]

Short chapters work sometimes. Some readers are more motivated to read that way. Granted, fantasy books tend to have longer chapters, but if it works for your story, shorter chapters are ok.

That said, read through your work as a reader. Is there anything that your text doesn't bring to the reader's imagination that is already in yours? Maybe you as the author know all about your scene, character, whatever, but your reader needs a bit more.

 

[wordwalker]

We had another thread on this maybe a month ago, that I can't find now. But I came up with the formula

Length = # Characters with choices x # Choices x # Complications x Description.

I always think of plot in terms of choices: if the hero ends up doing this, is he trying to do that first and why doesn't it work? It brings out the full scale of a situation and a given character's approach to getting through it.

Complications then are the things that don't change the choice yet but do keep it lively, and description is how much you go into each-- if you can commit to it consistently. And of course giving more characters choices (Aragorn didn't expand the story's length too much when he was still with the hobbits, but he did when the Fellowship broke up) multiplies all of it.

The real trick is deciding where you want your writing's balance to be. A complex web of choices, or some choices and a lot of challenges on the way? More description? Or if you like the balance you have, then your stories are just long enough as it is.

 

[Sean Cunningham]

I hear James Patterson's chapters are tiny: 2-3 pages each. Given that he writes thrillers, I assume this must be one of his pacing tricks, the result of which seems to be that people say they get dragged through his novels at breakneck speed.

 

[Penpilot]

It's hard to determine if there's anything wrong with your chapter lengths without actually seeing the writing itself. The chapters in my current book vary from 800 words to 4000 words.

As said above, there could be nothing wrong, or this might be a sign you're telling too much or a symptom of some other issue.

 

[wordwalker]

I hear James Patterson's chapters are tiny: 2-3 pages each. Given that he writes thrillers, I assume this must be one of his pacing tricks, the result of which seems to be that people say they get dragged through his novels at breakneck speed.

Exactly. Structure a tale like that and the reader has no guarantee the whole book isn't one extened scene.

Rule of thumb I like: people claim readers take in somewhere from 7500-15000 words in a sitting. Always useful to keep that in mind when thinking of your chapter strategy-- do you want a chapter that tries to fill up a session for them as a mini-arc, or do you want them reading smaller blocks of it before they pause?