The chapters in a novel break the book into smaller sections so the reader can digest the whole thing better. They create natural pauses in the flow of the story. But they are also a little bit more than that. They help make reading more satisfying and create suspense and comfort when setting scenes. Chapters can come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors so they can easily adapt to the specific story you are writing.
But… how can we use them to capture readers’ attention? how can we structure them? when can we use cliffhangers? how many words and scenes should they have? how can we use them to make our book an authentic page-turner? If you are interested in the topic, stay with us till the end, because we’ll be answering all these questions.
So… with no further ado, let’s begin!
1. Chapters move the plot forward
Each chapter should include something new that drives the story forward, without bogging it down in extensive descriptions of the trees or some gossip between neighbors that has nothing to do with the plot. That is, each one must have their central idea, and, at the same time, this will be related to the one in the next chapter, like a chain of nerve impulses.
Don’t write a chapter where nothing happens.
The idea is to keep pace with new events, information, etc, without losing energy. When you reread the chapter, always think, does it alter the rhythm of my novel in any way? Does it trigger any meaningful action in the next chapter? Does it include any piece of information that will serve as an incentive for the characters’ actions? If your answers are No, then you probably don’t need that chapter. If you can remove the whole chapter and that doesn’t alter the flow of the story, then, you don’t need that chapter.
2. How many words in a Chapter?
This question is very common among writers, and the truth is that it is not necessary to keep a count of the words unless what you are looking for is planning. Let me tell you that each chapter is and will be as long as it needs to be. For example, there are books in which the chapters do not exceed 1000 words, but generally, these are short books, with many chapters, but very few pages. However, The Lord of the Rings stands out for having chapters that reach 10,000 words.
The word count in a chapter will depend on the structure, pacing, genre of the story; and most importantly on the story itself. So, don’t torture yourself with the numbers here. Let the story flow.
By the way, if you want to know more about the Word Count of novels, check out this article.
3. How many chapters in a book?
For this part the same wordcount theory applies, it is not relevant how many chapters your book will have, even if you decide that it will only have 3 chapters, it is your decision and yours alone.
The genre, the total word count, the world-building, and, again, the story itself, are the factors that will alter the chapter count in your book.
Click here and learn about how to build strong characters, you may need ideas for your protagonists.
4. Enter late and leave early.
If we start a chapter with long boring descriptions of the weather and our hero’s day, we will most certainly bore our readers. Readers don’t want to know what cup of coffee did our hero take in the morning. Unless, of course, that cup of coffee was poisoned and almost killed him, and the story is about finding the murderer. Don’t waste your readers’ precious time including details that are of no use for the central purpose of the story; in other words: enter the chapter late, when the action has already started or about to start. Everything you say should be of value for the story.
So, let’s check an example: Imagine that your protagonist is about to start a duel in which the winner will marry the governor’s daughter, entering late would be starting the scene directly in the tournament, with the participants in line and the public in the stands, and omitting all those unnecessary parts about how he got to the place, what outfit he had, who the spectators were. None of this is necessary. Give the readers what they want, go straight to what really matters.
Likewise, leaving early is the same thing, but in the opposite direction. Don’t end the scene with all of them walking out the doors, it is understood that at some point they will have to leave.
Do you want to learn more about structure? Read this article about the Three-Act Structure.
If you want to give a final touch to the scene, in this case, our protagonist can take a dramatic turn and in the face of his defeat, throw himself into the stands where the governor’s daughter is, and cut! What will happen? The rest will come in the next chapter.
The aftermath of this chapter’s actions can be solved in the next one. Leave the chapter when the emotions are high and your readers are wondering what will happen next.
More often than not, the short version is much more efficient than the long version. I know there are many things you want to tell, but everything will have its moment, for the sake of your book, please enter late and leave early.
Get rid of writer’s block with this article.
5. How many scenes in a chapter?
A scene is the basic unit of the plot. It contains a continuous succession of actions that have the same objective, setting, and characters. This could be as simple as a conversation, or as active as a fighting scene. Chapters are divided into scenes, but how many scenes do we need to build a chapter?
Usually one or 2 scenes is enough. There could be more in one chapter and that’s totally up to the writer. However, we don’t want to overload our chapters with too much information.
What constitutes a change of scene?
Generally, a change of scene is determined by a change of location or time frame. For example, if we change the place, or if we jump to the next day, or to a different period of time whatsoever, we have another scene.
In order to achieve clarity, it is important that every scene starts with some indication that allows the reader to know the time, place, and participants of this new scene. For example: – X time passed, it dawned, they reached another place, Y is sitting in front of me, among other examples.
Also, if you have more than one scene in one chapter, indicate it with something graphic. For example, more space between the last paragraph of the previous scene and the first one of the next, or the famous “***”.
Let’s check this change of scene:
The following, is an example from Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer:
“…don’t know why Bella” — she sneered my name — “doesn’t just sit with the Cullens from now on.”
I heard her muttering to Mike. I’d never noticed what an unpleasant, nasal voice she had, and I was surprised by the malice in it. I really didn’t know her well at all, certainly not well enough for her to dislike me — or so I’d thought. “She’s my friend; she sits with us,” Mike whispered back loyally, but also a bit territorially. I paused to let Jess and Angela pass me. I didn’t want to hear any more.That night at dinner, Charlie seemed enthusiastic about my trip to La Push in the morning. I think he felt guilty for leaving me home alone on the weekends, but he’d spent too many years building his habits to break them now.
Stephenie Meyer
Notice how the space determines, in this case, that has been a change of scene. Also, once the new scene has begun, the author is quick to establish the new time frame, place, even the characters in it.
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6. Using cliffhangers at the end of chapters
Let’s first explain what the famous cliffhanger is; it is a type of narrative or a plot device in which the end of a scene or chapter is nosily abrupt, so the main characters are left in a challenging situation, without any apparent solution.
As a result of this unexpected ending, readers end up with this question: What will happen next? The reader is left in a state of suspense and will be pushed to continue reading.
There are several types of cliffhangers, let’s see a brief description of the most basic that you can apply in your writing:
The overshoot: This one is as simple as cutting the scene and jumping to the next one at the precise moment of suspense.
The kicker line: Two short lines that fall like a stream of cold water. The power to reveal an unexpected, shocking, moving, drastic event that invites you to turn the page without a second thought.
The setup: This one takes some preparation. Everything must be in place at the precise moment of the action. For example, let’s imagine this situation:
Jim has just successfully robbed a mansion. He runs off happily, thinking that he didn’t leave any piece of evidence behind. However, at some point, he looks back and realizes something: He has left a cigarette butt in the bathroom of the house.
Make sure your readers know ahead of time that Jim had smoked a cigarette in the bathroom, but mention it so lightly that they forget about it until the moment it is mentioned again. That easy.
The wave: Like a wave, this type of cliffhanger occurs mostly on top of emotional slowdowns, on the ups and downs of the characters. This, like a balance, leans in favor of one of them, and at the same time, their actions will mean the doom of the other. This establishes a cause-effect situation, and the “effect” part is the one used as a cliffhanger.
Man’s curiosity is a factor that you have to know how to exploit at your convenience. However, this doesn’t mean that you can use them constantly. It can be kind of frustrating and exhausting for your readers to find a cliffhanger at the end of every chapter. So, use them. They are a powerful resource, but use them wisely, from time to time.
7. Answer a question, leave a new one.
Every chapter in your book must contain questions to be solved, riddles that will gradually be answered as the book moves forward.
This tip is basically that: leave a question, a clue, a little mystery to be solved. Leave your readers wondering, needing answers. This will push them to turn the pages to get to the next chapter in order to find those answers. The trick is to use the questions as a hook to keep the reader immersed in your book.
The question will generally be implicit, and respond to general matters of the book like: What will the hero do next? Why did he do it? Will the consequence be good or bad? Who will this specific action affect? But they could also be more subtle like, Who is that person the hero was talking to on the phone? Why did she hang up so quickly? Why is everybody so afraid of that little girl? What is the meaning of that symbol in the book?
However, if you want to make the question explicit, you can start by making your character wonder or question something, which will likely cause your readers to ask themselves about it too.
Try to not accumulate many unanswered questions. This can annoy the reader. A good mechanism is to answer at least one question and to leave at least a new one. This will help you keep your readers interested and curious without pushing the limits of their patience.
Leave the best answers for the end of the book, where generally all conflicts are solved.
Summing up …
Remember that each chapter should follow the same line, the same central idea of the book, but always moving forward. Never write a chapter that will not help the story advance at least a little bit.
I hope you find these tips useful. Keep in mind that the word count in the chapters is an open number. Write as many words as you want, but always playing with the balance between too long scenes and the word count. It is good to put the reader in the mood, but without exaggerating the details.
Make sure to check the other articles we have on the site. They can help you fill in the empty spaces and questions that you may have.
