WHAT CONSTITUTES A CHAPTER
A chapter is a small story arc composed of one or more scenes.
Something needs to change in a chapter. Characters change their goals and the reality around the characters shift in each chapter.
When chapters are made of several scenes, each scene needs to follow the same theme, adding up to one whole thing at the end.
Each scene in a chapter will add a little something such as an encounter, a discovery, a battle, a realization, etc.
Novels have between 50 and 200 scenes.
A scene contains a goal, a conflict or two opposite views, a disaster. The scene is followed by a sequel: a reaction, a dilemma and a decision.
You should end a chapter when you write a major shift in the story.
End your chapter before a change in POV, a new scene, a time change, a setting change or a sequel.
Considering that each page contains about 250 words (standard format double-spaced, one-inch margins):
200-500 words for early chapter books (about 1-2 pages)
500-1500 for middle grade (5-7 pages. 5-10 chapters)
1500-2500 for tween (7-10 pages. 10-2o chapters)
1500-3500 for YA (about 10 pages, about 15 minutes reading. 12-30 chapters)
2000-4500 for adult fiction (each chapter takes about 20 minutes to read. Total: 30 to 40chapters)
RULE OF THUMB:
Respect the conventions.
Each genre has its own rules.
Avoid varying chapters length too much because the reader develops expectations and if the chapters vary in length too much you can either bore the reader or disappoint.
Usually fantasy requires longer chapters and romance smaller ones.
Chapters function as dramatic beats.
You might need to use smaller chapters for snappy action, climatic parts and when you want to grab the reader’s attention, with a cliff-hanger at the end.
Short chapters usually occur at the beginning of the story or/and at the end. It works also well for adventure and mystery novels. (Example: The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown.)
You might need to use longer chapters when the pace is slower and you are developing worlds or characters, or plots, usually in the middle of the novel.
Battles usually take longer to develop.
When two or more scenes coexist in a chapter, separate them by:
· A blank line plus 1 to 3 centered pound sign (#)
· A blank line with 1 to 3 centered asterisks (*)
· A blank line with a centered dash (-)
Howe, Ken James. “WRT: Rules of the Road - Chapter Length and Chapter Length Consistency.” December 15, 2009.
Smith, Jefferson. “Analyzing chapter lengths in fantasy fiction.” July 18, 2013.