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3c. How long should my chapters be?

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par MsReviewer

par @MsReviewer

A common question I've seen floating around is how long a chapter for a full-length novel should be. I've also seen many common misconceptions in answer to this query. The short answer is: there is no right or wrong amount of words per chapter.
Of course, I'm talking about published novel lengths; not wattpad lengths. If you're reading online, it gets tiring to keep going for 5K non-stop, therefore it is convenient for your readers if you split up your chapters into 3-4 wattpad-page lengths.

There is an ideal minimum-maximum total word count for a completed manuscript (especially for first-time published authors), but these average word counts vary depending on the genre of your book. For instance, a Young-Adult Romance book is expected to be much shorter than a High Fantasy novel. But that is a topic for another day.

Today, I want to focus on individual chapter lengths. I won't be telling you how many words you have to have. A writer would know best when his/her chapter should end. My general rule of thumb is, a chapter should have at least one key focus. It could be an introduction to a certain character, a turning point, an important revelation, a change of scene, a major action sequence, etc. I generally believe that a chapter should end once its focus/purpose has been achieved. Even if this ends at a cliffhanger.

I'll give examples of chapter lengths from published (fantasy) novels in a bit. But before that, I want to get rid of some misconceptions.

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Myth #1. You should keep your chapter lengths consistent
I would beg to disagree. Although consistent chapter lengths is not wrong, varied chapter lengths can often help with pacing. For instance, shorter chapters between longer chapters can give off the sense of urgency, or a faster-moving pace. But if you constantly give your readers short chapters, it may come across as choppy and mess up your scene transitions.

Myth #2. You should aim to keep your chapters at around 5K
While having a 5K-length chapter is totally fine, it's not a minimum/maximum you need to constantly be worrying about. Just focus on your writing, and end the chapter when it feels most natural to.

Myth #3. Readers will get bored and put down your book if your chapters are too long
Readers get bored if your novel is not engaging enough, disregard the length of your chapters. The beauty about reading a book is you can do it at your own leisure. If I can't finish a 30-page chapter in one sitting, I can put in a bookmark, get back to work, and pick it back up later.

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Right. So now that is out of the way, here are just a few examples from published novels to illustrate how varied chapter lengths can be -- between novels, and within the same novel itself.

Remember, this is not to show you the ideal chapter length, but rather just as a frame of reference for you to go by. As you will see below, chapter lengths can also vary depending on the target age and overall genre of the book.
Books with a greater number of chapters also tend to keep the individual chapters relatively shorter, whilst those with a smaller number of chapters tend to have longer individual chapter lengths. Please keep in mind the word counts below are rounded up.

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Queen of the Tearling | first published: 2014 | Genre: Fantasy | Target age: YA - Adult | Total chapters: 14 | Average words per chapter: 9.5K | Total word count: 132K | Breakdown of individual chapters:
Chapter 1: 12.5K
Chapter 2: 7.4K
Chapter 3: 7.2K
Chapter 4: 4.5K
Chapter 5: 11K
Chapter 6: 11.5K
Chapter 7: 12.9K
Chapter 8: 9.7K
Chapter 9: 12.4K
Chapter 10: 6.8K
Chapter 11: 13.2K
Chapter 12: 13.7K
Chapter 13: 7.9K
Chapter 14: 2.4K

City of Bones | first published: 2007 | Genre: Fantasy-Lite | Target age: YA | Total chapters: 23 | Total word count: 131K | Breakdown of first ten chapters:
Chapter 1: 4.9K
Chapter 2: 4.8K
Chapter 3: 2.9K
Chapter 4: 2.5K
Chapter 5: 6.9K
Chapter 6: 4.5K
Chapter 7: 2.9K
Chapter 8: 5.7K
Chapter 9: 4.2K
Chapter 10: 11.4K

Eragon | first published: 2001 | Genre: Fantasy | Target age: MG-YA | Total chapters: 54 | Total word count: 157K | Breakdown of first ten chapters:
Chapter 1: 1.4K
Chapter 2: 850
Chapter 3: 3.3K
Chapter 4: 5.5K
Chapter 5: 700
Chapter 6: 3.2K
Chapter 7: 3K
Chapter 8: 910
Chapter 9: 730
Chapter 10: 2.3K