Discussion: How Do You Decide Where to End a Chapter?

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Ending a chapter in the right (or wrong) spot can be the difference between unputdownable and “I guess I’ll get back to this tomorrow.” Every chapter ending turns the tables on the readers who now have to decide whether to read one more chapter or take a break. 

These chapter endings are opportunities, but they can easily become lost opportunities if you don’t make the most of them.

While you’re first drafting, however, deciding where to end a chapter can sometimes be tricky. And when someone on Twitter recently asked me how I decide, it occurred to me I hadn’t really written about it. 

I’d kind of glazed over this part largely because the answer is hard to explain—because while I’m first drafting at least, where to end a chapter, for me, is part instinctual and part planning. But even that has changed as my writing process has changed. 

When I first drafting in Word, where to end a chapter, for me, was 100% instinctual. When I wrote a line that sounded like it’d be a good hook, I’d hit enter a couple times and start a new chapter. Sometimes this was in the middle of a scene, sometimes at the end—it was a case-by-case basis but what they had in common was that they ended on lines that I hoped would be intriguing enough that readers would want to read on. 

When I switched to first drafting to Scrivener, however, my process changed slightly. Before I start drafting at all, I plan out just about every scene and write a quick sentence or two or three summary of what will happen for each scene. While first drafting, I think less about where the chapter will end and more about ending the scene in a way that is interesting and will make readers want to read on. Granted, with the way I have Scrivener set up, the “chapters” are automatically split up by scene, and I further split them up while revising, but it’s often less present in my mind than it was when I wrote in Word. 

However. 

Sometimes, I’ll write a line near the end of a scene and stop earlier than I expected because I hit a point that would make a perfect chapter ending. Or I’ll break mid-scene while writing because I've reached a great hook. And that stuff is still very much instinctual. 

That said, after drafting in Scrivener I’ve done a lot more chapter splitting while revising than I did before—which, actually, I don’t mind because it really forces me to pay attention to my chapter endings and decide where would be the best place to break. 

Deciding on chapter endings while first drafting, however, can be a really fluid process, so I’m curious: how do you decide where to end a chapter? 

Twitter-sized bite: 

How do you decide where to end a chapter? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)

Scene Break vs. Chapter Break: How Do You Know?

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Once upon a time someone asked me about scene breaks and chapter breaks and it took me forever to write this post because…well, I wasn’t really sure where to start. 

Scene breaks and chapter breaks are two sides of the same coin—they’re both used to end or pause a scene, whether temporarily for dramatic effect or to switch POVs, or to move on to a new scene. The execution itself is similar: a line to end/pause the scene and some kind of symbol and spacing to represent the actual break from the scene.

But despite those similarities, scene breaks and chapter breaks are used to accomplish fairly different effects.

I like to think of scene breaks as soft breaks—they’re a pause within a chapter to end one scene and flow into the next without ending the chapter. These are mostly used when you’re not ready to end the chapter, whether for POV reasons (say, in a dual-POV novel) or because the end of the scene isn’t quite dramatic enough, or whatever other reason.

Chapter breaks, on the other hand, are hard breaks, because they tend to be spots that readers are more likely to take a break from reading (though your goal is to make them not want to). Sometimes they end a scene, sometimes they stop part-way through a scene at a point that’s shocking, some sort of mini-cliffhanger, or resonates or is dramatic for some other reason. I’ve already posted about making the most of your chapter endings, so I won’t go into that here, but the idea is to end on a note that makes your reader want to read more.

For me, how I decide between scene breaks and chapter breaks varies slightly depending on the WIP. For a dual-POV MS, I tend to use more scene breaks because I like to switch POVs with chapter breaks rather than scene breaks, so if the next scene is in the same character’s POV, I need a really good reason to end the chapter. Then again, if that particular MS has shorter chapters, I’ll be more inclined to use a chapter break rather than a scene break. For a single POV MS, I try to reserve chapter breaks for particularly dramatic/intense/haunting moments, and I use scene breaks when I want one scene to flow easily into another.

In the end, whether you use a scene or chapter break will be entirely up to what feels right to you for that particular scene in that particular manuscript. But it helps to keep in mind what you’re trying to accomplish when deciding between the two.

So that’s how I decide between scene and chapter breaks—now I want to hear from you. How do you decide between the two?

Twitter-sized bites: 

Writer @Ava_Jae calls scene breaks “soft breaks” & chapter breaks “hard breaks.” What do you think? (Click to tweet)  

Should you use a scene break or chapter break for that scene? Writer @Ava_Jae breaks it down. (Click to tweet)

Discussion: Do Short Chapters Make You Read More?

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So I’ve noticed something a little peculiar about my reading habits, lately.

I read Ignite Me not too long ago, which, like the other Shatter Me books, has very short chapters. It has 416 pages and seventy-eight chapters, which averages about five pages a chapter. And I noticed, while reading, that I had a tendency of saying “one more chapter” over and over and over again because they were so short, it was easy to read another chapter without worrying about a major time commitment.

A few days ago, however, I was reading a book with 377 pages and twenty-five chapters, which averages about fifteen pages a chapter. And it was a good book, and I enjoyed it, but I noticed when I reached the end of the chapter, I was way less likely to read another chapter if I had any time constraints whatsoever.

I imagine this is partially because I don’t like to stop reading mid-chapter (though I will if I have to for some reason), so before starting the next chapter, I sometimes have to consider how much time it’s going to take me to finish the chapter. And if it’s getting really late, or I’m getting tired, for example, chances are I’m going to put it down for another day. (Note: This only applies to print books, because I don’t usually go through the trouble of checking with e-books).

But not so with short chapters. I’ve been known to breeze through three or four short chapters (even though it’s the equivalent of one long chapter) because psychologically I guess, it just seems like it’s not going to take me too long. Which is silly. But I do it anyway.

So I’m curious to see if anyone else does this, too. Do short chapters encourage you to read more, or is it just me? 

Twitter-sized bite:

Do you tend to read books with short chapters quickly? Join the discussion at @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)

How to Make the Most of Your Chapter Endings

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While we recently discussed the importance of getting a book ending right, I’d like to talk about another form of endings, that to me are equally important.

Of course, as you I’m sure so astutely gathered from the title, I’m talking about chapter endings.

While writing and revising, I like to imagine that one day, a reader will be reading my book in the middle of the night, and will eventually have to decide do I read another chapter or go to bed?

My goal, in that hypothetical situation, is to make it difficult for the aforementioned reader to put the book down. I want my readers to think I’ll just read one more chapter, then realize ten chapters later that they hadn’t intended to read this much. If I do my job correctly, putting the book down will never be an easy decision.

Although it may feel like it, accomplishing this feat isn’t a work of magic—it’s a combination of tension, intrigue and great chapter endings. But what exactly makes a great chapter ending?

My favorite kinds of chapter endings tend to go one of three ways:

1. They drop shocking information. Usually this is a big reveal, some kind of plot twist, or unexpected danger to the character. I tend to be quite fond of these in my own writing, because as I’m drafting they make me want to continue writing.
   
   Example: “Someone closes a hand over my mouth.” —Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi (page 341)


2. They leave you asking questions. These questions can range from how the hell is the character going to get out of this to who is that mysterious stranger that keeps appearing everywhere? The point is, if you leave your readers with questions about the story at the end of a chapter, chances are they’ll want to continue reading to try to get those answers.
   
   Example: “‘He’s not joking,’ Brendan says to me. ‘And I hope you know how to use a gun.’” —Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi (page 119)


3. They end on a haunting or particularly evocative note. These can vary pretty widely, but sometimes the right image to echo the mood of the book or whatever is happening can be just the transition a reader needs to push them on to the next chapter.
   
   Example: “Because it’s so difficult to fight what you cannot control and right now I can’t even control my own imagination as it grips my hair and drags me into the dark.” —Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi (page 109)

I used all of my examples from Unravel Me because I particularly love how Ms. Mafi ends her chapters, and I often found myself saying one more chapter while reading. I raved about its genius here.

While those aren’t the only three ways to end a chapter in an interesting manner, they happen to be my favorite techniques, and I’ve found that they work well. But now I want to hear from you: what techniques do your favorite chapter endings use? 

Twitter-sized bites: 

What makes a great chapter ending? Writer @Ava_Jae shares some tips on effective ways to end your chapters. (Click to tweet)  

Are you making the most of your chapter endings? (Click to tweet)

Discussion: Should Chapters Be Getting Shorter?

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While discussing the tendency of e-readers to influence people to buy and read more books, one of you wonderful readers asked an interesting question, namely, whether or not long chapters are becoming less desirable in a world with decreasing attention spans.

I found this question particularly interesting because I hadn't thought much about the connection between decreasing attention spans and chapter length, but I do think the two are somewhat related.

Like many things in the writing world, I think the answer to the question largely depends. You see, I don't believe that there's a magic one-size-fits-all chapter length that works in every situation. In a sense, chapters are like paragraphs in that their length depends largely on their content.

Yes, decreasing attention spans are an issue, but I think they're less correlated to the physical length of the chapter and more to the writing itself—most readers, I imagine, would have little problem reading a thirty-page chapter as long as the writing keeps them interested. On the other hand, a five-page chapter could be unbearable if the story is boring and the writing simply doesn't grab the reader.

In my experience, at least, I've found that chapter length is often influenced by the style and tone of the book—some books are filled with fifty+ short 2-10 page chapters, while others are divided into significantly larger (and fewer) sections. Furthermore, I suspect that average chapter length is also probably affected by genre, although I unfortunately wasn't about to find any statistics on that online (although if you find any, please feel free to leave me a link in the comments).

So what does this mean for writers?

While working on your story, I would worry less about chapter length and more about keeping the chapters interesting. Chapter length tends to come somewhat intuitively to writers—we often have a good idea as to when it's time to start a new chapter, and when we get it wrong, there's always editing. If your story calls for longer chapters with many sections within the chapters, then so be it. Short attention spans don't matter as long as you keep the reader interested.

Those are my thoughts, but now I want to hear from you: do you think long chapters are becoming less desirable over time? How do you decide how long to make your chapters?