The Journey to Writing a Successful Story: a tip book

How to Write Longer Chapters

You may find yourself writing short chapters and you're not understanding what you're doing wrong. So you may ask others on how to write longer chapters.

Before I start, though, look at your book. Then look at a published book. Does anything seem . . . oh, I don't know . . . off to you?

One of the main reasons as to why a chapter is short is because of the lack of scenes, dialogue, and details. But just because a chapter is short, doesn't mean that there is lack of anything. The chapter can be short because the author chooses to make it like so, because to them, the chapter ended fine and the scenes, dialogue, and details are A-okay.

This is fine, unless there actually is some trouble with the chapter.

Before Wattpad, I used to write these one, one and a half, to two page chapters. I didn't think much of it, until I came to Wattpad and critics started to tell me that I'm telling, not showing and that my writing needs to extend. So for a while, I started to play around with my writing. In Juliet, which was the first book I ever wrote that I "completed," I got a bit better with the length. I was able to create three to four page chapters. Then, after that book, I went to make A Nightmare's Fate. That was where my writing increased dramatically. By ANF, I was able to make five to ten page chapters.

Now yes, in My Invisible Wound, the chapters are quite short - but I feel as though they need to be to carry the story on instead of dragging it out.

But how does one create longer chapters?

Let's first think of scenes.

Sometimes, you may only have one scene in your chapter that it focuses on. Like say, the chapter is focused on a cafeteria scene. So what happens in it? You're telling us that they're eating, maybe some dialogue is used, maybe something happens that's important like a fight? And by the end of the fight, the chapter ends. The next chapter carries on the next scene. So if your book seems like this, one of the best ways to make it longer is to combine chapters. I do this sometimes as well because I feel like it flows better.

But if combining chapters doesn't cut it enough, add more scenes to the chapter. Important scenes. Back to the cafeteria example, what would be the next scene after the fight? If originally, you skip to your character at home, being suspended or expelled from school, then you could add more scenes to the chapter so it goes through the talk with the principle, and even afterward.

Now for the dialogue and details.

I see a lot of people do this:

"So," said Mary.

"So," announced John.

"What are we doing with our lives?" asked Mary.

"I don't know," John said.

-

Don't forget: I didn't like the feeling of being touched, even though it was on the shoulder.

I was sad because he cheated on me.

-

This is where things go wrong. Yes, it may be hard to explain in good details of these types of things, but practice makes perfect.

Let's first start with the dialogue area.

If your writing fairly matches up with that example, it's time for some change. Add in the surroundings. Add in the feelings of the character; what do they think? What do they feel? Add in the actions of each character.

So a better example would be:

"So," said Mary as she turned her head toward John. With the pillows around them, it was a bit hard to see his face; she placed one hand on the wheel of the truck and the other on the floor--which was covered by the blankets. She lifted herself and moved in a way that she was able to feel comfortable while also being able to see John's reactions.

"So," he said. His eyes were staring into hers for a second, but after he said his words, he felt as though nothing would happen afterward. He decided to look up to the stars.

Mary sighed and folded her arms. "What are we doing with our lives?" She sounded irritated, like she felt like everything was not going as she planned.

He looked at her and shrugged. "I don't know," he said. John didn't even feel interested in the question like he wanted to give her a complete answer.

-

Do you see how different that is? How much better it looks than it's original example? Yes, adding in details to your dialogue can make a big difference. It can also add more depth to the story.

However, adding in details to it isn't the only thing you could do to expand your chapter. You could add more dialogue to it. Say a character is in a conversation with someone, such as the above example. How else would it go? An argument could have rose, or maybe they continue on to plan out their future? Or maybe they explain to each other what they see for their own futures or whatnot? That could add more to the story.

As far as the other examples - you want to show, not tell. So here's their rewrites:

His hand gently touched my shoulder. Even though his hand didn't go down any further, it was like I was being violated. Exposed to the world. It didn't feel right. It felt wrong. Although it was awkward, I decided to get off the chair and move toward the kitchen, as if I needed to get something from it. So I quickly grabbed a cup full of juice from the fridge and went back. But instead of sitting near him, I sat at the dining room table.

The paragraph doesn't make much sense, but if added into a story, the character could have had people over and the couches and sofas could have been taken up. Something could have happened between the character and this other person, leaving some tension in the air.

Now for the other example...

When I heard the news, everything in life had just disappeared. My surroundings were darkening, becoming blurry. My eyes fell onto one thing and that was his face. I stared into the picture of us smiling on the beach in our bathing suits. He was holding me close; our arms wrapping around our backs. I stared at him--not even acknowledging the way he looked--and thought of myself at an archery range, shooting at that picture for practice. Or even at a boxing rink, throwing punches at a punching bag with his face glued to it.

My anger wasn't the only thing boiling up inside me; sadness swam inside too. It like he ripped my heart out of my rib-cage and pushed it through my bellybutton, only to open my stomach and put it inside, then sewed it back up. All in which to have my stomach digest my heart and make it crumble into thousands of pieces by the acid that was within.

Thinking of him being in the arms of another woman made me want to be torn up, as if I went through the paper shredder. It felt unreal, like this was all a dream. But as I sat there, on my bed, I cried and that was when I knew it wasn't a nightmare.

-

So that kind of ties up the way how it feels for the character and allows the reader to understand and relate.

Adding in these details will expand your book and will help you become a better writer.