I've started moving toward shorter chapters as I've gone along, though initially I was thinking pages rather than words (which actually doesn't work as well in a word processor, unless the page size and margins are set up to mimic a paperback book.

Initially, I was going for a max of ten pages. If the earlier estimate (1200 words to a page) is correct, that would have been a max of 12,000, but since I was aiming more at an average of seven than hitting the max every time, that would have been 8400. More recently, I'm thinking that's perhaps too long.

When I started Substack serialization, the goal was to avoid having the post (which would usually be a chapter in a serial) get truncated in email (with a click-to-read-more at the end). Posts over over 6,000 words get into the danger zone, so that would be a functional maximum. Occasionally, posts would come close to that (usually the first part of a serial or the last). Most of the time, they'd be in the 1,000 to 3,000 range.

But as far as chapter breaks go, I follow the architectural maxim, "Form follows function." In other words, the chapter breaks must ultimately be determined by natural break points in the narrative, not forced into a length formula. If you're serializing or trying to keep people reading in a regular novel, it helps to end at a suspenseful point, so for me, that's one determiner of a break point. Since I've been writing with that in mind for some time, it's not hard to make that happen for a reasonable length chapter. It would be harder to take an preexisting piece and do that with it.

On the 42-chapter model, Post-Doctorate-D has a good point about not wanting to borgify things. However, the imitation of biblical structure in this case feels a lot like it's an author thing more than a reader thing--something an author will know is there but a reader will probably miss unless it's explicitly pointed out. There's nothing wrong with it being an author thing--unless enforcing it hinders the reader's experience.

I'll end on a funny story. One of my books has a Hitchc*ck moment--a brief appearance by me as a character. (Well, it's actually a shapeshifter pretending to be me, so I guess, only semi-Hitchc*ck.) The character is called Mr. H, teaches English at the high school where I used to teach--and where the scene is set--and matches my physical description. A number of people who knew me read that book and missed that entirely. Even people who read my bio might have at least wondered about it, but as far as I can tell, no one did. It tickled me but was lost on my audience completely.



   

Yeah I was thinking I can do 42 chapters a book. I really just like 14, because its the same structure as the biblical generations between important people/events. 14x3 is 42. And from Abraham to Jesus Christ is 42 generations, separated by 3 sets of 14 per major event. So there is a reason for my madness. But, I was told 100k words is perfectly acceptable for a book.

IMHO, don't let people harsh your mellow.  Too many people don't try neat or creative things, like your 14x3 structure, because they get talked out of it.  And then, too often, the end result is a homogenized Borg-ified book that anyone could have written that is practically indistinguishable from similar books in its genre.  I mean, if mediocrity is the the river you want to float your boat on, by all means grab your paddle and row, row, row your boat.

Otherwise, if you want to do something different, like your 14x3 structure, find a way to make it work.  The readers that know or figure it out will appreciate it, especially in your genre.  It's like a giant Easter egg staring them straight in the face that only some will see.  But those that see it will no doubt appreciate it.  And the readers that don't care won't care one way or the other, right?

When planning this stuff out, always remember that the 'perfect' is the enemy of the 'good'.

My average is 1200 words per chapter.

I guess I'm closer to MattT's idea of "short."  1200 words is roughly 4 pages.  And, that's your average?  So some are even less than that?

Quote from: TimothyEllis on September 03, 2025, 12:42:57 PM

Quote from: MattT on September 03, 2025, 12:36:48 PM

You might be right. But, in order to stick to the structure of my story at 14 chapters per book, 42 chapters per trilogy. I have to make them kind of long. But, you're probably right.

Yes, I read 3-5 chapters in a single sitting.

So redefine the trilogy.

Bring each book down to 65k, which is less than 5k per chapter on average.

Or as I said, you add in a 3rd level to that. So each group of 14 chapters falls into something else.

Or shift it sideways. 14 chapters per part, 42 chapters per book, something.

Yeah I was thinking I can do 42 chapters a book. I really just like 14, because its the same structure as the biblical generations between important people/events. 14x3 is 42. And from Abraham to Jesus Christ is 42 generations, separated by 3 sets of 14 per major event. So there is a reason for my madness. But, I was told 100k words is perfectly acceptable for a book.

Maybe I'm writing Epics for each book?

100k is a good length, but with the sort of numbers you're talking about, it's also not a number that fits.

3 parts to a book, each with 14 chapters, for 42 per book, coming out around 65k to 100k each, should work.