Point Counterpoint offers differing literary views on various topics. This one discusses chapter length.
Chapter Length – Long and Short
Duke it Out
POINT
By S. L. Kotar
Of all the things which are critical to the success of a book, such as character names (unusual first name/simple last name); font (Times New Roman, aka the one that looks like a typewriter); point size (depends on how long or short you want the page count to be – no larger than 12, no smaller than 11); justification or ragged edges (which is another discussion, entirely), one subject that is generally omitted is chapter length.
Should it be long (ten pages, single-spaced), or short (a few sentences, possibly stretched out to a paragraph)? There are two ways to look at this riveting topic: from the perspective of the reader (critical to good reviews) or the comfort of the writer (without whom there would be no book). I shall begin with the READER.
It’s complicated. Many questions need to be taken into consideration. READER has just purchased a book, spending hard-earned money. They approach said BOOK with the attitude, “This better be good.” Unless, of course, they are one of those Minions who buy anything from a certain author no matter how much her/his quality has slipped since Fame corrupted Inspiration. We will dismiss them forthwith as they are poor judges of anything, unless you happen to be the Author they follow. If your book is a barnburner (page-turner), then long chapters work better because you’ve got them hooked. They want to absorb more in one sitting than, “I say hello, and you say good-bye.” Ten pages, then, is a good length.
While it is truism that readers are advised to stop reading in the middle of a page rather than at the end of a chapter because it makes it easier to pick up the thread of the plot when you come back to it, most people go chapter-to-chapter because those are the logical starting and stopping points. It also provides a certain satisfaction that you’ve used quality time wisely by announcing, “I read three chapters of the latest best seller last night,” rather than confessing, “I read 86 sentences of a book I forgot the title to this afternoon.”
You can see where I’m going with this. Ending at Chapter 3 is also easier to remember (presuming you can never find a bookmark when you need one and the last time you used that stray envelope on the dining room table to mark your place, the electric bill wasn’t paid that month). No one remembers they left off at, “June 25th, 7:00 P.M.” Worst case scenario, they think it was July 24th, 3:00 A.M. and resume from that point, becoming utterly confused because they just missed an entire month’s worth of PLOT. That tends to make them befuddled/annoyed and the reader never finishes the story. If they’re one out of 147,986 people (none of whom are related to you) who write reviews, they’re going to trash you. Incidentally, that staggering number rises exponentially to 436,911,088 (relatives included) who never make the effort to write ANY review.
Assuming the perspective of the WRITER, longer chapters present the opportunity to get all your thoughts out, augmenting them brilliantly with CHARACTERIZATION, guns on the wall (which has nothing whatsoever to do with moving the story along: reference: Chekhov – NOT the ensign from STAR TREK but the Russian author of the same surname), and incidental ACTION. A length of ten pages is freedom to soar. Short paragraphs also make it appear you ran out of ideas before you reached four pages. The only exception to this is if you come up with a pithy line of dialogue that begs to end the chapter early, proving not only your cleverness but announcing you are not bound to (your own make-believe) rules of convention.
Short chapters also tend to rely too heavily on “suspense.”
CHAPTER 10: The monster came out from under the bed. The little boy screamed.
CHAPTER 11: The little boy ran away. The monster slithered out the window.
CHAPTER 12: The parents found no sign of the monster. They missed the slime on the sill.
With nine and three-quarters pages left in a ten-page chapter, the writer can flesh out the story by adding the color of the monster (green scales reflected in the moonlight); the fact the boy’s teddy bear fell to the floor (and hurt its paw); the sound the boy’s bare feet make on the floor (rapid pit-pats and a THUD when he slips on the throw rug), and the entire dialogue between the sleepy (and irate) mother and father.
Ergo, Themis’s scales dip precipitously toward long chapters. And no one, READERS and WRITERS alike, dare mess with Lady Justice. She stands as a beacon of wisdom although, unfortunately, she has never been known to write a review.
Counterpoint
Chapter Length – Long and Short
Duke it Out
By Betsy Bennett
Not much to add here, that’s pretty much covered it, except for missing the MAIN POINT, my companion covered it all.
You create a chapter break when you need one, regardless as to whether the monster is crawling out the window (forgetting to mention the poor injured teddy bear.) If it’s two lines, or twenty pages, go for it. Let the author decide.
Remember, this is your work. Don’t ever be forced into a rigid schedule. “I can’t end the chapter now! It’s not at the requisite 10 pages! I’ll have to fill it with useless drivel I was expecting to use later!” Yikes.
Short chapters make the book read quicker. This might just be perception, but ask anyone, probably not my esteemed companion though, and they will say a short chapter makes the reader feel he/she is making progress in the book. Yeah, I’m tired. I want to go to bed, but the next chapter is only three pages, and I have to see about that teddy bear.
Chapter breaks can be used to help keep the reader reading. In this case, think of it as a television commercial break: And the murderer is… (fade to black, insert commercial). You want your readers (viewers) desperate to pursue the next scene and doing so, watching ads for ambulance chasing lawyers, great deals on insurance (save up to 50 percent!!) Or with pleas to ask your doctor about drugs you never heard of, most assuredly don’t need, and wouldn’t take anyway, especially considering the unbearably frightening list of side effects (including in rare instances death,)
Chapter breaks can be used to indicate time change. Six years later… it might say, which you’ll probably miss anyway and have to go back and check, because you’re confused why he is no longer in the military, she is no longer 14).
Chapter breaks can be used to indicate a change in point of view. His feeling on the upcoming wedding. Next chapter, her feeling on the upcoming wedding. Next chapter, the poor wounded teddy bear’s feeling on the upcoming wedding. It’s really best never to change point of view in the same chapter, certainly not the same paragraph, although I have done it (frequently) and (sadly) usually have to go back and either keep it in one POV or find some way to get a chapter break in there.
Chapter breaks can offer a reader a chance to take a deep breath. Phew! I finally got through the 100 year’s war. Let’s see what happens next. Long chapters can be off-putting for that reason. If the chapter is really long, it’s just as easy to set the book aside or find one with more manageable chapters.
Think of reading a book with no chapter breaks. Even the best book would get tedious, like spending time on an endless trans-Atlantic flight with a stranger who wishes to tell you all the minutiae of every golf game he ever played.
Don’t let anyone tell you chapter breaks aren’t important, they are. But it’s up to the writer to decide, regardless as to whether you think your relatives will write a review of your books or not, (they won’t, ever.)
And I am reading the next chapter right now.
I’m worried about that teddy bear.