In YA fiction, how many words should each chapter be? How consistent does chapter length need to be?
Asked by: Bob Jeunesse
To find out how long should a chapter be, we examined books from a wide variety of genres and eras. From these numbers, we can establish some guidelines: the average word count of a chapter typically falls somewhere between 1,500 and 5,000 words, with 3,000–4,000 being the most common sweet spot.
How many words should a chapter be in ya?
between 3,000 to 5,000 words
Most agree that under 1,000 words would be rather short and that over 5,000 might be rather too long. As a general guideline, chapters should be between 3,000 to 5,000 words. All of them agree that the chapter length should be defined by the story and that any chapter length targets you decide on are merely guidelines.
Do chapter lengths have to be consistent?
No, it doesn’t particularly matter. I like to make chapters roughly equal in length because it appeals to my liking for neatness, but there’s no real reason to do it. A chapter is as long or as short as it needs to be and you shouldn’t be padding them out or cutting them down just to make them consistent.
How long should chapters be in YA novels?
3,000-5,000 words
For instance, an average YA novel is between 55,000 and 80,000 words long. Most experts agree that 3,000-5,000 words per chapter is a good guideline to follow. So, 12-27 chapters for a YA novel would be a good range to start with.
How long should YA fantasy chapters be?
What’s the average chapter length in fantasy novels? Typically between 3K and 10K words. Average Chapter Length: The title with the shortest chapters, on average, was Whirlwind in the Thorn Tree, averaging just 2,900 words each.
Should all chapters be the same length?
You also get to decide the typical length of a chapter, but that decision is much more arbitrary. Every chapter has to contain at least one scene, but aside from that, your chapters can be whatever length you feel like.
Is 2000 words enough for a chapter?
The average word count of a chapter ranges between 2,000 and 5,000 words and hinges on the type of story.
How long is too long for a chapter?
To find out how long should a chapter be, we examined books from a wide variety of genres and eras. From these numbers, we can establish some guidelines: the average word count of a chapter typically falls somewhere between 1,500 and 5,000 words, with 3,000–4,000 being the most common sweet spot.
Is 1000 words enough for a chapter?
Your chapters don’t have to be the same length. In fact, having chapters of similar length doesn’t matter at all. If one chapter is 5,000 words, and the next 1,200, and then 3,000, and then 1,000, that’s completely fine. It might even be beneficial.
Can a chapter be 3 pages long?
A: There are no hard-and-fast rules on how long or short a chapter needs to be. It could be three pages. It could be 22.
Is 7000 words too long for a chapter?
There are no rules when it comes to chapter length. The important thing is to concentrate on making your chapters fit your story, not on making your story fit your chapters. Many novelists these days prefer chapters that are between 1,500 words—or six book pages— and 8,000 words, or 32 book pages.
How long is a Brandon Sanderson chapter?
My book is epic fantasy and the chapters average about 2500 words. However, I did not write with any particular length in mind, so they vary from as short as about 400 words to as long as 12000. I wrote in scenes, so the chapter lengths just arose naturally.
Is 6000 words too long for a chapter?
There are no set in stone rules governing chapter length. And if you’ve read enough books, you’ve likely noticed that some chapters in the same book can be a few pages long (or shorter), while others are closer to 6,000 words.
How many words are in Stephen King’s chapters?
This Side of Paradise: 8,100 word chapters. Hunger: 18,300 words. Gravity’s Rainbow: 76,000 words. All the King’s Men: up to 100 page sections.
Why are Stephen King chapters so long?
King is truly a master of pacing. His use of short/long chapters never feels forced or pre planned–they feel organic to the story being told. I do have an issue with many contemporary writers who don’t have his sense of story arc–just as a book has a natural story arc, so does a well constructed chapter.
Can a chapter be too short?
Chapter lengths don’t really matter too much. No manuscript has ever been rejected by an agent or neglected by a reader just because a chapter was too short or too long. That said, chapter breaks are one of the key rhythmical features of a novel. Your story’s most obvious beats.
How many chapters should a fiction book have?
As a general rule, novels between 70,000 and 90,000 words will probably have anywhere between 15 and 25 chapters. But in the end, the number of chapters in your book should be secondary to your story.
Is 1600 words enough for a chapter?
The average chapter length for most authors is usually between 1,000-1,500 words. Some people even go further than that and publish 2,000-2,500+ word chapters depending on what their goals are.
Is 2 pages enough for a chapter?
Some authors like longer chapters. Some like shorter ones. It’s up to you. However, there is an industry average, and it seems to be about 8 to 10 pages, give or take a little.
How short is too short for a chapter in a novel?
Chapters are only topping out at around five pages or so. There’s no rule about chapters. Apparently, there are novels with an occasional one-word chapter.
How do you write a good chapter?
How to Structure the Chapters of Your Novel
- Start with action. …
- Shape around plot development. …
- Approach each chapter with a specific goal. …
- Use chapter titling to distill your focus. …
- Consider pacing. …
- Show a different point of view. …
- Seek balance.
How long does it take to write a chapter?
Well, most chapters are 2,000 to 5,000 words long, so it should take you about 1-3 weeks per chapter when you’re first starting out. What you should really do is determine how long each of your chapters will be, and give yourself appropriate deadlines for each.
How long does it take Stephen King to write a book?
Finish your first draft in three months.
King likes to write 10 pages a day. Over a three-month span, that amounts to around 180,000 words. “The first draft of a book — even a long one — should take no more than three months, the length of a season,” he says.
How long does it take to edit 50000 words?
Beyond the editorial review, when it comes to editing, a good rule of thumb—whether it’s a round of content editing or copyediting—is two weeks for every 50,000 words.
Is 50000 words too short for a novel?
If you’re writing your first novel, the general rule of thumb for novel writing is a word count in the 80,000 to 100,000 range. While anything over 40,000 words can fall into the novel category, 50,000 is considered the minimum novel length. Anything over 110,000 words is considered too long for a fiction novel.
How much does a first time author make?
around $10,000
As we can see from many authors and agents the average first time author is projected to earn around $10,000 for their new book. After you pay your agent and invest in promotion, there isn’t much left over.
What is the longest book ever written?
The Guinness Book of World Records gives the honor to Marcel Proust’s elephantine Remembrance of Things Past, weighing in at 9,609,000 characters (including spaces).