Long chapters or lots of breaks

[thosearemysecret]

Do you think readers prefer long chapters or lots of breaks?

For example, yesterday I wrote 2930 words that would make sense as a single chapter. I often worry a reader will open a chapter like that, see so much text, and nope out. I broke it down into three smaller chapters to give the sense of choice (even though there aren't any choices and will likely never be choices in these chapters).

It's the struggle of writing a Choose Your Own story. Growing up with those books the chapters were usually under 300 words.

 

[Gambio]

I prefer shorter chapters, but there is definitely a sweet spot. Too short and it becomes obnoxious.


Personally, I aim for two to three pages per chapter.

 

[Dissonant Soundtrack]

Shorter chapters are better if you want others to possibly join the story, as it gives them more jumping off points.

As a reader/writer I tend to prefer longer chapters because, unless there's a decision point, it breaks up the flow of the scene Imo.

 

[thosearemysecret]

Shorter chapters are better if you want others to possibly join the story, as it gives them more jumping off points.

As a reader/writer I tend to prefer longer chapters because, unless there's a decision point, it breaks up the flow of the scene Imo.

I'm thinking about it since I ran that vote this weekend. I got people excited about the PowerPoint Party, but we still have two nights before we get to it. The current way I've been breaking up chapters it could be anywhere from six to ten chapters before we get to it. I should probably stick with long chapters to move the story along. *shrugs*

 

[Dissonant Soundtrack]

I'm thinking about it since I ran that vote this weekend. I got people excited about the PowerPoint Party, but we still have two nights before we get to it. The current way I've been breaking up chapters it could be anywhere from six to ten chapters before we get to it. I should probably stick with long chapters to move the story along. *shrugs*

I suggest you treat it like a drive somewhere - longer chapters in the straightaways, shorter chapters when you approach an intersection. But that is my personal preference.

 

[wicker]

I don't like very short or very long chapters

 

[RicoLouis]

I have had someone say they didn't like a long introduction I did once. Long chapters will also deter others from adding to your story. For me I write and write off line and then go back and think where I could branch a chapter off from. I think the biggest thing is finding a place where you could see yourself writing a different path though it rarely works out that way.

 

[Zeebop]

I usually aim for ~500 words a chapter, but I can go more or a (little) less. More important than length is that a chapter should encapsulate a complete idea. It should accomplish something, be it to move the plot forward, convey some critical piece of information, or give a really raunchy and disgusting sex scene to fap to.

 

[TheLowKing]

Personally, if I'm into a story, I won't even notice the size of the scroll bar. More important than length is pace: keep things snappy! That goes double for erotic stories.

 

[insertnamehere]

Online stories just aren't the same as printed novels. The sweet spot for online chapters, I think, is around 1k-2k (where it would ordinarily be much higher). Chapters below 1k risk ending too abruptly, and chapters above 2k risk dragging on long enough to bore the reader. Printed books, and even e-books, have pages that naturally break the writing up into digestible chunks, so stories without this will need to be more careful. At the same time, it should be obvious that chapters in a book should usually be at least a few pages long.

As usual, all of this is turned on its head when you're using Game Mode.

 

[SeriousBrainDamage]

The length has to be adequate for your writing style. If your prose is very descriptive and you like to brood over characters' inner thoughts and such, there is really no point in writing short chapters with less than say, 1k words.

On the other hand, if your style is very snappy and straight to business, you'll see by yourself how difficult it will be to post 2-3k words chapters instead of breaking them into several shorter ones.

 

[TheLowKing]

Printed books, and even e-books, have pages that naturally break the writing up into digestible chunks, so stories without this will need to be more careful.

Ooo, this is a really good point!

 

[thosearemysecret]

All of these comments have been helpful and weirdly therapeutic! Basically, I should feel comfortable writing the length that bests suits the chapter and stop fretting about providing breaks. I appreciate all of you.

 

[Aman Onfy Mous]

I aim for 500-1000 words per chapter.

Short chapters ruin a story by constantly breaking the flow. They also often suffer from lack of detail, or lack of focus, or generally just feeling disjointed. It's hard to write a cohesive narrative when it's not in a cohesive format.

Long chapters have far fewer problems. The only one from a reader's point of view might be that it lacks structure, though even that can be dealt with through formatting. From a writer's point of view, the problem is that this site requires regular additions to drive story views and participation.

My upcoming story has an Guide for Participating Authors section, which includes:

1. To keep this story manageable for both readers and writers, and to prevent spam of non-content chapters, submissions with fewer than 250 words or that are requests for others to write about a character, rather than actual content, will probably not be approved.

 

[Dansak]

This is a good question. It largely depends on what you’re writing and what you’re style is. If it’s a huge tumbling story with loads of threads in a game style then you’ll want short snappy chapters.
If it’s a linear story with no threads or branches then longer chapters can work. But what is a long chapter? In my opinion 500 words is short, 1000 about average and 1500 upwards os long. I tend to aim for around 1000, I rarely dip below 900 or above 1200. That’s just what works for me and the way I write.
There have been times where I’ve written one chapter that’s huge, like 5000, it’s just the way it turned out. But, I still split it into three, called them parts 1, 2 and 3 and released them all at the same time.