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I was having the hardest time getting my head around how to divide my novel into chapters. It's a Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) project, so it was written all in a burst, not divided by chapters, or really anything but when my writing sessions had to end.
So I'm beginning the somewhat tedious work of dividing it into chapters (it's 55k words, not a terrible task, but not exactly exciting either.) I was having trouble figuring out how to do it, though. I started what I called an "outline" but was really a scene list. See, it didn't cohere with my definition of "outline" which involves nested items, sub-sections, etc. An outline to me is hierarchical. My WIP is not a bunch of senseless crap, it was actually written from an outline and I feel it flows logically from one part to the next, but it is very linear.
I couldn't get the two ideas to jive - an outline (which seems to me to be the right next step to make sure I've got the right kinds of moods, tension, character and plot arcs) which is hierarchical with my linear novel.
So I presented this issue at my in-person writer's group tonight and one of the most inexperienced writers in the group gave me an aha-moment suggestion. She suggested dividing it into parts first, just as a way to try to get my head around it (mind you, I'd started a scene listing. I am about 40 pages in and have something in the neighborhood of 20 scenes already.)
And I realized that I've always thought of the novel in three parts (I've read STORY by McKee and am somewhat heavily influenced by the three-act structure used in screenwriting.)
So - aha! Divide it into three parts. Then see how many sub-parts (collections of scenes) there are. Then list the scenes in each sub-part. Voila! Hierarchy! And each sub-part is likely to be a chapter (I remain open to the idea that there is another layer I'll have to go through, going to wait and see what it looks like when I get farther.)
At any rate, it was such a big epiphany I thought I would share it, and also ask what process others follow to divide their novels into chapters, and even then how to name/title their chapters (I'm doing a YA novel, so I feel chapter names are a requirement as it's the standard in all the YA work I like.)
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I think of a novel as the story of MC's journey towards the solution to an overarching problem, through a series of sub-problems (barriers). Each chapter is the story of resolving one of the sub-problems, told through one or several related scenes. At the end of each chapter one gets a sense of progress towards the overarching problem and a natural break in the action; it feels like climbing a series of steps to the solution, each a plateau affording a chance to pause and reflect on the ground we've covered so far and the possibilities to come. In thrillers, just as one sub-problem gets solved towards the end of its chapter, another appears--the cliffhanger.
Of course, a good novel is more complicated than that; it has subplots, each with their own series of sub(-sub?) problems. I don't think they impact the overall structure, but are woven into the book. One classical example is how a chapter resolves a plot problem and finishes with MC one step closer to her love interest -- or further away.
I love it when the chapter titles are teasers for the content, enough to give the reader a sense of the exciting things to come without spoiling the story.
(I imagine this concept works better for a plot-driven story than a character-driven one, unless the latter is the story of MC's development through several clear stages -- or epiphanies!)
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How exciting! I’m doing a writing exercise for two of my novels which is somewhat similar. Essentially you divide a piece of paper into three columns. At the bottom of the first column put in the act one climax. At the bottom of the second put in the act two climax. At the bottom of the third, put in the climax. Now, if you have scenes you can lay them in. If you don’t you can work backwards and figure out how to get from a to b. This exercise really helped me see that my set ups were waaaay too slow. It also helped me realize for one of my books I have a sagging middle where not a whole lot happens. It’s weird because the first novel I ever wrote (which I’m still working on!) I had clearly visualized as a three-part novel. I even had names for them. Part of this was because seasons play a huge role in my book, so that provided a natural division. But I didn’t want all the divisions to be named after seasons. So each section also had a sort of theme, and I think that’s where naming is powerful. Names can also create a sense of anticipation. For instance, if you’ve created a lot of imagery, say, about hawks being predators, and the you name one section The Day of The Hawk, then that creates a sense of suspense in the reader--some sort of predation is going to happen, the hawk is going to win this one. So I think titles are a chance to really enhance themes, provide a new perspective to the reader, and generally enrich and deepen your writing. I think they require a little bit of mediation on what the chapter is about, and what effect on the reader a title may have.
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posted
Anne, Pat, thanks so much for your thoughts. Anne - that 3-column exercise sounds brilliant. It's funny to me that I could have such a big mental block about linear vs. hierarchical. These ideas are really helping me see how my linear novel has a hierarchy that makes sense, which is apparently quite important to me!
I'm still plugging away. Feel like I'm emptying the titanic with a teacup, but I'll get there (maybe more this week w/kids in summer camp...)
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