Chapter length

by Carla Devereux
16th April 2014

Is there a guideline of how long should a chapter be? I've researched many books in the genre I enjoy writing and find a wide range of chapter lengths...!

I'm ranging around 6,000 words - is that too much?

Replies

Adrian started a discussion on this earlier, here:

https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/question/view/1664

Might be useful :)

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Jonathan
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Jonathan Hopkins
16/04/2014

Thank you for your feedback and support.

I do have a few chapters that are under 1,000 words dotted throughout the novel. The others are around the 6,000 words, give or take a couple of hundred.

Thank you

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Carla
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Carla Devereux
16/04/2014

It is not necessary for chapters to be uniform in length.

You would struggle to find chapters of more than twelve pages in most contemporary novels. Short chapters of five or six pages are common. Chapters can be as short as three, four pages in length, but it’s not advisable for them to be less than three pages.

However chapters of half a page or a page can be used to great effect. For example, to draw the readers’ attention to a vital part of the storyline and plot that involves the protagonist.

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16/04/2014