When is a good time to end a chapter...and about how long is an average chapter. I keep thinking that I should leave people hanging a bit at the end of each chapter to keep them turning pages. Is this a false assumption and should the end of a chapter be some sort of resolution to conflict or the end of a day or something?
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As a reader, I like a chapter ending to be a place I can stop if I need to for whatever in life is calling. I want it to keep my attention enough to make me want to come back. I actually can get annoyed with a book that doesn't give the reader a logical place to break. I end up too exhausted from reading, and when I do put it down for a break may not come back if I know I don't have time to finish the whole thing.
Posts: 92 | Registered: Jun 2005
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Personally, I like chapters to end on a cliffhanger frequently, but not /every/ time. I think it is a psychological effect of building up the climax and then you see half or a whole blank page, rationally I know that I can continue reading right now, but emotionally a pause has been put in. The brain holds true to that pause, and for a moment I get to look up from the book, truely absorb what's happening and wonder what will happen next, before diving back in. Posts: 233 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I'm getting the impression that most people put chapter breaks in on the first draft...I put them in after the third or fourth draft -- when everything is finished. Then I can go through, and decide where logical, fairly consistent chapter breaks should be. I can put scenes that end very emotionally or strong at the end of the chapter to emphasis the last pargraph of that scene. Having the whole novel in front of me helps me know what scenes should get this power position. So, for me at least, chapter breaks are something I do very deliberately when the novel is all but finished. I never worry about it on a first draft.
Posts: 189 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I never thought of doing that Miriel. That's an interesting idea. I seem to see my story in pieces anyway, so that's how I write it. Usually that's also how I decide on the chapter breaks. After I'm all done with the work I go back and make sure it's done so that it flows naturaly.
Posts: 811 | Registered: Jan 2005
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My writing style is a bit more... different... I write in about 500-1500 word segments, then lump them together logically. Then, I expand on them, making my chapter. Generally I won't put together more than 3 sections, so it can range from about 2000 word chapters to 4500 words... then I expand and who knows where I'll end up.
Posts: 73 | Registered: Jul 2005
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quote:Check out "Uncle Orson's Writing Class" there is an interesting topic on chapter length.
I disagree with him on this. Some very good writers have a chapter every five pages. Others have hundred-page chapters, and occasionally, there are no chapter breaks. For me, this is a totally arbitrary decision left to the author as it suits the story in question. OSC's chapter lengths are right for his stories, and he may have an opinion about everyone else's story, but that doesn't make it a rule, even if it's based on marketing data. In fact, I've seen it proposed that short chapters make it easier for the reader to put the book down.
[This message has been edited by Spaceman (edited July 14, 2005).]
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I'm getting to a spot in my story that I think will end with a bit of a cliff hanger. My main character is coming to terms with a sudden influx of magic...and is going to need a mentor. I thought I would end the chapter with her decision to search this person out.
My main concern was that this chapter was only 6 pages in length...will maybe end up being 7 0r 8 pages when I get to that point, and I didn't want to make the chapter too short. I do feel that logical breaks make the best reading when I'm immersed in a book and maybe this is the way to go.
I value all of your opinions and would like to hear more...
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As long as it logically make sense then it doesn't matter. I remember the first time I read Seventh Son- the second chapter is not even 2 pages in length, but I felt I knew this one character really well, but it ends on a decision.
I think that chapters that end in cliffhangers generally are better when they are shorter. Shorter chapters convey a quicker pace, things are shaping up into something pretty quickly. Plus I don't want to read 30 pages only to find a cliffhanger- especially I need to put down the book.
When it comes to something like chapter breaks- I would always recommend going with your authoring instincts. So no, I definitely don't think 5-6 pages is too short. I've read chapters that have been a couple of sentences.
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