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gmw · 05-15-2017, 03:51 AM

My current project is told from the perspective of three different characters (well, four, but one sort of hands over to another). These perspectives interleave to reveal details over the same sequence of events (mostly).

Normally when I do this I simply use a context break (- - -) within the chapter, and choose my chapter breaks independently. I may still end up doing that anyway, but...

As it happens I have, while writing this, been assembling the pieces such that the each perspective has its own chapter heading (just the character name). This is convenient because it means you don't have to take special care to make certain the reader knows who they are with when you change perspectives (not usually a big deal, each character is sufficiently different that it is normally obvious, but it is still a consideration). It has occurred to me to wonder whether it might be acceptable to publish it like this - with lots of short chapters.

Several chapters would be very short, two or three pages, a handful at just one page. Other chapters would be of a more reasonable length (a dozen pages or more). But since it now appears this could turn out to be a 400 page book, it could add up to a very large number of chapters (perhaps 60 or even more). I currently expect the story to have at least 4 parts.

It's not a decision I need to make until I have a complete draft, and that will be a while yet. Also, later in the story, as my characters come together more, the separation may prove to be impracticable anyway. But the question remains:

Is it acceptable to produce a novel with a large number of short chapters? What are the downsides for readers?

05-15-2017, 03:51 AM	#1
gmw cacoethes scribendi Posts: 5,809 Karma: 137770742 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Aura One & H2Ov2, Sony PRS-650	Lots of short chapters, yes or no? My current project is told from the perspective of three different characters (well, four, but one sort of hands over to another). These perspectives interleave to reveal details over the same sequence of events (mostly). Normally when I do this I simply use a context break (- - -) within the chapter, and choose my chapter breaks independently. I may still end up doing that anyway, but... As it happens I have, while writing this, been assembling the pieces such that the each perspective has its own chapter heading (just the character name). This is convenient because it means you don't have to take special care to make certain the reader knows who they are with when you change perspectives (not usually a big deal, each character is sufficiently different that it is normally obvious, but it is still a consideration). It has occurred to me to wonder whether it might be acceptable to publish it like this - with lots of short chapters. Several chapters would be very short, two or three pages, a handful at just one page. Other chapters would be of a more reasonable length (a dozen pages or more). But since it now appears this could turn out to be a 400 page book, it could add up to a very large number of chapters (perhaps 60 or even more). I currently expect the story to have at least 4 parts. It's not a decision I need to make until I have a complete draft, and that will be a while yet. Also, later in the story, as my characters come together more, the separation may prove to be impracticable anyway. But the question remains: Is it acceptable to produce a novel with a large number of short chapters? What are the downsides for readers?