Chapter length

[Shellby85]

Hi guys I'm just wondering how long do you consider a good length for a chapter.
I'm currently almost finished my first book and then i will be going through to break it up into chapters, some parts have already got the suspenseful ending to a chapter but others just need to be broken down. i am wondering word length a good spot to stop that chapter?

[Vimtuous]

I'd suggest at least keeping them a similar length. Other than that, there aren't really any rules to chapter length. Some writers have chapters that are only a couple pages and others can span over a hundred.
I prefer something that I can read in one sitting, just because it makes it easier to stop and take a break without stopping right in the middle of some action.

[SidnayC]

I have also researched this online while writing my book. The feedback I got was that there really should never be a set length for chapters. But they typically range between 5000-6000 words. The first chapter of my book is 9000 but the rest average out to around 5000.

[Brybear28]

I have discovered as a writer and a reader that I prefer longer books with chapter that are on the shorter side (15 pages or less). I feel like I can get more don't in less time that way, in both cases.

[Shellby85]

Awesome you are all about where I thought it would be
Thanks very much

[ipekbunsal]

I enjoy reading short chapters so that I don't feel stuck at a chapter. But if it has a good writing, it won't matter how long it is.

[Johntherobert]

A chapter really only needs to be around five pages front and back.

[sbcarlisle]

I find that chapters really vary in both my own writing and the books I read. I don't think there's really a proper formula for it; it should just be whatever feels natural.

[moderntimes]

Depends on the genre. Conventional mainstream novels tend to have long chapters. Action thrillers usually shorter chapters.

In the 3 mystery novels I've written, I put a chapter break at these spots: 1- a change of scenery, 2- a significant change of pace, and 3- a change of plotline. Here's a brief summary of the first chapters of my new novel:

1. Mitch in apartment murder scene (begins in medias res), 267
2. Backtrack to Mitch waking w. hangover, gets call from Duggan to see a murder site, The Slicer victim. 1189
3. Go to murder site, talk outside apt. 3220
4. Murder scene, vivid, bloody. 1637
5. Mitch and Duggan at hot dog restaurant, talk about Duggan’s change of persona 2244
6. Sees Cardozo w. Cheryl, her 18th bday, Cardozo asks Mitch for inside info from the cops 2248
7. Picks up tail leaving Cardozo’s, stops by Jimmie’s, cop is murdered 1785
8. Aftermath, Mitch goes to the cop shop, meets all other homicide cops 3677

By way of explanation, "Mitch" is Mitch King, my private detective protagonist, Duggan is Capt. Joe Duggan of Houston Homicide, etc.

Word count is listed so you can get an idea of the length. Some chapters of course are longer than others. I do a chapter break when the novel "needs" one, not based on word count.

-- 10 Aug 2014, 21:56 --

So you can get an idea of my writing style, it's very "modern" with brisk narrative and dialogue, urbane, sarcastic, and at times, very graphic -- I'm not writing a "YA" book. My books are for grownups. Here's chapter 1, edited for removal of the very graphic murder description. From this, in chapter 2, I reset the time frame back an hour or so, when "Mitch" is wakened from his drunken stupor by the Homicide cop Joe Duggan phoning...

From this brief example, you can see that I use short paragraphs, short, terse sentences, and fairly short chapters. This is of course just one author's style -- yours may differ. I'd recommend you not use any hard or fast rule of chapter length, instead let the flow of the book dictate the chapter breaks. I will however say that in my opinion, some modern novels have very lengthy chapters that could have used a break. Having long chapters doesn't make the writer a more "serious" author. It's all a matter of style, mine being abrupt and succinct...

Chapter 1

The efficiency apartment was neat and spotless, maintained by someone who took her student life seriously, a young woman with pride in modest surroundings. Inexpensive bookshelves lined the walls, filled to capacity with paperbacks and collegiate texts. Stacks of notebooks, a pristine desk and office-style cubicle, laptop and printer, family photos. A small flatscreen TV and combo DVD player on one shelf. Nearby bed made up, sheets tucked. Adjoined kitchenette gleaming, dining counter and two bar stools the same. Bathroom next, also clean, bright.

Except that the apartment was now an abattoir, every surface strewn with her body parts. A vile and perverted display, [very graphic description follows in this paragraph]

Diorama in blood, meant for us to absorb, for us all to bear witness.

I stood there a moment, stunned, unthinking. Then the stench and blasphemy and evil overtook me and I turned quickly, out the apartment door, choking, spitting up anything in my stomach onto the little lawn. Acidic coffee was all I could offer but the spasms persisted.

Hunched over and dizzy, I eventually regained my balance, deep breathing until I was fairly certain I wouldn’t simply run down the street screaming, continue running and screaming until I was spent, spent of energy and spent of the sordid life in which I found myself this day.

Instead, I steeled my resolve and walked back inside where Homicide Captain Joe Duggan and Detective David Meierhoff were patiently waiting.
---
Chapter 2

Morning had begun inauspiciously. One hour previous I was wakened by a rabid buzzing that disrupted my dreams, jumbled and hesitant though they were. I cautiously opened my eyes.

I’d fallen asleep—fallen adrunk, actually—propped in my office chair, feet on the desk, face twisted sideways against the headrest. I straightened from the drooping slouch I’d wedged myself into, cheek stuck from a patch of dried drool, pulling away from the leather with a sickening rip.

Was I drinking myself into a John Bonham exit? Time to cut back, you think?

If I could. If I could.

(etc.)

[annareads]

Then again, you could just pull an "As I Lay Dying" and have a chapter that's only a sentence long. Haha but unless you're going Faulkner-y and experimental, this is fantastic advice. The end of a chapter should either feel like a natural resting point or a natural, suspenseful, can't-turn-the-page-fast-enough cliffhanger point. Good luck with your novel! Keep us updated

[moderntimes]

That's good, anna. I'm now in the middle of having all 3 of my novels evaluated by a publisher. It could be a good thing, and hopefully a nice thing to see all 3 books under a new imprint.

A one-sentence chapter is used occasionally, although you'd really be very confident of your prose before you consider such a stunt, ha ha.

For my novels, being mystery thrillers, I end my chapters as a "taunt" to the reader to engage interest and make that page get turned. Such as...

“Don’t do it, Shindler!”

“Screw you!” He raised the crowbar above his head and charged toward us, screaming obscenities and threatening doom.

I reached under my shirt, pulled out the .45, and shot him twice.

(and)

We gloved up and slipped on disposable plastic booties. Then we passed the uniform cop guarding the door, our own private Cerberus, and descended into hell.

(or)

A small padded postal envelope was propped against the screen door. No stamps, no label, nothing written. I picked it up carefully by the edges. Something inside, heavy and metallic. I cautiously pried the flap open with my Kershaw, let the contents slide onto the concrete.

A Houston Police Officer’s badge, splattered with blood. Wrapped around it, a note, printed neatly, For Mitch, and the phrase Nemo Me Impune Lacessit.

or
Meierhoff stood up, irritated, started for his car. “Yeah, right. And I’m the Pope.”

“Don’t recognize you without the hat,” I told him, but he was already out of earshot.

Another fine icehouse afternoon blown. Maybe I’d someday learn to keep my mouth shut and not irritate my friends so readily.

(I try to end my chapters on a plot turn or an emotional peak.)

[RussetDivinity]

It depends on where the book is going. For online things, I generally write somewhere between 2000 and 2700 words. For the novels I'd like to see in print, they either end up being however long it takes to get all the information down or about 5000 words if I'm more focused on getting them even (often because I'm afraid I'm moving too quickly or if I have a certain word requirement).

[annareads]

Well you've certainly piqued my interest! I'm not big into thrillers but with all of those cliffhangers I really want to pick one up now just to KNOW.

[moderntimes]

Russet, my recommendation is to not set a word length for your chapters. Let the content, rhythm, and story set the tone of where to break for chapters.

Generally, a thriller or SF book, something with lots of action, will have shorter chapters. A more mainstream and "literary" book, longer chapters.

annareads, I appreciate your interest in my books. My first book, "Blood Spiral" is no longer available. However, #2, "Blood Storm", is available in Kindle (e-book) format via Amazon. (author "Sam Waas" -- my real name). Feel free to PM me for more about my new (and yet unsold) novel "Blood Vengeance". All 3 novels are of the "Mitch King Mystery" series, a modern private detective story line.

[littlebook]

I tend to have a liking for shorter chapters in case I need to abruptly stop, I will easily be able to pick up from where I left off.