Chapter length?

[JLiana]

Hello!!! I hope everyone is doing well!

So looking at my writing so far, I seem to average at about 1,700 words per chapter...but I'm looking at other people's work online and their chapters are usually 2,500 words plus. Do I need to be fluffing my chapters? I feel like they're economical and in terms of story, they say what they need to say, without skimping on characterisation or atmosphere. But I'm not sure if that's just from my perspective (having spent so much time with the material).

Opinions?

 

[Mad Swede]

If you use chapters to divide your story they should be as long as required for your story to flow. There is no set length at all.

 

[skip.knox]

There's no formula, with one exception. If you're aiming to trad publish, then your chapters should be however long your publisher says they should be. Don't try to anticipate; they'll give you guidelines.

For self-pub, just write to whatever feels right to you. Give the finished work to some beta readers. If no one comments about chapter length, you're golden.

For myself, I tend to work in scenes rather than chapters. Eventually those scenes become chapters, either through combining, dividing, lengthening, or shortening.

 

[Mad Swede]

There's no formula, with one exception. If you're aiming to trad publish, then your chapters should be however long your publisher says they should be. Don't try to anticipate; they'll give you guidelines.

Er, no. As a rule you and your editor will work out how long each chapter should be, based on the needs of the story. This is what my editor does. My publisher does not have any guidelines on chapter length at all, as this varies depending on the book.

 

[pmmg]

My scenes are about 700 words each, and they pretty much count for chapters. 1700 words makes me jelly.

I think the ones above pretty much already have this covered. There is no rule, I would shoot for anything between 1000 and 5000 if you are unsure.

 

[WanderingBard]

It really depends on the pace, content, and following content of the scenes in the chapter. There is really is no hard rule, especially in the e-reader age where the concept of pages is even not concrete. I personally like to look at the final few sentences of what could be a chapter break, and decide if it feels natural to do so. For me I also think about names for my chapters, so what goes on in the chapter plays a bigger role to its length to I can either stay true to its name, or be able to create the name more easily. Just trust your gut on it! If you think there are too many chapters or too little at one point, you can always give the entire thing a pass and change things up.

 

[ThinkerX]

I have chapters as short as 300 words, and some that top 16,000 words. The chapters are as long as they need to be.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

We do the one scene per chapter thing because I used to have problems with this. Chapter length is one of those craft things where what matters is the music.

This is what I mean. This is how I hear writing. So, what I hear when drafting is the flow of the sounds and emotion and conflict back and forth as the scene plays out. I can feel/hear when the chapter is winding down and has done its job - all chapters have a job to do to advance the story - I intentionally try to hit the last note as a crescendo. Usually, this will take the form of a hook and the music sweeps into the next chapter.

 

[skip.knox]

Er, no. As a rule you and your editor will work out how long each chapter should be, based on the needs of the story. This is what my editor does. My publisher does not have any guidelines on chapter length at all, as this varies depending on the book.

I was sloppy, as often happens. Editor indeed. Presuming one has hired an editor, of course.

 

[JLiana]

We do the one scene per chapter thing because I used to have problems with this. Chapter length is one of those craft things where what matters is the music.

This is what I mean. This is how I hear writing. So, what I hear when drafting is the flow of the sounds and emotion and conflict back and forth as the scene plays out. I can feel/hear when the chapter is winding down and has done its job - all chapters have a job to do to advance the story - I intentionally try to hit the last note as a crescendo. Usually, this will take the form of a hook and the music sweeps into the next chapter.

Oh, I've seen this before, this is exactly how I write! It actually makes writing as a craft make more sense to me.

 

[casval]

Nothing wrong with chapters of any particular length, or varying length. Unless every chapter was less than a page long, that might result in a lot of wasted paper when it goes to the printers - even that could work if the publisher just formats the book differently. Do what feels right.

My chapters vary in length, though I tend towards longer chapters in the 6,000 to 8,000 area. A lot of my professional writing has been non-fiction, and I think I brought over some of my habits from there - my chapters practically have a thesis statement and a conclusion. But I've had chapters as short as 800 words and as long as 16,000 (though it was broken into a few subsections, another habit I've picked up from non-fiction). It's kind of vibes-based, honestly.