Lengthy Chapters

[SerenadeSP]

Today I was working on my Fanfic, Heroic Potential, and realized that one of my chapters far exceeded the normal length of the others. This one in particular is about 20 pages on Word, while the others were only about 10-15. At the moment, I'm trying to see where I could cut off the chapter so that it would make sense/be good for dramatic effect, though I'd end up with one chapter having 12 pages while the other has about 8-11. But I'm not sure if the momentum is lost in between chapters.

Then I was wondering, how do you feel about lengthy chapters?

I personally I like to write shorter chapters mostly because I don't people to stare at the computer screen for over an hour trying to read my story. But I wanted to see others opinions on this.

 

[Dragonfree]

I don't think there's anything wrong with long chapters where the story calls for it. My own chapter lengths vary wildly, but chapters 47-50 of TQftL were all around twenty pages, for instance.

That said, when I was originally writing it, I meant to put what ended up as chapters 46, 47 and 48 all in one chapter and only split it up when I realized it had become monstrously long (i.e. it was approaching forty pages). If you find yourself actually having been stuffing too many events into the chapter, it definitely makes sense to try to split it up, but if it just takes that long to make the point it's supposed to make, there's no real sense in awkwardly trying to cut it up in the middle, really.

 

[Griff4815]

I have nothing against lengthy chapters, as several of my readers well know. =P Awhile back, I had several chapters which required two posts to post them and I don't think that ever stopped any of my readers from reading. If it did, nobody ever mentioned it. My view is to use however much or however little you need in order to tell the portion of the story that you want to tell, length be damned. If you need twenty pages and breaking up the chapter would just cause the story to lose momentum, then I'd keep it as twenty straight pages.

 

[SerenadeSP]

I don't think there's anything wrong with long chapters where the story calls for it. My own chapter lengths vary wildly, but chapters 47-50 of TQftL were all around twenty pages, for instance.

That said, when I was originally writing it, I meant to put what ended up as chapters 46, 47 and 48 all in one chapter and only split it up when I realized it had become monstrously long (i.e. it was approaching forty pages). If you find yourself actually having been stuffing too many events into the chapter, it definitely makes sense to try to split it up, but if it just takes that long to make the point it's supposed to make, there's no real sense in awkwardly trying to cut it up in the middle, really.

I do think I'm stuffing too many events into this chapter (around 3 or 4) where I can easily just make it two each. That's probably why I feel uncomfortable with this chapter, not so much that it's longer than usual, but that there's too much going on at once.

I have nothing against lengthy chapters, as several of my readers well know. =P Awhile back, I had several chapters which required two posts to post them and I don't think that ever stopped any of my readers from reading. If it did, nobody ever mentioned it. My view is to use however much or however little you need in order to tell the portion of the story that you want to tell, length be damned. If you need twenty pages and breaking up the chapter would just cause the story to lose momentum, then I'd keep it as twenty straight pages.

That's true too. I guess if the story's good then readers will always be reading, right?

I'm really having a hard time judging what I should do with this chapter. Do either of you mind looking over the part I have finished? I'm only missing the ending of the chapter, which I estimate to be 3 more pages, but I can summarize what happens at that point. (warning: Yugioh fic)

 

[Kutie Pie]

Ha ha, I'm rather known for lengthy chapters ^^. It could be because I have so much stuffed into one chapter, but maybe it's because I just love writing so much, when I feel the need to end a chapter, I'll end it. Though I have broken up chapters before.

My longest chapter I've ever written, to date (and in my entire life), is 49 pages. That, when I separated it into separate posts, equaled up to four posts. It's not the record-breaking number of posts for a chapter on this thread, though, I know of longer chapters, but it was really meaty. And I couldn't have broken it up into a separate chapter if I had to, it just had to be a single chapter.

Personally, I don't mind short chapters, but I just love reading so much, I don't care how long a chapter is just as long as I'm entertained. It's all about the author's appeal, I suppose, if they wanted a long chapter or not. And being a writer myself, I'll be one of those who love long chapters, but knows my limits.

If you feel it needs to be broken up, go ahead, as long as you make sure the next chapter does tie in to the previous in some way. But hey, it's your story, your style. I'm not going to judge.

 

[SerenadeSP]

Ha ha, I'm rather known for lengthy chapters ^^. It could be because I have so much stuffed into one chapter, but maybe it's because I just love writing so much, when I feel the need to end a chapter, I'll end it. Though I have broken up chapters before.

My longest chapter I've ever written, to date (and in my entire life), is 49 pages. That, when I separated it into separate posts, equaled up to four posts. It's not the record-breaking number of posts for a chapter on this thread, though, I know of longer chapters, but it was really meaty. And I couldn't have broken it up into a separate chapter if I had to, it just had to be a single chapter.

Personally, I don't mind short chapters, but I just love reading so much, I don't care how long a chapter is just as long as I'm entertained. It's all about the author's appeal, I suppose, if they wanted a long chapter or not. And being a writer myself, I'll be one of those who love long chapters, but knows my limits.

If you feel it needs to be broken up, go ahead, as long as you make sure the next chapter does tie in to the previous in some way. But hey, it's your story, your style. I'm not going to judge.

Yeah I see what you mean. I'm the type of person who prefers an average length chapters, but doesn't mind the occasional 20-page one if it is needed. Though, for this chapter, I don't think that's needed. Now that I looked over the chapter again I found the perfect place to split it without any momentum loss at all. Thanks again for your help everyone.

 

[spareux]

I plan too far ahead to run into this problem usually, like with Creed I know pretty much what every chapter's going to be - when I realize something significant is approaching I can split it into two whilst perhaps adding a smaller climax between the two things.

 

[MacKareLosity]

In my experience, there are some issues associated with the length of chapters.

Firstly, you have readers. They are not only into what your story is talking about, but how you structured it can also affect them. I tend to keep my chapters as short as possible (around 6 pages). If your chapters are mid-length (20 pages or so) then that's perfectly fine. After finishing a chapter, there are chances readers will flip to the next chapter and count how many pages it has. If there are just a few pages, they will feel urged to continue reading and not put your book down. If there are too many, the readers will feel worried about continue reading on and will set the book aside for another day.

In terms of the plot, it is best if you keep your chapters short-med length. Cramming too much action in one chapter can exhaust your readers and they will achieve a headache if they managed to finish this chapter. Also, you can think that dividing a story into chapters is giving your story a 'pause'. One chapter should contain events that relate to one another and introduce another event in the end. It can dull your reader's senses if, for example, one chapter contains a battle with a trainer, go to Pokemon Centre, another battle scene with a trainer unrelated to the first.

In your case, the dramatic effect, you can increase the dramatic effect by limiting the size of your chapters, but you must know where to cut. I usually start the chapter with a few description, quickly build towards the action, initiate action, end action, end chapter. Try ending chapters with your characters starting to experience or learn something e.g. defeat, regret. Ending in quotes work as well, e.g. "What have I done?" Depending on how you want to make your story dramatic, you can end the chapter with surprises e.g. Betty got into the car, got the feeling she is being followed, accidentally run over a cat, stepped out of the car, car explodes, someone planted a bomb.