Forum: Author Hangout

So when do I start a new chapter? Well, when it feels good to do so. I'm not being facetious. A lot of what we do is done because it just feels right when you're writing it. But here are some principles:

Sorry, Switch, but your chapter break decisions are all based on why you include section breaks (you can include multiple POV changes in any chapter, as long as you include section breaks).

I can understand 'doing what feels right', after all, we don't all analyze and plan what we do ahead of time. I think I'm a bit odd, in that I plan out each chapter, rather than simply writing it. I don't know how a chapter will unfold in advance, but I know what each chapter will deal with. However, you're right, it's more common that a chapter focuses on a single day than that it resolves something.

Sorry, Switch, but your chapter break decisions are all based on why you include section breaks (you can include multiple POV changes in any chapter, as long as you include section breaks).

I said if the scenes are small I'll combine them in a single chapter. That's the one time I consider word count.

I said if the scenes are small I'll combine them in a single chapter. That's the one time I consider word count.

Just wanted to clarify, as it sounded like you were suggesting authors not use section breaks.

Chapter 1 -- cheerleader is curious about 'Nobody', pursues him at lunch and between classes.

Curious detail. While I don't prepare chapter outlines, and frequently wait months before writing anything, one of the first things I do is start naming my characters, just so I can get to know them.

After panicking at the last minute too many times, I'll typically:
1) Name the main characters (required for step 2)
2) Write the story description (so I keep the main objective in mind)
3) Create the cover (it gives me a feel for how the story is perceived)
4) Prepare the internal graphics (required for creating chapter files)
5) I format the final document.

That way, when I reach the end, I don't have to worry about all the forgotten last-minute details.

I use a standard formatting, change all the titles, sources, etc., then I just need to add chapters and I'm set. By doing it in advance, not only do I reduce headaches, but I can print a fully formatted hard copy or epub version anytime I need one. I also keep it updated with the latest versions so that, if anything were to happen to me, my family could publish it for me.

As far as formatting the text, I do that as I write the story.

By the way, in case I never mentioned it, I'm kind of anal about control. 'D

I sort of cheat in that I use chapters and sub-chapters as well as sections. I break chapters and sub-chapters when the current set of events of interest for that chapter are over. That can be done in as little as 100 words or as much as 10,000 words - it all depends on what's happening and what is a natural break point. An example of what I mean is:

Chapter - College Life - covers the arrival at college and the start of life there.
Sub-chapter - Freshman Year - covers the events in that year.
Sub-chapter Sophomore Year - covers the events in that year.
I hope you get the trend of the next few sub-chapters
Chapter - First job - relevant info re getting the job etc.

Those are normally seen as Sections, chapters and then segments within the individual chapters.

Since college normally takes longer than a couple chapters, I'd typically dedicate an entire book to someone's college experiences (unless it's all tell):

Book: College Life
Section I: Freshman Year
Chapter 1: Moving In
Chapter 2: Meeting New Friends, and a Few Frenemies
Segment 1: Meeting Friends
Segment 2: Meeting the pseudo-friendly
Segment 3: Meeting Cuties
... etc.

I don't use Section breaks often, and when I do, I like to add more than SOL supports (summary text, in my currently posting book, quotes fitting the chapters). However, I've learned that most readers won't read Section Headers, just like most (30% for sci-fi, much less for other genres) won't read Prologues, though everyone reads the final epilogue.

I've learned that most readers won't read Section Headers

Some do and some don't, but I use section headers within a chapter and find they make a better break within the chapter for many situation, and they also provide a more obvious mark for when putting the story aside for the night.

In your example what you call Section I is what I'd have as the chapter and what you have as the chapters I'd have as sub-chapters, then the rest as they are.

In your example what you call Section I is what I'd have as the chapter and what you have as the chapters I'd have as sub-chapters, then the rest as they are.

That's what I was saying. Sections are typically groups of chapters (in the few published books which feature them). In SOLville, you signify it using { t }, which creates a category group to include other chapters under.

I wouldn't call yours "section breaks", maybe "subsection breaks" because they're actually sub-chapters.

I'm not criticizing how you organize your story, but I think your terminology might confuse others.

But it brings up an important point, breaking stories up into alternate organizations, either sections (groups of chapters) or subsections (groups within chapters).

Thinking of it, I can see where the confusion arises. You're creating sections to group your published chapters under, but you're using SOL chapters to house them, which results in your conflicting terminology.

Thinking of it, I can see where the confusion arises. You're creating sections to group your published chapters under, but you're using SOL chapters to house them, which results in your conflicting terminology.

CW,

There are two aspects of this, one is the story itself, and the other is the way it's posted to SoL. I'll deal with both.

Story Breaks: I use the system used in writing technical reports, assignments, essays, manuals, and academic writing. You have a Chapter and within that you have Sub-chapters and Sections within that. Sometimes you may not have a need for Sub-chapters or Sections. Chapters and Sub-chapters start on a new page while a Section only has a heading in bold in the text.

An example would be along the lines of:

Book: Motor Vehicle Maintenance

Chapter: The Engine

Sub-chapter: The Ignition System

Section: The Distributor

Section: The Generator

etc., etc.

An example in a story would be:

Book: Fred's Life in 10th Grade

Chapter: Week 1

Sub-chapter: Monday

Section: Walking to School

Section: Home Room

Section: English Class

etc., etc.

SoL Posting: Early in my posting stories to SoL I found if I posted the story as one file it ended up as a bunch of pages, as shown with Rob Remembers this is a single posting of 52,990 words in 14 Chapters and 17 Sub-chapters posted as 6 pages at SoL. I could post each chapter as a SoL posting for 14 posts. However, some chapters are only about 500 words long while others are about 10,000 words long.

https://storiesonline.net/s/54159/rob-remembers

I like to give the readers a decent dose of reading with each post, so I arbitrarily break the story down into chunks of between 5,000 to 10,000 words with cuts at the end of a Chapter or a Sub-chapter. That way the current action event is over. This is the process I used when I posted Finding Home which is 272,743 words in 41 chapters and 82 sub-chapters and posted at SoL as 37 Posting Parts. Some of the Chapters run out around the 200 word mark and some around the 20,000 word mark, but the Posting Parts run out as described earlier.

https://storiesonline.net/s/66183/finding-home

I hope this helps you to understand my methodology of approaching this. Within the story the breaks are either time or event based, and within SoL the breaks are simple suitable story breaks aligned with a word rough word count point. By posting in Parts as against the actual chapters I don't do as much work because there's always less Parts than there are Chapters.