I won't lie, this is going to be a very brief chapter, but I know that some people have questions about the length of a chapter and where to leave off and all that good stuff so I'm going to talk very quickly about that. I'll keep the introduction short because, let's me honest, you're not here to listen to me prattle on about nothing. Without further ado, let me begin.
1. Length
Here's something that I really want you to think about. People stress themselves out in planning how long their chapter should be and if their followers will be disappointed if one is shorter than another or even annoyed that they have to spend thirty minutes reading a chapter versus fifteen. . . . Here's my tip: don't stress!
Planning is great, but one thing you should never try and dictate is the length of your chapters. If you do, your writing will become constricted. It's no fun trying to fill a chapter with meaningless nonsense so that you can reach two thousand words and it's even worse trying to stuff an intense scene into one chapter for the sake of consistency.
In fact, I am a true believer that a variety of chapter lengths makes the story seem better, almost. You'll probably notice in most novels that the chapters get longer as the story progresses because more is going on. Likewise, some chapters are very short to put emphasis on things. In a book I read, one of the chapters only had one word because the author wanted a huge emphasis on that word. In another, the chapter was absolutely blank because the character whose perspective it was from had died and the author wished to emphasise that in the silence of their thoughts.
All in all, the writing should come first. Stop the chapter when it feels natural, not because you've typed more words than you wanted to.
2. Transition
People often struggle to find a natural way to end their chapter and transition into the next. I'm going to give you some tips on where to continue. Well, I'll give you three.
a) Move on to another chapter when a major scene is complete. Whenever you need to switch the focus to another important matter, it's a great opportunity to transition.
b) You can switch scenes right in the middle of action or right before a big reveal. Who said cliff-hangers had to be at the very end of your story? They are used all the time in books at the end of chapters so that readers keep reading to find out how a situation will end. This is a wonderful way to transition.
c) My last tip for transitioning is to end the chapter with a thought, question, or realization. Allow your readers to think. Often these conclusive thoughts aren't put in the middle of a chapter because it slows it down. At the end of the chapter, take advantage of the word "end". Throw in what your character is thinking or how they feel about everything that just happened.
Aside from that, just stop the chapter when it feels natural and right. You should know when the chapter is starting to drag on and you'll need to find a way to conclude it then.
See? I told you this chapter would be short. It's pretty basic stuff but, alas, where there are questions I must supply some answers. The title didn't lie: to me that is literally all you need to know about chapter lengths. So thanks for reading and anyone who has voted and commented! You guys make my day.
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Your Guide to Writing the Perfect Story
Non-FictionAs the title states, this is your tutorial, created by me, to writing a story to the very best of your abilities. By carefully reading through the following pages, you can enhance your skills and clear your path to becoming the great author that yo...
