I noticed something as I was revising my book: my chapter sizes are all over the place.
With 18 chapters written, I’m averaging a little less than 3000 words a chapter, which is not bad (I don’t think). But that’s the average. The smallest chapter is about 1500, the largest about 5200. Most are between 2 and 3 thousand, with a number of 3000+ and two 4000+.
I’ve never really thought about chapter size before. For me, a chapter is simply a segment of the story, and some are going to be larger than others. But I’m wondering if I should be thinking about paying attention. Perhaps I need to cut some of the chapters up into smaller bits? Will one long chapter or one short chapter ruin the enjoyment of the book?
Do you have any thoughts on chapters? Is it important that they’re all the same size? Or is it completely irrelevant to enjoying the story?
Thanks, and keep writing!
Don ‘t be concerned with the size. As a reader, I feel that the size is directly proportionate to the amount of information that needs to be conveyed. I have seen a major book having a chapter with only one sentence written to convey a major idea or feeling.