I'm really curious, I am getting to the point of being able to write longer chapters, but I would like to know something. Would you like more frequent, shorter chapters or less often, longer chapters? I am able to get out a short chapter everyday so far, as long as I don't have extreme insomnia like I had the last two days, longer ones will probably be less often. I know when I'm reading I prefer longer chapters, but that is mostly because I read way too damn fast. I will post my next chapter sometime today.
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Comments
Yes
The answer to the question do you like chapters to be long or short is always yes.:)
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Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Mathematician's Answer
Sometimes the mathematician's answer really is appropriate.
-- Daphne Xu (a page of contents)
Average reading speed
Most adults read between 200 and 250 wpm. That translates to about 12000 to 15000 words per hour. For that reason, when I publish and need to break my work into chapters, I try to keep my chapters in that range.
I figure that most people would like to finish a chapter when they read and breaking it up into one hour segments seems reasonable.
I know that I read in that range. That said, I've been known to knock out a 60,000 word book in a single sitting on my day off and have nothing else to do.
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Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
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Ich bin eine Mann
I'll vote for 'medium'
Just because math leaps off the page when I look at it... 200 words per minute times 60 minutes per hour gives you 12 thousand words per hour, not 12 hundred.
To get back on the topic, though, I find very short chapters choppy, and very long ones to be 'endless', so I would prefer medium length. Of course 'medium' is undefined, so I had a look at a couple of novels on my bookshelf, and they have chapters in the 8 to 15 thousand word length (Calculated as words per line times lines per page times pages per chapter.) So, I would say 10 to 12 thousand words would make a decent chapter, for me.
On the other hand, I read books for pleasure, and I don't plan or schedule a set period for reading, so I don't stop at the end of a chapter just because it is there. I will happily read several chapters in a sitting if I like the book, and if I like the book I won't really notice if I have read 12 very short chapters or 2 very long ones.
In terms of the serial publication style that is used here on BCTS, however, I have a definite preference for stories that are serialized in larger chunks. I find it tiresome to fire up the computer and navigate to the right page to get a 2 page update every day. I would prefer one 20 to 30 page update every two weeks instead.
Really, though, it is up to the author to decide how or even if the work should be divided. I'll be happy to read good stories, regardless of chapter length.
Chapter length?
Chapter length isn't as important as content. Remember that chapters are like mini plots in the story. Like in Cesar's quote, "Veni, Vidi, Vici," I came, I saw, I conquered.
In the beginning you state the desire, need or idea (Veni...You came) and begin working toward that goal.(Vidi...You saw) Then you work to overcome any obstacles that get in the way. Then finally at the end of the chapter you succeed or fail in the original goal (Vici...You conquered). Usually the chapter will also contain some foreshadowing or build up toward the next chapter.
As far as chapter lengths go, the average for the writing industry is said to be 3500 words. But remember that is an average, it is possible to have a complete chapter with less words or one with many more.
We the willing, led by the unsure. Have been doing so much with so little for so long,
We are now qualified to do anything with nothing.
Shortest Chapter
The shortest chapter I ever saw consisted of one word (apart from the chapter title).
-- Daphne Xu (a page of contents)
Personally
I prefer more frequent smaller chapter that require 20-30 minutes, because as I read many stories in a week, if the waiting time is too long I sometimes lose the grip on the story.
20-30 min to read a chapter...
Even if you read at the snail's pace of say 200 words per minute your 20-30 mins of reading would be 4000-6000 words. So I guess you really need to define what you consider a smaller chapter?
We the willing, led by the unsure. Have been doing so much with so little for so long,
We are now qualified to do anything with nothing.