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Boarders Writing a Novel Thread 3


Gabriele

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It depends on how you structure the chapters. In one story I wrote, I started a new chapter for each change in POV, like Martin. Then, my average chapter length was about 2'500 words. In my current novel, I have 3-4 POVs per chapter, so the average length is about 6'000-6'500. There isn't a set length that is "right". Don't try to increase the length of a chapter with pointless filler.

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How many words, usually, are your chapters long?

The longest chapter I wrote has 2.400 words, and yet seems a bit short to me...

I remember reading somewhere that chapters are generally 2K - 5K, although epic fantasy can often run longer than that.

Some chapters in The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas are like 2 or 3 pages long, so you can definitely get away with shorter chapters.

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How many words, usually, are your chapters long?

The longest chapter I wrote has 2.400 words, and yet seems a bit short to me...

Mine average between 8,000 and 10,000. Big chapters sometimes reach 12,000, though rarely; the smallest can be as low as 3,000-4,000. The reason the average chapters are that long is that I generally have 3-4 POVs per chapter, each character/event sequence complimenting or contrasting the others. The shorter chapters are generally climatic sections, with 1-2 POV in a single location.

Chapter length really depends on what sort of story you are telling. I never really worry about length because I have plenty of breaks within those longer chapters (anywhere from 8-13).

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How many words, usually, are your chapters long?

The longest chapter I wrote has 2.400 words, and yet seems a bit short to me...

I've read books where chapters can be a page or 20 pages.

My own range between 2000-5000, with most around 3500 words. (This is for epic fantasy)

I think it depends on your genre. Thrillers tend to be shorter and faster paced. Fantasy can get away with longer chapters.

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Congratulations, Alaerien. It's always a nice feeling to finally finish something like that. :)

I've finally found someone other than my brother to read my novel for me. She has read the first couple of chapters and seems quite positive about it (and she's not the sort to lie to make me feel better, thankfully).

I finished another chapter in the last couple of days. Things are coming along nicely. I don't think I've ever enjoyed writing a story as much as I'm enjoying writing this one. It's a good feeling.

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Started the new book for Nanowrimo. The small bit that I've written so far is about Thor fighting ninjas.

Awesome.

Yup, me too. But no ninjas. Yet.

I was going to try and give a push to Totally Stuck Project but its stubbornly totally stuck, so something new it is. Its only a very loose idea so its kind of fun to not know where its going. I only wrote a couple paragraphs yesterday but i'm going to tackle it this evening. So far its someone looking for someone (who is dead) in a fantasy early 19th c in something thats a cross of the Balkans and Persia.

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Enormously pleased with myself: I finished revising my novel yesterday - the one I've been stressing out over since April. :) It's now out with beta readers.

congrats! Has to be a wonderful feeling. I haven't finished any manuscripts for a book yet. I've done a metric buttload of short stories, but I'm gearing up to change that. I think you really have to have a certain stamina to write a novel. I envy you!

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I went back to the first novel I ever (seriously) started writing for this year's NaNo, and so far it's been going swimmingly. I've got three days worth of word count written so far, and none of it is rushed garbage, or even work that would be wanting of substantial revision before asking someone else to read it and give their opinion. Of course, that's only because I cheated and started writing in late October, but with Dragon Age coming out tomorrow and likely to devour a huge chunk of my free time this month, I figure I was justified. Such is life.

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NaNoWriMo is going to hopefully give me the push to get my WIP either done or in a state somewhat resembling it... at this point, I'm not worried about revisions, but just about getting the words down in a form that makes some sense.

The way I write tends to involve heavy rewriting anyway, so it's pretty slow... but hopefully, it means less revision later.

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Thanks folks! Still walking on clouds. I am currently eating the tiramisu of glory - the reward I promised myself many many months ago for when I finally finished revisions. (Tastes like ... victory.)

congrats! Has to be a wonderful feeling. I haven't finished any manuscripts for a book yet. I've done a metric buttload of short stories, but I'm gearing up to change that. I think you really have to have a certain stamina to write a novel. I envy you!

Thank you! I've actually been pretty lucky when it comes to completing manuscripts. I finished the first draft of my first novel around my 16th birthday, and once you've finished a first draft, all that fear and "will I ever write a novel?" doubt goes away. For me, it was a tremendous confidence boost - I don't doubt any more that I'll finish things: if I start a first draft, it will be finished. I've been kicking out first drafts every 1-2 years since then.

But this novel #3 is the first one I've ever done serious revisions to, and it's forced me to learn a whole new skill set. Plus it took me over six months just to revise, and I despaired of ever finishing. And I think I'm finally over my fear of showing my work to people. So this is a really big milestone for me. :D

The next milestone is (will be) the first query I send out: I look forward to papering my wall with agent rejections. :D

Currently doing Nanowrimo as a Nano rebel. My epic fantasy stalled out at 30k early this year, and I've added on about 4k so far.

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