Chapter Length

[PancaKe]

Throwing it out there, how long do you think chapters should be? Do you prefer to read a longer chapter that's taken a while to be worked on, or shorter but more regular chapters?

How long do you think chapters should be? How long, if you write, do you make them? Do you write in a certain font and measure by pages, or do you simply use a word count as a rough guide? Sure, not all chapters have to be the same length, but do you have a rough guide?

For me, I try to aim for above 4 pages when I'm writing. I usually write in size 10, Verdana, just because I'm so accustomed to seeing it on TPM in that font. But, I've started looking at my own chapters word length. I always thought 9 pages sounded impressive, but 3 000 something words isn't that impressive, what with old writers like Ryan (Last Exile) making mention that his chapters aimed to be 7 000 ++ words.

So just personal thoughts... I know at the end of the day its whatever works for your story, but still...

[Drago]

I definitely think that shorter, more frequent chapters are best. Just giving us a taste on a regular basis allows us to maintain our interest, and ensures that readers don't lose track of what's going on.
I myself am notorious for just unloading huge chapters after long periods, and I admit, if I was a reader, I'd be annoyed with that DragoKnight prick. It's hard to maintain your interest in something that has no regularity, y'know? Besides, you can better take everything in with short chapters. The longer it gets, the longer your reading session. And as a result, the more you skim through it.

I don't write long chapters by design, it just kind of pans out that way once I've gotten everything done in a particular chapter I wanted to do. And, in my current state of re-write, chapters that were once considered biggish are now even larger, due to my fleshing out the sentence structure. Big chapters can be unwieldy, and oftentimes it's probably just better to split the action up into multiple chapters. In that way, not only do you have the reader fresh and interested - but you've got yourself an opportunity for a cliffhanger before you've even finished. Good stuff.

[Cadmus]

I tend to write until I feel I've written enough. Whenever I write "Albel", it's usually in one go and then I come back to it over a few days to edit, add or even cut. I think I do prefer to keep my chapters short though. I think it makes it easier for anybody to just jump in and get into the story. I also tend to write more like a screenwriter rather than a proper prose writer, so I go for direct and not much on the details lol.

[Mewfour]

I always aim to have mine at 1000 words minimum, so mine are usually ~1200.

Of course that's never stopped me from writing the odd 11-page epics in PADS and Bloody Sword. That, my friends, is reserved for when shit hits the fan hardcore.

[Houndoom_Lover]

Chapters can be anything they want to be.

One word.

One page.

One Sentence.

One paragraph.

Two words.

Two Pages...

And so on and so worth. I write until I feel that the chapter wants to be done.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

I like to make really really short chapters because I don't like to describe the surroundings too much. Of course it can be argued if my passages in May May Come can even be called chapters because they're so short.

However, I like to read both long and short chapters. Long because I get a better grasp of the story that way and short because I don't always have time. It also depends on other content.

[Phoenixsong]

I guess people have preferences when it comes to what they want to read and what they want to write, but in the end a chapter is finished whenever it's finished. I may end up long, it may end up short, its length may change during future edits, but I'm not going to compromise the integrity of a chapter by artificially cutting it short or cramming it with filler. Not saying that anyone here does that, and I'm sure that if you prefer shorter chapters then your style will end up drifting toward chapters that naturally wrap up on the shorter side, but I know that my chapters tend to vary in length and I honestly don't see a need to make them fit into a mold if they're finished at whatever size they are. *shrug*

As for posting chapters, well. I can understand that people prefer frequent updates so that they can keep abreast of the story, but again, only if I really feel like the chapter has reached the correct length. As long as I didn't take absolutely forever to finish the chapters, I think that in the end the readers would appreciate well-structured, properly closed chapters over forced ones pumped out to meet some sort of "deadline".

...of course, my way around this is I don't plan to even start posting any of my fanfics until I'm finished with a presentable first draft. Then I've got each update ready to go and can post regularly without worrying about writer's block, loss of interest before I finish, other problems, etc.. No more leaving people hanging for me

[Dark Sage]

I'm only speaking for myself, but my chapters averager twenty-five pages, doublespaced, Times New Roman font, font size 12, Microsoft Word format. It usually covers two posts on the article where I'm posting it.

I've seen chapters that are shorter and ones that are longer. It is a matter of preference.

[Chris 2.1]

Mine are usually between 11 and 20 pages on MS Word. I like chapters to be about 10 pages. I like really indulging in a big chapter.

[Gavin Luper]

Okay, how did I miss this one as well?

I think chapter length can vary, and maybe it should, too: it's nice to read a big long chapter at times and yet short, powerful ones can be very effective too.

When I was writing LTL in 2002ish, I used to aim for something like 2700-3200 words. Over time, the chapters have tended to get bigger, with some of them around 10,000 or so words, and of course, the infamous Chapter 58, which blew out to a whopping 21,000+ words or something ridiculous like that.

When I write LTL now - or anything, really - I allow for a broad spectrum of chapter lengths, but a standard chapter would usually be something in the league of 3000 - 5000 words for me.

As for when I read, about the same spectrum applies, though if something is truly engaging, it can be very long and I shouldn't notice the pages flying by.

[Kyuuketsuki]

I just write the chapter until I reach a point where I think the story for this chapter is over, so it ranges, but mostly my chapters are short.

[ChobiChibi]

I like longish chapters... But they need certian things to keep me 100% interested. Veriety is very important. I love chapters that don't just focus on one thing, or one person, or one day. I guess you could call that pacing... But yeah...

The first two chapters of a fic I've been working on are around the 3000 word mark, which seems quite long to me. Probably because my RPG posts are about 1000 words on average ^^; I'm really struggling with my 3rd chapter though. I think the idea of not keeping an average word count is bugging me subconciously... There's nothing wrong with short chapters, it's just my brain doesn't seem to understand that ><

I'm quite proud of this fic though... It's the most words I've ever written for a fic, and it's only 2 and a bit chapters. Happy days :3

[Mew Master]

When I do a story, I usually try to have an idea as to what exactly I want in a particular chapter.

For Dragonoid my chapters had a fairly weak structure for what I wanted, but was able to break down the over all story into parts that made it flow and work.

For some of my other writings, it involves breaking the story down into what I wanted to accomplish each chapter.

For Forsaken, I know what I want to write for every chapter, and lately I've been able to solidify what I wanted to do, although the original writings are over... four years old themselves.

My rule of thumb is to try and make a chapter around 20 pages or so (+/- 2-3 pages of course). And only one one occasion did it have to be broken down into 3 posts.