Writing Tips

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Chapter Length and Cliffhangers :)

Both of these categories are fairly small, so I decided to bunch them together to make one full chapter.

First:

Chapter length

Chapter length is really however long you want it, but it's important to know how long you want it. Because chapters are usually one scene, or maybe something like three small scenes. But they complete one idea. Something happens in each chapter. And not 'something' in the sense like eating lunch. Something more interesting. 

For example, I'm going to grab a random book from my bookshelf and flip to a random chapter. 

So I picked up Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai. (It's really good.) The chapter's name was Passing time, and in the chapter, the main character, Hà, is discouraged in learning English. Another random chapter, Most Relieved Day. It's when Hà feels relieved because she meets two potential friends.

Chapters can focus on something that happens, but they can also focus on emotions. A hard time that the mc's going through. A great time that the mc's going through. Again, an idea. 

What I mean by how long your chapters span is your choice, I mean that you get to choose how deep you want to dive into that idea. How long you want to drag it out. How affected your mc is from that idea.

So. Yeah. That wraps up what I want to say about chapter length, so I'm going to talk about cliffhangers now.

Cliffhangers:

Cliffhangers are a good thing to torture your readers with if you've had a particularly bad day or are just feeling ruthless. 

The readers both adore and loathe the cliffhangers. Adore, because that question lingering in the air gives them a thrill, and it feels amazing. The adrenaline that comes with waiting for the next chapter is something they love, and admit it, you, as a reader, love it too. 

Loathe, because they love it so much that they hate it. They hate not knowing, (wink wink) and when cliffhangers happen, they don't know what happens next. And they want to know. Obviously. And that's why they loathe it.

The definition: 

noun

1. a dramatic and exciting ending to an episode of a serial, leaving the audience in suspense and anxious not to miss the next episode.

2. a story or event with a strong element of suspense.

At least that's the definition according to Oxford Languages. Just thought I should pop that in there.

It's also a great strategy if you're on writer's block and need a little more time to push the block out of the way. You can write a cliffhanger, and pull a Part One/Part Two thing. 

And they keep your readers engaged. The question, they know, is eventually going to be answered, and they want to know. So they'll stick around! Read every single chapter as soon as you post them so they can potentially satisfy their curiosity.

But I've heard that cliffhangers aren't exactly the easiest thing to write, so I suggest you study Shannon Messenger's works. Especially from her series Keeper of the Lost Cities, the fourth book, Neverseen. If you study from Neverseen up to Unlocked, you'll be an expert.  ;) >:(  

Right! So there. That's my thoughts and advice on chapter length and cliffhangers. And it seriously makes my day when people vote, so I would really appreciate it if you took a few seconds to turn that boring gray star orange.