How long should a chapter be?

C

Colleem

Really Experienced
CHYOA Backer
Hey fellow Writers :)

First :) i am no native english so please endure it^^

how long do you think should be a Story Chapter be? Mine tend to be 3000+ words with spikes of 8000 words.

i see a lot of chapters that are only 100 words (if so) long and then i wonder. Are my chapters to long? I try to build up some atmosphere and World. So a few Chapters are without any sexual content even, just to explain the chars motivation, the world or whatever?

I would really like to hear your Thoughts about this topic
 
There's no real set criteria for how long a chapter should be to my knowledge nor should there be, the length of a given chapter should be up to the author as part of the creative process
 
I prefer to keep to the spirit of a choose your adventure story. Keeping chapters short gives the opportunity for other users to insert their thread. Writing full length chapters feel like a waste of the medium.
 
I keep most chapters short (2-3 paragraphs). Anything with descriptive sex a round 5 paragraphs.

if it’s a blow job or a tease I’ll shorten it because I honestly don’t think I could extend a scene like that for a long time.
 
I have done both approaches and my longer chapter stories are always the ones that get the most fan fair and likes. I think chapter length should be a decent size to give someone something to actually read and remember. A lot of people who read your story read others as well so you have to give them something that will stick in there minds and make them keep coming back to see what happens next. You have to have actual story. My rule though is I will write out as much as I can and then go back and look for a place to put the breaking point after the fact so I am writing for story first.

There is nothing wrong with the short approach mind you but if you are going to do short chapters you will have to release several in a day to keep a readers attention as you are competing with other writers for views so a few paragraphs a day might not be enough to keep readers coming back to a story if they feel it is dragging and can just go read another story that has more to it.
 
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8k words in one chapter is a bit ridiculous. Even Wheel of Time rarely drags on that long. Considering that you're publishing your work online, you should consider splitting a chapter that long into multiple smaller chapters. If it takes that many words to convey a single idea or scene, you're probably being far too verbose. Most CHYOA chapters never even reach 2k words.
 
I agree with insertnamehere. The Internet is a more fickle medium than a novel. People don't generally dive really deeply into a story, curled up on the couch for multiple hours with a drink and a blanket. Your CHYOA chapters should be (significantly) shorter than novel chapters. I tend to aim for about 1000 words, which is about 3-4 pages in your average paperback novel. Checking my last story, average chapter length is a little longer, at 1216 words, with the longest clocking in at 2117 words, the shortest at 391, and a standard deviation of 412.
 
TheLowKing said:
People don't generally dive really deeply into a story, curled up on the couch for multiple hours with a drink and a blanket.
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Well, that is certainly something that happens on sites like Wattpad and AO3, but usually among an age demographic that CHYOA writers really shouldn't target. It is something special when a story reels you in for dozens of chapters in one sitting, but part of that is good pacing and a reader-friendly format.
 
insertnamehere said:
Well, that is certainly something that happens on sites like Wattpad and AO3, but usually among an age demographic that CHYOA writers really shouldn't target. It is something special when a story reels you in for dozens of chapters in one sitting, but part of that is good pacing and a reader-friendly format.
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You're right, I should've said "I", not "people". Using overly generalized language is one of my weaknesses. :P
 
It seems to me that more important than the number of words is whether the chapter advances the plot and keeps it exciting. For that, however, it needs to be at least a minimum length.
I think chapters with only two or three paragraphs are too short. There is no room for reasonable dialogues - a weak point with many authors here - and no possibility to develop the atmosphere.
 
TheLowKing said:
Too short is definitely worse than too long.
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Depends for me. As long as the choice makes sense I'm fine with shortness. You are in a hallway that leads to 4 other rooms, dont worry about making it two paragraphs long. So long as it doesn't overstay its time. Now if that choice is trivial because only 1 chapter actually exists off that then athat's another problem.
 
If you look at classic game books like the fighting fantasy series, a chapter is often half a page or less, detailing the environment and your possible choices. Only major plot points would require more than a page.
 
I suspect CYOA books are at least partly constrained by their form. A book has a maximum size, so if you want to allow your reader/player a certain (ie. large) amount of choice, then the distance between choices must be relatively small. Such a constraint on length does not exist online, and we can (and imo should) craft more intricate chapters and stories.

(I'm aware of the irony that neither of my stories on CHYOA featured any choice at all. :P)
 
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