Chapter Length and Point of Impact

How do you decide how long to make your chapters?

I’ve been asked versions of this question several times.  The short—and unsatisfactory—answer is that “it depends” on the type of work (fiction or non-fiction), the topic, and the writer’s personal preference and style among other variables…

  The longer answer is as follows: The chapters and articles I wrote in my academic career ranged from 9,000-20,000 words. Drafts of my fiction chapters were, at first, of similar length, but the feedback I received from editors and beta readers is that those long chapters slowed the pace and made the story difficult to follow.  Some were so lengthy and winding that one reader stated that he was unable to finish them—blunt, feedback that caused me to reconsider my approach.

  With the help of my revisions editor, I learned to write chapters of around 1500-2500 words in length—long enough to further the story in a meaningful way, but not so long that they would confuse or exhaust my readers.  The secret behind my short, focused, chapters in Midgard is that each is written around a single point of impact.

  The point of impact is the moment in which a key event or interaction takes place. The incident must either 1) move the plot forward and/or 2) generate some powerful emotion in the reader.  Plot-related points of impact typically contribute to world-building or mark some epoch in a main character’s journey. Emotional points of impact center on tugging at the heartstrings of a reader in a relatable way.

  I refined my scene and chapter-writing technique around this principle as I finished Midgard.  In the process, I learned how to limit points of impact to one per chapter, and, to keep myself on track, I eventually titled each chapter in accordance with its associated pivot point in order to keep myself on track.  That particular method may no longer be necessary as my storytelling ability matures, but, at present, it helps keep my chapters focused, fascinating and fun.