Lord Baelish Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEvilKing Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuenjato Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 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). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krelian91 Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Very well then, since I'm doing single-POV chapters like Martin I'll stick with that lenght.Thank you for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrddin Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoë Sumra Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Mine were around 10K each in my first draft. In second draft I've broken it up into smaller chunks - I wouldn't like to speculate on the average, but I'd guess they range from 2K to 7K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JungianQueen Posted November 1, 2009 Share Posted November 1, 2009 Joining in on the thread! My chapters tend to run around 2-3k right now. On a first draft, I tend to get the idea out ASAP and go back to flesh out what needs filling in and cutting what needs to be cut. I usually end up adding more than I cut in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaerien Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEvilKing Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Started the new book for Nanowrimo. The small bit that I've written so far is about Thor fighting ninjas.Awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Baelish Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoë Sumra Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Yes, Alaerien; congratulations! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datepalm Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JungianQueen Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Started the new book for Nanowrimo. The small bit that I've written so far is about Thor fighting ninjas.Awesome.So so awesome . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JungianQueen Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diabloblanco18 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WrathOfTinyKittens Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaerien Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 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. :DThe next milestone is (will be) the first query I send out: I look forward to papering my wall with agent rejections. :DCurrently 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaerien Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 How is Nano going for everyone? I passed 13k last night at the cost of being woefully unprepared for my seminar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEvilKing Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 Uhh... yet to reach 1K. In my defence I've had a ridiculously busy and tiring week. Gotsta do some catchup over the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoë Sumra Posted November 5, 2009 Share Posted November 5, 2009 Um... not started NaNoing yet. May not start, in fact. After finishing my second draft the other week I'm rather spaced out. :((That was not intended to be a bad pun, btw.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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