I'm sure this has been covered before, but anyway... I know opinions vary depending on the type of story you're writing. Large, sprawling multi branch stories will have smaller chapters. Linear stories longer. I write linear stories, vaguely plot driven (that's what I tell myself anyway). In your opinion, is there a limit where you'd not read it because it's too long? Say, for example, you're reading story, all good, you're enjoying it. The chapters are generally 2k to 4k words, so longish already. Then you're hit with a 7k chapter. Would that be an issue for you? Asking for obvious reasons, I've got a good story I'm writing but the chapters are long and won't easily split up (for reasons I won't bore you with.) Interested in peoples personal opinions here.
I might kvetch about a chapter being too short, but I rarely complain about a chapter being too long, unless it is so poorly formatted I have difficulty following the action.
It's all about pacing. If a chapter has a lot going on, is a climax (heh) of a story line or is otherwise fast paced, it can afford to be really long or longer than other chapters. If there's a chapter that's more perfunctory or more about moving the plot from point A to point B, I prefer it to be shorter than average. I do think in today's day and age shorter chapters probably do tend to win out in general when it concerns people's attention spans. Shorter chunks can just seem more palatable. But from an artistic standpoint, I think longer is fine as long as it's not too inconsistent with the average length of chapter in the rest of your story, and there's good justification pacing-wise for it to be so long.
Thanks everyone for the replies. I thought as much, but wanted to check what folks thought. That's very helpful.
