Is there an ideal chapter length?

[E.J.]

Is there an ideal chapter length? Should all chapters be roughly the same length? I have twenty chapters and they range from 10 to 20 pages. I feel as if they should all be similar lengths but some just don't want to be... is this a common query, and does it really matter? What does everyone think?

[[deleted user]]

My chapters are between 1400 - 2200 words. I don't know about page length. I write novellas mainly - my longest fiction book is 40,000 words. I don't know if that makes a difference. I don't like really long chapters but hate really short ones too. I think they should be somewhat the same length, personally, but it doesn't matter if some are a little different. I notice I get frustrated when reading a really long chapter when I want to put the book down because I'm not enjoying it, but feel I can't stop until I get to a new chapter. If someone is enjoying your book they probably wouldn't care much about chapter length. But that's just what I think.

[J.S.]

My chapters are so different between each of them. I do have separators, which I have cut down tremendously. I have a full novel I suppose, 108k words? So I have multiple chapters with multiple sections.

[Jon]

Certainly no fewer than two words. My rule of thumb has always been to *try* keeping the length so that a reader can finish the chapter on the toilet without doing themselves a disservice. My other thumb's rule is to make each chapter its own short story (yeah, that works once or twice). My last book breaks chapters down by date, to show the passage of time, a technique I feel obligated to remind agents and publishers makes for a fast-paced, cerebral thriller that calls to readers from the shelf! In my next book (currently in outline), the chapters delineate a change in POV or scene, but I still try to keep 'em down to under 10-15 pages each.

It doesn't mean I'm right, though. YMMV, depending upon the mood and pacing of your story.

[K.A.]

I seem to come to a natural stopping point on a regular basis at around 4000-5000 words. Those are fairly long chapters, but that makes a 75,000 word novel 15 chapters long and a 100,000 word novel 20 chapters long, which is nice & neat and everything.

[William]

A chapter is the next step of idea organization after the paragraph, isn't it?
Once your idea is complete, the chapter is finished.
I don't think you need to worry about how long it is.

[Marina]

The number of pages is quite a relative point - everyone uses different fonts, spacing, etc. when making the first draft. My chapters vary from 3900 to 4800 words, and the whole book is 119k.
Ideally, you should feel when there's an ideal moment to pause, making the last phrase a cliffhanger or just meaningful with a promise for the further events development.

[Judy]

I always worry that my chapters are too long but then so are my books, which is fairly common in the genre of fantasy. 3000-6000 words is common for me.

As I start to look at editing my next book, I may try to break up things a little differently.

[E.J.]

Thanks for your replies, everyone - I have tended to follow my instincts which go pretty much with what William says, I suppose; that the idea (or my case the scene, or a series of related scenes either taking place on the same day or with a similar theme/event within the story) has it's own length and I know when it is complete, even if I tend to feel uneasy about the fact that some are much longer than others. I will stop worrying about it now!

I just wondered what other people thought and if there was a standard rule of thumb - suspected that there wasn't and I think that has pretty much been proven here.

Thanks for your input, everyone - and if you are someone about to comment, please do carry on, the more the merrier! I find it very interesting to see how differently we all work.

[Eric]

My chapters area about 2000 words long and end with a hook to get the reader interested in keeping reading. Personally, I think in our age, people prefere shorter chapters, shorter paragraphs. TV and the media and Twitter have just programmed us that way.

[Fraser]

Mine vary, but I usually try to end them where there's a cliffhanger or a new development of some sort.

[C.P.]

I try to keep mine to 12-18 pages in Times New Roman 12 pt, double-spaced. But I have seen books where each scene is a chapter, making the chapters 3-5 pages long.

So make them roughly consistent, at whatever length. More than 20 pages in Times New Roman 12 pt double-spaced is probably too long if you are working with an outside editor or agent.

But above all, end on a cliff-hanger, as suggested. You want the reader to keep reading, right?

[Richard]

Mine can vary quite a bit. From 2000 words, down to one that ran about 600 in my second book. Chapter breaks occur when the story pauses, as S.L. says above. There are no rules beyond the ones your story tells you.

[E.J.]

Thanks again for your input, everyone - I've stopped worrying now! I will go with what 'feels' best for the story.