Chapter Lengths.

[Mikaela]

So I'm reading Hyperion right now and it's very good but the length of the chapters is crazy. There are only 6 chapters in an almost 500 page book. How do you feel about the length of chapters? Does a long chapter give room to really expand a character without distractions? Or is it distracting in itself? I feel like it might say something about me or our society as a whole that short chapters are so much more appealing. You get that sense of accomplishment for having finished something plus it doesn't allow you to get bored if you're not crazy about a certain character or situation. What kind of format do you prefer?

[Jeremy Burgher]

I don't think that short chapters are necessarily more appealing, but I think that, in general, chapters within a novel are expected to act almost like a series of short stories, and therefore, can be expected to be of a certain length. It needs to set up the characters and conflict for that particular episode of the overall story, and needs to come to at least some sort of closing that will then create anticipation for the next episode, or chapter. Therefore, I'm most comfortable with them being somewhere in the 15-30 page range, but would be ok with a little less.

[Michelle]

Got my copy of Catch-22 today. $6 at Smith Family. It is thick! I didn't check the chapter length yet but I better get started!

[Mikaela]

Oh, Smith Family Bookstore, how I miss you. There is a used bookstore here but it has nothing on the ones in Oregon.

[Jeremy Burgher]

So far, I think everyone will be ok with the chapter lengths - there have been a couple that were only a few pages. It seems thick and dense, but I think it reads pretty smoothly and quickly.