Chapter Word Counts

[akila]

Do you write your chapters so they have consistent word counts? My chapters tend to run around 6,000 words, give or take a couple of hundred words, but I have one chapter that is at 8,000 words. It is all on one topic and stands together well, but it is SO long. In total, my ms stands at 99,000 words (give or take a couple of hundred words depending on the day I'm editing it) and it's an adult mainstream fiction novel so I think the word count is just about right. I worry about that one chapter --- even though I think it reads well --- simply because it is an inconsistent length from the rest of the chapters in the book. Should I try and move the text to a different chapter or am I just being a worrywart?

[J. T. SHEA]

Yes Akila, you ARE just being a worrywart. Who says all the chapters of a book must be the same length, and why? Who even notices such things?

The few people who complain about such details always remind of the scene in the movie AMADEUS where the Austrian Emperor complains to Mozart that one of his musical compositions has too many notes!

[Margo]

Sorry, J.T. It can make a difference, especially in pace. Very long chapters can also make it harder to sustain tension and result in a tedious read. I also think genre makes a difference. I aim for a consistent chapter length, but I also don't chisel the target word count in stone. A chapter can be much longer or much shorter than the average, but that should be for a reason (directly related to the story and the desired effect on the reader), not because I just lost interest in the chapter and cut it off or because I was on a roll that day and wanted to turn every detail into a dissertation.

In general, I would suggest trying not to go much over 5,000 words a chapter. I'd heard this years ago, but I didn't understand why until I started doing a lot of critiquing and edits for other people. Those 12,000 chapters might be the pride of the writer, but it can be grueling for the reader, even if they are well written. It's a matter of shifts in the guided meditation.

But, akila, I don't think one chapter being longer is that big a deal.

[Guardian]

If you add checkpoints, breaks within the chapters, you can get away with longer chapters. I've read few 500-700 pages long novels which had only seven or eight chapters. And there are few novels which has only one chapter, no more. Chapters are just psyhological elements, nothing else. If you grab the attention of the reader, if you add checkpoints, it's really matter what the length of your work is.

But it's only my opinion. My fantasy is famous about it's long, twisted chapters (The average is 15-20k, but the longest is 60k with a reason. That behemoth is the opening chapter in the last volume, but it's the best of all too.). However my other WIP, my sci-fi is following the 4-5k per chapter approach as that work requires that and that work is not that artistic as my fantasy.

[Claudie]

I try to shoot between 2500 and 5000 for a chapter. I have the occasional exception, but I find keeping a somewhat consistent wordcount gives a better pace.

There's something else, too. It might seem silly, but... how often do you read late at night, and tell yourself "oh, there's only three pages left to this chapter. I'll finish it". Then there's a super hook at the end, and you find yourself reading way more than three pages, all the way until it's 4 am and you have to work in the morning.

Yep. Happens to me all the time. I feel shorter chapters help with this.

[J. T. SHEA]

Margo, Akila's question was about a variation in chapter length between 6,000 and 8,000 words, which I do not consider significant. Akila also gave the reason for the extra words, that the chapter is all on one subject and stands together well.

As it happens, I agree with you versus very long chapters and go the other way myself. My chapters are usually just over a thousand words long, like those of Arthur C. Clarke and James Patterson. As with those and other writers my chapter breaks are where other writers might use a blank line, what Guardian calls a checkpoint.

And all my chapters are titled and numbered and have a short quote under the title and are on a couple of contents pages at the start. You might call it bite-sizing! That also makes organizing and revising the books easier and pagination superfluous.

[Margo]

Margot, Akila's question was about a variation in chapter length between 6,000 and 8,000 words, which I do not consider significant. Akila also gave the reason for the extra words, that the chapter is all on one subject and stands together well.

As it happens, I agree with you versus very long chapters and go the other way myself. My chapters are usually just over a thousand words long, like those of Arthur C. Clarke and James Patterson. As with those and other writers my chapter breaks are where other writers might use a blank line, what Guardian calls a checkpoint.

And all my chapters are titled and numbered and have a short quote under the title and are on a couple of contents pages at the start. You might call it bite-sizing! That also makes organizing and revising the books easier and pagination superfluous.

Your second answer adds a lot to your first, J. So yeah, for the most part, I do think we agree. We usually do.

[wordranger]

I just go with the flow. I try not to be too long, because I don’t personally like long chapters. If my scene stops, I start a new chapter. That’s my rule. I make it as easy on my reader as possible. I have a few one-page chapters. No biggie. Most are five to ten pages… a nice easy read if you are reading a chapter before bed.

[cheekychook]

When I write I tend to develop a rhythm of sorts and the chapters will (unintentionally all come out at around the same length. I don't see a problem with there being variation between chapter lengths as long as the story merits whatever the length is at that given part. That said, if you have a chapter that seems way longer or is simply too high word-count wise, there's probably an easy solution. Even if the whole chapter sticks together well and concentrates on a particular event/character/whatever, there is PROBABLY a break somewhere, perhaps even mid tension, where you could end the chapter and start a new chapter for the conclusion of the segment. It's nice to have chapters that are little microcosms of the story, but it's also good to leave off at least some chapters with a thought that leaves the reader dying to find out what happens next. We've all read books and said "okay, one more chapter then I'm going to bed" only to get to the end of that chapter and think "Gah---can't stop now!" Don't be afraid to split up a longer chapter into two. Try it. See how it works. Good luck!

[Sommer Leigh]

Chapters can be tools to help with storytelling by controlling the pace of the events taking place within it. Generally, it is my opinion that they shouldn't be too long on average (about 5,000 words is a good length, give or take. No one is going to be counting as they are reading, but the reader might *feel* a chapter being longer or shorter than others) However, a chapter can also be used, as a tool, to inflict emotional tension in the words. For example, I was reading a book not too long ago that had a pretty serious build up of tension and then there was this great powerful scene followed by a chapter with one sentence on it. The sentence was dead cold, the exact emotion the main character was feeling at the end of the powerful scene that did not go her way. That one sentence surrounded by all that white space bottomed my stomach out and left me feeling that same empty, the world has fallen out from under me feeling the MC was feeling. It was awesome.

Not being that dramatic, a shorter chapter will make the pace feel faster while a longer chapter will stretch out the events and slow the reader and characters down.

All that being said, having one chapter that is a little longer than all the others that are generally the same isn't going to make or break anyone, especially if the extra length is necessary. I wouldn't worry about it too much, especially if this is not your final draft. Who knows what might change?

[akila]

Thanks all! This is INCREDIBLY helpful. Originally, I was aiming for 5,000 word long chapters but 6,000 seemed a better fit because I switch continuously between two POVs. I think I'm going to leave it as is and when I get feedback from beta readers, I might end up breaking it up. Thanks!

[J. T. SHEA]

My edits are to to remove the superfluous 't' I have an unfortunate habit of adding to Margo's name. Sorry, Margo!