Consistent Word Counts?

[R. R. Hunter]

Out of 5 chapters, so far my shortest is at 1600 words and my longest is around 2200 word. My 6th chapter is nearly finished but it's already at 3000. Is consistent chapter length something I even need to be worried about? And yes, I know those are on the low end of the average lol

 

[pmmg]

I dont tend to write chapters, as much as scenes. They tend to clock in at 700 words give or take. Some are 300 words. I think my longest scene is about 6000 words in one place.

I have seen industry types say that an ideal chapter is 1000-3000 words, but give or take some there as well.

I have seen at times that chapters are very short. I recall Twilight once had a chapter that was just two words, 'nothing happened', and then it went to the next.

 

[R. R. Hunter]

Thanks for the input. I didn't know if there was some sort of unspoken standard but I figured it was fine. I suppose that Twilight author thought they were being modern, cutting edge, or cute (or maybe all three). It just sounds like a waste of paper to me lol

 

[pmmg]

Ah, give her credit . She was capturing the mood of the MC while the love interest was away.

 

[ThinkerX]

I have some chapters as short as a few hundred words - and others that top eight thousand words. It depends on the goal of the chapter in question.

 

[pmmg]

Also along the lines of consistent. I think its actually better to have inconsistent lengths. The variety will keep the readers attention more.

 

[Righmath]

I think one of my longest chapters might be around 4-5k, where one of my shortest maybe 400 words. Like pmmg they are mostly scenes. However, as I'm coming to the end of my book I have found myself thinking twice about it. My average chapter seems to be around 1200 words long which I wonder if it is too short; but that's what the edit is for!

Also one of my favourite writers, Pat Rothfuss, famously has short chapters. I found it made the book more palatable, especially if it is long in length.