We have moved to new forum software and posting here is closed!

PLEASE BOOKMARK THE NEW FORUMS

Posted By: Middy03 Feb 20, 2005 - 08:59 pm

I know with different books the length of a chapter varies. But I wanted to know is what is the average length of a chapter. I heard it was 900 words.

Posted By: gnollslayer Feb 20, 2005 - 09:58 pm

Nine-hundred words is barely three pages. I think it's a little longer than that for most books. Of course, you never know: my chapters vary from six-hundred words to almost five thousand.

Posted By: aldan Feb 21, 2005 - 12:41 am

Ah, but some are barely a page or two of manuscript, too, and those bring the average down rather quickly.

Posted By: cleasterwood Feb 21, 2005 - 02:57 am

Most of my chapters are longer than 10 pages. I think I only have one or two that are really short (about 4-5 pages) It really depends on the scene I'm writing as to how long the chapter ends up being. Since I head hop it usually changes to a new chapter with a new character's POV or at least I've entered a # to denote a change in perspective. It's really up to you how long to make them but I'd suggest not making them all short or long. Vary the length a little bit and make sure you hook the reader quick because most agents only ask for the first 3 chapters so that's all you have to make an impression. More often than not though you only have about 3 paragraphs to effectively hook the agent/publisher so use caution.

Posted By: Middy03 Feb 21, 2005 - 05:20 am

Thanks for the info

Posted By: Magus Feb 21, 2005 - 07:07 am

Only 900 words? I thought it was much much more. Then again... I have been reading a lot of Stephen King lately and his books are notably longer with about the same or fewer number of chapters.

Posted By: Middy03 Feb 21, 2005 - 08:44 am

900 words was what I was told, that is why I'm trying to figure out the average length.

Posted By: chowder Feb 22, 2005 - 02:17 am

I write YA and chapters range between 1800-2400 words.

Posted By: Manji Feb 22, 2005 - 04:46 am

A chapter is as long as it takes to say what you wish to say.

Posted By: Middy03 Feb 22, 2005 - 08:17 am

Thank you for the info.

Posted By: Magus Feb 22, 2005 - 01:22 pm

I've seen chapters in books that last only a page or two. I've seen others that stretch into almost one hundred pages. It really is as long as it needs to be to tell that part of the story. Think of each chapter as a kind of scene... or related section of the story. Make it what it has to be.

Posted By: Aeawyn Feb 24, 2005 - 04:33 pm

Im reading Stephen King too now ...sorry for off topic.

Chapters i read usually last about 6-8 pages, average.

Posted By: Magus Feb 24, 2005 - 05:10 pm

Hehehehehehe... Not Stephen King chapaters...



Which book?

Posted By: gnollslayer Apr 04, 2005 - 05:07 pm

I just finished an 8,289 word chapter. This is pretty long for me, but I'm fairly certain other writers have done 'em a lot longer, and frequently.

Posted By: aldan Apr 04, 2005 - 08:30 pm

Some of my posts seem to almost get to that length, at least to other people, they do...

Posted By: Talon Sinnah Apr 05, 2005 - 07:18 am

Yeah tell me about it. Once you cut out all the spelling corrections, sarcasm, and words others can not understand then they turn out pretty short. Of course he spends most of his time correcting mine and Magus's errors so the universe stays balanced.

Posted By: Magus Apr 05, 2005 - 05:41 pm

Yeah... like how it should be Magus' and not Magus's.

Posted By: Gnollslayer Apr 05, 2005 - 11:48 pm

Nope, Magus, you're wrong. For names that end in "s" you still have to include the "s" after the apostrophe. Look it up in "The Elements of Style."

Posted By: Magus Apr 06, 2005 - 12:39 pm

No. This is basic grammer from my ol' days at Hadly. When there's a name that ends in an "S" and you show posession you just add an apostrophe without another "S".

Magus's mind is made up. See?



Can anybody back me up on this?