Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies

by Sol Stein

It is an important part of designing a novel to influence the emotions of the reader. And as we know, the emotions of the reader are affected by suspense more than by any other factor. If you want to group your scenes into chapters, here are some guidelines: • Short chapters make a story seem to move faster. • Normally avoid chapters of fewer than three printed pages. They may not be long enough to engage the reader’s emotions. • Ideally, each chapter might end the way the movies used to end their weekly serials: with the hero or heroine in unresolved trouble. If you’re not familiar with those serials, use a soap opera as a guideline, with the end of each episode making you want to see what happens next.