amysorganics |
number of words per chapter? |
    14,135 / 50,000 Official Participant
Joined: Aug 23, 2008
Location: Whidbey Island Posts: 52
Posted on:
Nov 8, 2009 - 14 57 |
I am looking at my novel which I think will end up at say 60,000 words. I have looked at different fictional novels and don't know how many words they are and so how many chapters with # of words per chapter. Any thoughts? Does it really matter. Amy |
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25,101 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 15 32
You could find the total word count of the novel by looking it up on amazon.com and clicking "text stats" (they don't have this for all books), and then dividing the total word count by the number of chapters. That will give you an average chapter length. You can also multiply the number of words per line by the number of lines per page to figure out how many words are on each page, then multiply that by the number of pages in a chapter to get an estimate of the chapter word count.
----------Unprovided with original learning, unformed in the habits of thinking, unskilled in the arts of composition, I resolved to write a book.
--Edward Gibbon
1,339 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 17 28
A chapter is an arbitrary break.
Some writers like Sandra Cisneros write chapters that are only a page or two long. Others divide an 800 page epic into 3 chapters. Do what feels right to you and the flow of your story.
----------"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it." - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
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32,419 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 17 39
Chapters can be as long or as short as you like, even within the same novel.
That said, I disagree that they are arbitrary. A chapter break is a pause for the reader, which means it's a tool that you-the-writer can work with. Shorter chapters can give the impression of faster pacing, for example.
I like to structure my chapters almost like short stories, each with a mini-goal for the main character and a mini-climax. A chapter can either end in the middle of the climax or with the climax resolved in a way that creates a bigger problem or another goal.
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