Paragraph, Dialogue, Chapter Lengths: How Do You Do It?

[FifthView]

I stumbled onto these last night as I was bleary-eyed and winding down from my Nano writing. They're about four-and-a-half years old, and the sampling skews to even older novels. But I found them interesting, sometimes surprising, and thought that maybe newer writers could find them helpful:

Paragraph lengths in fantasy fiction – an analysis

Analyzing dialogue lengths in fantasy fiction

Analyzing chapter lengths in fantasy fiction

I feel I must reiterate what the author said when introducing that last analysis. There are no rules. But these are analyses using a Python script to scan ebooks for word counts of a select sampling of fantasy novels just to see what can be seen. It's a smallish sampling of novels, and the sampling skews a little older and adult, I think, and doesn't seem to have a great cross section of all subgenres of fantasy. So, grain of salt.

For me, the biggest surprise was on chapter length. Most quick searches will return a 3000-5000 word average chapter length, with some going more and some being smaller. Of the thirteen books analyzed, 6 fell reasonably in that range for their own average chapter word count, but in 7 the average was above that.

The "Mostly Less Than" chapter word count measurement was even more surprising. In this measurement, if 95% of the chapters in a book fell below a given word count, then that word count would be the "Mostly Less Than" number. It is a kind of upper limit tendency for the given book. These numbers skewed higher than the average chapter length for all samples.

Anyway...How do you do it? Where do you tend to fall in these three areas of paragraph length, dialogue length/density, chapter length? I'm curious.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

I'm not sure how to crunch the numbers on the other two, but my chapters have been averaging 1,900 words. That's very short, but they seem to divide themselves naturally there.

My paragraphs are also short on average, probably due to my first-person narration style. A 508 word paragraph? That's two pages! I don't think i've written a paragraph longer than half a page. Just looking over my WIP my longer paragraphs are something like 75-85 words. The longest one I can find is close to 150 words.

I'm trying to figure out stuff about dialogue, but I can't tell much without an in depth analysis, other than that I'd estimate this at about one-third dialogue.

 

[FifthView]

I wish the author had saved his python script and made it or something like it available for checking our own writing. I just kinda eyeball my paragraphs and dialogue for a "longer" or "shorter" analysis of what I do.

One reason those articles hooked me last night: I'd originally thought my Nano project would have trended on the shorter side for chapters, but I'm pantsing, and as I've found the right path for the opening, I see my first chapter will probably end up around 5K, maybe slightly longer. I have a reasonable idea already of what chapter 2 and 3 will be, story-wise, and suspect they'll trend long as well.

I wish he'd looked at scenes. My first scene is actually rather short, second scene rather long, and the the third will fall midway between those. For this first chapter.

As for paragraphs...I think I trend longer. Dialogue, shorter and less dense in the dialogue/narrative ratio.

But some of this is hard to know without actually taking the time to count the words.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

I checked, and my longest chapter is 3,212 words. The shortest is 1,027 words.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

I wish the author had saved his python script and made it or something like it available for checking our own writing. I just kinda eyeball my paragraphs and dialogue for a "longer" or "shorter" analysis of what I do.

One reason those articles hooked me last night: I'd originally thought my Nano project would have trended on the shorter side for chapters, but I'm pantsing, and as I've found the right path for the opening, I see my first chapter will probably end up around 5K, maybe slightly longer. I have a reasonable idea already of what chapter 2 and 3 will be, story-wise, and suspect they'll trend long as well.

I wish he'd looked at scenes. My first scene is actually rather short, second scene rather long, and the the third will fall midway between those. For this first chapter.

As for paragraphs...I think I trend longer. Dialogue, shorter and less dense in the dialogue/narrative ratio.

But some of this is hard to know without actually taking the time to count the words.

Same with the book about Nabokovs favorite color being mauve. I want to know what my favorite word is. It's probably blood.

 

[Heliotrope]

Hmmmmmm.... I'm not sure I qualify for this, but here goes:

I actually purposely make sure my chapters clock in at 3500 words or less. That means I will heavily rewrite and edit a chapter until it fits those parameters.

I do this because most middle grades books need to be digestible by kids 9-13, and so clock in under 70,000 words.

If I divide up my novel that means all the acts must be no more than 17,500 words each, which means each act is about 5 chapters of 3500 words each.

If I can't fit my set up, catalyst, inciting moment etc into those 5 chapters then I have to roll up my sleeves and do some serious work.

My paragraphs tend to be really short and concise. Lot's of dialogue, though the sentences are brief.

 

[Penpilot]

My chapters/scenes are usually around 2000-2500 words. But it's not unusual for me to have a few chapters that are around 4k or around 500 words. As soon as my chapters start reaching 5k, I start to think about if it's possible to split them into two.

I really don't know what my average paragraph length is, but they tend to be relatively short. Just glancing at the chapter I have open right now in Scrivener, the bulk of my paragraphs in that are around 100 words. Though, I know that can vary widely. To me, it's about getting the right flow and cadence. If that means long paragraphs, then long paragraphs it is. If that means short paragraphs, then that's what I use.

I think with dialogue I use the same philosophy as paragraphs, but i try to avoid characters blabbing on and on without interruption of some sort.

 

[Insolent Lad]

I guess I'm pretty atypical in that my chapters tend more to the 1000 to 1500 word range. My paragraphs probably average short too, in that many are a line or two of dialog.

 

[FifthView]

Before reading those articles, I would have guessed that the current trend is for shorter chapters and paragraphs and a higher density of dialogue. I'm not sure if currency is well represented, but I can't know that without a different sampling run through the analyses.

Like the author, I was surprised by Dune. I thought from memory the chapters felt longer.

Helio, I'm glad you brought up middle grade. That seems like an obvious area that went unaddressed in the articles.

 

[Heliotrope]

Meh, it never gets addressed in anything, lol.

Middle Grades... the forgotten genre that doesn't exist and no one wants to talk about because if you write it you aren't a real writer. (Which I'm not anyway I guess, lol.)

But that's what it feels like sometimes.

 

[Chessie2]

I don't typically worry too much about the length of my chapters. They range between 1500 to 3k+ words. Each chapter covers a plot point...so however many words it takes (or doesn't take) to fulfill that piece of the story.

Some plot points require smaller/shorter chapters while others need to be longer. My intro chapters are around 2-3k because this is where a good deal of character introduction and worldbuilding + conflict initiation happens. So it really depends and I try not to make those chapters squeeze in at a precise word count.

Far as dialogue goes...this also depends on what's happening at any given point in the story. Some scenes are dialogue heavy, some are not.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Now, now... don’t feel so bad, MG isn’t a forgotten genre because it isn’t a genre, heh heh.

Meh, it never gets addressed in anything, lol.

Middle Grades... the forgotten genre that doesn't exist and no one wants to talk about because if you write it you aren't a real writer. (Which I'm not anyway I guess, lol.)

But that's what it feels like sometimes.

 

[Chessie2]

Now, now... don’t feel so bad, MG isn’t a forgotten genre because it isn’t a genre, heh heh.

Do you need a fire extinguisher, Des?

Helio: Or, as my husband likes to say, "You're going to need the burn unit."

 

[FifthView]

I also liked that Penpilot wrote

My chapters/scenes are usually around 2000-2500 words.

If I look at the first chapter of my Nano project, which is 5550 words, and break it into scenes I get this:

Scene 1: 1219
Scene 2: 2345
Scene 3: 1986

When I started the project, I thought I might fall into the lower range for chapters. I didn't aim for a length but had this feeling I wanted it to move at a relatively fast clip. Then I began to write it, heh, and realized I wanted to work for more immersion into the world and the character—not just immersion into character— and this slowed the development of the main plot.

Even now, I can imagine how those scenes could be edited to become individual chapters. Doing so without substantial editing to change what happens in them would probably force them into a more YA area. There is character drama, tension, a hook, yadda yadda, in each, and they lead relatively well in building up these things cumulatively also. There is foreshadowing of the early major plot developments. But overall it's a bit of a slower burn. The odd thing is that I imagine the inciting event would happen at about the same word count whether these scenes were made individual chapters or I stick to the current plan.* So it may be an issue of packaging, of signalling what's coming from chapter-to-chapter, and how a reader might expect/anticipate the sort of development being used.

Obviously, all of that ^ is based on a very rough, quickly written first chapter. Things could change.

*Edit: That I.E. is probably going to happen at around 13-15K.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Chapter length, I think I fall into the anywhere between 1500 and 6000 camp, although I had a chapter surge to 8k+ before splitting it in twain. My one chapter which pushes 6k now is split between POV’s, which is another point to be made: Chapters aren’t the only breaks. *** are other convenient points to put the book down and break chapters nicely.

Paragraph length, I’ve glanced at but don’t really pay attention to. I don’t do super long paragraphs by nature. Sentence length, I do scale back on my natural proclivity for lengthy sentences.

Dialogue: I am probably on the lower end of dialogue vs narration, as my characters spend a good deal of time in situations where chit chat isn’t going to advance the story so much. But this will vary widely by chapter and what’s going on. Terse vs verbose dialogue, I’m guessing I’m pretty middle of the road? I might have to look at this just for fun, LOL.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Only if you you shoot it up my nose to clear my sinuses... hmm, wonder if that’d work?

And she did say it’s forgotten but doesn’t exist, so there’s something funny going on there, LOL. I also met several folks who claimed to be MG writers in Seattle recently, I’m pretty sure they weren’t figments of my imagination.

Do you need a fire extinguisher, Des?

Helio: Or, as my husband likes to say, "You're going to need the burn unit."

 

[TheCrystallineEntity]

I go the Terry Pratchett way and have no chapters. [Though I do have parts in each book labelled 1, 2, 3, and so forth].

 

[Russ]

Meh, it never gets addressed in anything, lol.

Middle Grades... the forgotten genre that doesn't exist and no one wants to talk about because if you write it you aren't a real writer. (Which I'm not anyway I guess, lol.)

But that's what it feels like sometimes.

I have a friend who got a seven figure advance for an middle grade book...and is having no problem living with the literary disrespect while counting his money.

 

[DragonOfTheAerie]

I go the Terry Pratchett way and have no chapters. [Though I do have parts in each book labelled 1, 2, 3, and so forth].

I feel that my next book after this one will be that way.

 

[Chessie2]

I have a friend who got a seven figure advance for an middle grade book...and is having no problem living with the literary disrespect while counting his money.

Literary disrespect comes in many forms. Someone out there will always be a naysayer. Someone out there will always tell you how they would write your story. Someone out there will always be a jerk and call you not a writer for not rewriting, for not plotting, for plotting, for using a developmental editor, for not attending critique groups, for not sacrificing your first born in order to sell books...whatever. Who cares, right?