I'm shortening my overlong chapters but they now look too short to me. They're ranging between 4 and 15 pages double-spaced and my instinct is to join some of them back together again. My chapters were previously 30-50 pages each and I know that is too long, but to be so short seems wrong. Help!
My chapter lengths vary from 300 words to 2200. But I found that the length of the chapters was less important. I wrote until I reached a natural conclusion to that line of plot then moved on, though I did attempt to make most of my chapters end in somekind of cliff hanger.
My intention there was if the reader only wanted to read 1 chapter they could, but they would also want (hopefully) to keep reading on a few more
Don't get me on chapter My first chapter is 22 pages long. Been told that's too long.
Dam you chapter lengths
In contemporary novels it is hard to find a chapter of more than fifteen pages in length.
I have modelled my chapter length on Sharon Creech, who is a brilliant award winning author. Her chapters are very short. Many are half a page to five or six pages in length.
A chapter title should be a signpost, to what the chapter is about. Long chapter titles often mean they contain more than one dramatic event.
To help you keep a rein on the length of chapters, ask yourself:
Who or what is the chapter about?
Where is the chapter set/location?
Each chapter should be a water-tight, self-contained episode. Chapters should have a dramatic opening. A landmark signpost and end with a cliff-hanger or a hook.