However, as a new author, I’m not sure you would get away with that. Daniel Defoe wrote the book Moll Flanders without dividing it into chapters at all, so in theory, you could say that the entire book consisted of just one chapter. There’s also no real rule that says a chapter can’t be longer than 5,000 words.
It loses its effect if you regularly do it. The element of surprise at finding a chapter that consists of a sentence, or even just a word, will make readers sit up and take note. Writers sometimes use extra-short chapters such as ones that are a sentence or two long for emphasis. Chapter Length Rule 1: There Are No Rules Most of them say that trying to keep the chapters within a certain length range is helpful to the reader. As a general guideline, chapters should be between 3,000 to 5,000 words.Īll of them agree that the chapter length should be defined by the story and that any chapter length targets you decide on are merely guidelines. Most agree that under 1,000 words would be rather short and that over 5,000 might be rather too long. Some will tell you 2,500 words is the average, while others will say that 3,000 to 5,000 word chapters are more likely to be the norm. What Do Most Writers See as a Good Average Chapter Length?
Admittedly, some published authors have done just that, but your readers may find it a little odd. However, it doesn’t make much sense to have one chapter that takes up a major part of the book while other chapters are much shorter.
The important thing is to end each chapter at the end of a scene, allowing your reader to save the next “episode” for another time.
Famous books by word count tv#
Unlike TV series, you aren’t limited to a certain amount of airtime, so some important scenes may require longer chapters. Each chapter will consist of one or more scenes that contribute to the development of the story. What will happen in each chapter, and how much has to happen before you move on to the next chapter? How many chapters will you need before you reach your target word count? It’s Up to You – Within Reasonīefore you decide your average chapter length, it’s a good idea to think about the purpose behind dividing a book into chapters. Once you know what your book will be about, it’s time to start planning the structure of the story. You’re writing your first novel, and you know you must shoot for around 80 to 95 thousand words.
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