Craft Chat Chapter Length

[Sedayne]

I’ve been wondering about chapter lengths.

In my current WIP, I’ve let the scenes and story dictate the length of the chapters, and consequently, some are rather long, and some are very short. The inconsistency hasn’t gone unnoticed by first readers.

So, I’ve been looking at chapter lengths in books I like.

John Irving writes very long novels with long chapters. He’s probably my favourite author, and I can roll with this from him, but might not see it through with other writers.

Recent favourite, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (Gabrielle Zevin), is a long book with some long and some short chapters – a bit like mine – I am reassured.

The Book of Form and Emptiness (Ruth Ozeki) – another long read – has shortish chapters broken into shorter sections. Nice.

Clare Chambers: consistent, short-ish

Ian McEwan and Sarah Waters: both consistent and long-ish.

Julian Barnes' latest is a short book split into only two very long sections (I'd hardly call them chapters).

This quick piece of bookshelf research hasn’t really answered my question.

Should I be breaking up my longer chapters?
How much does it matter?
What do Litopians think about chapter length?

 

[Mel L]

I don't have the answer, but it's a great question! I think it probably has a lot to do with genre, and reader expectations for that type of story. And then there is the question of pacing, which ties in to your overall structure. Also, I get the feeling (but this could be completely off-base, or simply my own subjective impression based on the kinds of books I read) that the current trend is towards shorter chapters, given readers' fragmented attention spans. Looking forward to hearing what others think!

 

[mickleinapickle]

My would-be novel (10 years WIP and still counting) averages 1,000 to 3,000 words per chapter. I read something here about a year ago which suggested letting chapters flow, and end organically, so that's what I've tended to do. Not 100% sure if that's the best thing to do. Not sure if chapter length varies due to genre. I'll be interested to learn more. Cheers!

 

[MattScho]

It depends what you're writing. I tried an MG/YA piece where I made a rule, no chapters over 600 words, and 300-400 whenever possible, but the reason was not story driven so much as market driven, and I'm not sure it works/ed. However, young readers very much like making progress, and you see that in a lot of good stuff written for that age group.
More generally, chapter length is about serving the story.
It's true that Irving has a lot of long chapters, I think one in Owen Meaney is 30,000 words or so. But that's because Irving saw that as the way to tell his story. Also, was OM is a latish work, is Garp the same way?
Faulkner's most famous chapter is probably his shortest. "My Mother is a fish." If i recall, been a while. OTOH, he has sentences that go on for pages.
I don't think there is a hard and fast rule.
But it is worth thinking about what you most love to read. If you love getting completely lost in a long chapter, you're probably writing for people who share that bookview.
If you find yourself drifting with long chapters, go short.
We used to have this argument all the time in newsrooms. Editors would insist that readers don't like long, boring stories. Writers would counter that they also don't like short, boring stories.
It's not the length, it's the quality.

 

[Sedayne]

My would-be novel (10 years WIP and still counting) averages 1,000 to 3,000 words per chapter. I read something here about a year ago which suggested letting chapters flow, and end organically, so that's what I've tended to do. Not 100% sure if that's the best thing to do. Not sure if chapter length varies due to genre. I'll be interested to learn more. Cheers!

I like the idea of letting chapters flow and end organically. I think that's what I've tried to do. I'm just worried about a couple that are flowing up to the 5k mark.
Your 1,000-3,000 sounds like a comfortable read.

 

[Sedayne]

It depends what you're writing. I tried an MG/YA piece where I made a rule, no chapters over 600 words, and 300-400 whenever possible, but the reason was not story driven so much as market driven, and I'm not sure it works/ed. However, young readers very much like making progress, and you see that in a lot of good stuff written for that age group.
More generally, chapter length is about serving the story.
It's true that Irving has a lot of long chapters, I think one in Owen Meaney is 30,000 words or so. But that's because Irving saw that as the way to tell his story. Also, was OM is a latish work, is Garp the same way?
Faulkner's most famous chapter is probably his shortest. "My Mother is a fish." If i recall, been a while. OTOH, he has sentences that go on for pages.
I don't think there is a hard and fast rule.
But it is worth thinking about what you most love to read. If you love getting completely lost in a long chapter, you're probably writing for people who share that bookview.
If you find yourself drifting with long chapters, go short.
We used to have this argument all the time in newsrooms. Editors would insist that readers don't like long, boring stories. Writers would counter that they also don't like short, boring stories.
It's not the length, it's the quality.

Excellent observations. Especially quality over length.

BTW, Owen Meany is mid-period Irving. Longer chapters than Garp. Later works continue with very long chapters. (It was In One Person that I plucked from the shelf this morning), but his most recent (The Last Chairlift, 2022), whilst being his longest novel, has gone for (slightly) shorter chapters.

 

[wrightstuff]

My understanding (assuming you're writing for an adult audience) is that shorter chapters indicate pace, and longer chapters reflection. From that, the length of chapter flows from the genre and structure of the novel, and intent of each chapter. A chapter should begin and end in a logical place (according to the writer's logic system!).

I tend to longer chapters, and sometimes have to divide them.

 

[RK Wallis]

When I think about chapters, I ask what I want readers to experience from this story. As a read, I like to pause somewhere, so as long as there are scenes that have a break (where I can close the book and find my place again), I don't care how long chapters are, it's just another break to me.

And I just have to mention, Sir Terry Pratchett (knighted for his writing) had no chapters, only scenes and breaks.

An agent who just had my full mss and rejected it said:

"I found the balance of dialogue to narrative felt a little uneven at times and that threw off the pacing for me."

So, whatever you choose, make sure there's balance

 

[LJ Beck]

In my current WIP, I’ve let the scenes and story dictate the length of the chapters, and consequently, some are rather long, and some are very short. The inconsistency hasn’t gone unnoticed by first readers.

What are your readers saying about it?

Should I be breaking up my longer chapters?
How much does it matter?

Well, I think it matters because of how it might read.

What do Litopians think about chapter length?

I had a little panic about chapter lengths too, when another Litopian said his chapters were like 5K words long. And mine rarely go over 3K. So I did some googling. I only looked it up for adults. Genre can play a role for sure. Even then there's no rules, but on average, chapters generally fall somewhere between 2K-5K. That said, some shorter ones can be good for pacing. Also varying the length of chapters can be good to keep the pace from getting stale. That's what I took away from my rabbit hole.

I think the bottom line is how it reads. If readers are noticing chapter lengths, it would be good to know why. Might indicate some drag a little, or others are a bit too sparse? Although I also try to let the story dictate the chapter lengths, sometimes my mood (tired), or my excitement (action scenes), or my indulgence (enjoying a setting too much) dictates the length. haha. That's what a good reader and some solid editing are for.

 

[Claire G]

I don't mind a bit of variety in length, but if some chapters are too long, I feel less satisfied by my progress through the book. I like to have regular pauses in the story (but not necessarily in my reading duration, if that makes sense, though if I only have limited time I don't like having to stop mid-chapter), but that's personal preference. Your longer chapters don't drag; they just don't provide the satisfactory cut-off that I like to have, the breaking up of sections. It's an interesting thread!

 

[Sedayne]

So, whatever you choose, make sure there's balance

Sound advice - thanks x

 

[Sedayne]

I think the bottom line is how it reads.

Yes, I suppose this is always the crux of the issue regardless of convention or trends.

Although I also try to let the story dictate the chapter lengths, sometimes my mood (tired), or my excitement (action scenes), or my indulgence (enjoying a setting too much) dictates the length. haha. That's what a good reader and some solid editing are for.

I need to cultivate this kind of self-awareness!

 

[Sedayne]

Your longer chapters don't drag

That's a mighty relief!

they just don't provide the satisfactory cut-off that I like to have, the breaking up of sections.

I will look into this and make appropriate adjustments. Thanks

 

[MattScho]

Another point to be made here: If it gets to audio books, and a publisher will want that, long chapters always throw me out of the story. I like breaks in text, but when the scene is strong, I don't need them. But I need them when I'm listening. I reject audio books, quite often, when the chapters are too long, 25 minutes to 50 minutes to read. Several I've seen are an hour and a half. I actually get angry at that length. May just be me.

 

[Sedayne]

Another point to be made here: If it gets to audio books, and a publisher will want that, long chapters always throw me out of the story. I like breaks in text, but when the scene is strong, I don't need them. But I need them when I'm listening. I reject audio books, quite often, when the chapters are too long, 25 minutes to 50 minutes to read. Several I've seen are an hour and a half. I actually get angry at that length. May just be me.

It's a good point.
But I've had some audio books (both on audible and borrowbox) where the tracks are different to the printed chapter breaks. Sometimes longer chapters are divided into shorter tracks, and one I listened to a while ago (might've been Saturday by Ian McEwan, but I can't swear to it) had the narrator announcing new chapters in the middle of audio tracks.
So try as you might to get chapters readably short, they might get butchered in the audio production.
But I agree it's worth considering listening attention span.

 

[E G Logan]

I’ve been wondering about chapter lengths.

That was my very first question when I 'discovered' Litopia. The longish thread might still be around somewhere. I don't remember that anyone considered audio books in it, though it's a useful addition.

There was a full range of views, but rough consensus was there is no 'correct' chapter length, except 'the right length for the action contained in it'. (I'm paraphrasing; forget exact words). That's not super-clear but gets clearer the more you think about it. And there was a call for variety, too.

Basically, you choose.

For me, if a chapter is too long, I find myself looking back through it to see if I've missed a chapter break. Thinks: 'Glory, is this all one chapter?' Equally, if there is a profusion of very short chapters, say a page and a half or two pages, usually involving a change of POV and/or location, such as often appears in destination thrillers or psychological thrillers, that strikes me as a bit lazy on the part of the writer. It can also be hard to keep track of who is doing what where.

 

[Sedayne]

That was my very first question when I 'discovered' Litopia. The longish thread might still be around somewhere. I don't remember that anyone considered audio books in it, though it's a useful addition.

There was a full range of views, but rough consensus was there is no 'correct' chapter length, except 'the right length for the action contained in it'. (I'm paraphrasing; forget exact words). That's not super-clear but gets clearer the more you think about it. And there was a call for variety, too.

Basically, you choose.

For me, if a chapter is too long, I find myself looking back through it to see if I've missed a chapter break. Thinks: 'Glory, is this is all one chapter?' Equally, if there is a profusion of very short chapters, say a page and a half or two pages, usually involving a change of POV and/or location, such as often appears in destination thrillers or psychological thrillers, that strikes me as a bit lazy on the part of the writer. It can also be hard to keep track of who is doing what where.

Just found your old thread from 2018! I'll have a read. Thanks.

 

[Hannah F]

I agree about longer chapters (2k+) needing scene breaks. Time only allows me to read in short bursts. I like stopping at a chapter ending but don't mind stopping at a scene break if I have to. I don't like having to stop mid-chapter. It means I'll have to re-read a bit when I return to the book or it's hard to follow/re-immerse myself.

 

[RK Wallis]

Another point to be made here: If it gets to audio books, and a publisher will want that, long chapters always throw me out of the story. I like breaks in text, but when the scene is strong, I don't need them. But I need them when I'm listening. I reject audio books, quite often, when the chapters are too long, 25 minutes to 50 minutes to read. Several I've seen are an hour and a half. I actually get angry at that length. May just be me.

I just stop wherever, lol, or when it's a boring moment. So many writers leave the boring bits in (not their fault, they're so hard to spot. I'm finding and cutting them constantly).

There was a full range of views, but rough consensus was there is no 'correct' chapter length, except 'the right length for the action contained in it'. (I'm paraphrasing; forget exact words)

Yes, that's a great point. What's the saying? "get in early and get out early?"

 

[Terry Lowell]

Lots if interesting stuff here. The simple but probably unhelpful answer is, as long as it needs to be to tell that portion of the story. That said i just reread Stepford Wives and that has no chapters, just three parts, reflecting the three act structure. I
would add that agent submission guidelines often ask for 3 chapters or 10000 words, which indicates they consider the two options to be roughly equal.

 

[Sedayne]

So many writers leave the boring bits in

Isn't that one of Elmore Leonard's rules? - leave out the bits that readers will skip - or something like that.

What's the saying? "get in early and get out early?"

I've never heard that before - cool.

 

[Sedayne]

I would add that agent submission guidelines often ask for 3 chapters or 10000 words, which indicates they consider the two options to be roughly equal.

So the ideal chapter length must be 3,333 words. I think we've cracked it!

 

[Sedayne]

So the ideal chapter length must be 3,333 words. I think we've cracked it!

Joking aside, @Terry Lowell makes a good point.

 

[Pamela Jo]

If you are going literary and have a good shot at cracking that publishing puzzle then long, short-won't put off your reader.

The shorter the chapter the faster the action. I want a fast paced story so I never go over 2k words. Or under 1k. Except I did once.... But I think I got away with it.,

 

[E G Logan]

Yes, that's a great point. What's the saying? "get in early and get out early?"

I think someone back in 2018 did mention that. Great, if not over-used.

agent submission guidelines often ask for 3 chapters or 10000 words,

Unless you're looking at US query guidelines – they often ask for as little as 5 or 10 pages. (I know, I've wondered that, too...)