In my last blog, I felt as if I were apologizing for posting such a short chapter in "High School Massacre" and I guess I was. I'd like to discuss chapter length here.
I read mostly thrillers and that genre typically has short chapters. Very short to be exact. I've been reading a lot of David Baldacci novels and his chapters are 2-3 pages long (paperback). And I believe he starts a new chapter for no other reason than he reached his 3-page "limit." I believe that's the wrong reason to end a chapter. But I'm currently reading a Lee Child novel (Jack Reacher) and he does it as well.
Thrillers are page turners and it's good to end a chapter with the reader anxious to start the next chapter (turn the page) to find out what's going to happen. Not cliffhangers, although they have a place too. So it's not necessarily a life threatening moment (cliffhanger) but a "OMG! What's going to happen next?"
With a novel, that's not a problem. You simply turn the page and start a new chapter. As an aside, as a reader I prefer reading short chapters so I can stop when I want without trudging through the end of a long chapter. Like when it's time to have dinner or go to sleep.
But SOL has issues with short chapters.
First, if the story isn't completely posted yet, like "High School Massacre" currently, you can't just "turn the page" to the next chapter. It's not there. But that's a short-term problem because some day it will be there.
The second issue is very specific to SOL. People with free memberships only get so many downloads each day. So whether the chapter is 5K or 50K it counts as one download. There's nothing I can do about that.
As I said in my previous blog entry, I don't take the SOL constraints in account when I write a novel. If I believe the chapter should end, no matter the length, I end it.
I actually had the opposite problem in my novel "Sexual Awakening." My chapters are typically 1,500-3,500 words. "Sexual Awakening" has a chapter over 6,000 words. When I was finishing it I found a place about halfway through where I could split it into two chapters. It was actually one of those "OMG! What's going to happen next" moments. But I felt it was an artificial chapter break so I left it as one large chapter.
The last thing I want to mention is that I write very succinctly. I use few words to tell the story. In fact, when I'm in editing mode, I have to force myself to add things like description. Pay attention to stories you read. As an author I can't help but do that. Even with the traditionally published novels like the Baldacci ones I'm reading, he tells the reader the same thing over and over again. That takes a lot of words. So does enormous amounts of description. So don't think a long chapter automatically means it's giving you more story than a short chapter.
Okay, for someone who likes short chapters I sure wrote a long blog.