According to the Encarta dictionary:
Chapter: one of the main sections of a text, usually having a title or number as a heading
Scene: a short section of a play, movie, opera, or work of literature that presents a single event
Chapter breaks are generally used at crucial points in a story in order to build tension. Scenes show what happens during a specific time period, or in a specific location. A long scene might make up a whole chapter, but sometimes chapters include several short scenes.
Scene breaks are indicated by leaving an extra line, usually with a special symbol—such as #–centered on that line to clearly signal the reader that something is about to change. It may be a switch in the point of view character, a move to a different location, a flashback, or the return from one.
Short chapters and scenes can build suspense and increase the pace of a story. However, quickly switching back and forth between point of views or settings can also be confusing. Rather than “head hopping” or using lots of short scenes, you might consider using a narrative summary of certain events, or an explanation within dialog, to make the story flow more smoothly.
Approximately how long do you think a chapter should be? Does it depend on the genre of the story? Do you prefer point of view changes to be done with new chapters, or does it matter to you?
Long chapters can lose me as a reader., especially if they are filled with narrative summary. I prefer shorter chapters that cover one scene, and in longer chapters, several shorter scenes that keep the pace of the story but doesn’t bog the reader down with unnecessary details. Sometimes narrative summaries can slow down the pace of a story if too much “telling” and not enough “showing” occurs. I find myself rewriting sections of narrative summary in my works and adding more dialogue or action to keep the pace of the story going. Sometimes it works. Sometimes I branch off into a whole new scene or event–not what I was anticipating. But when that happens, I try to work it back into the story.
I’m not fond of long chapters either. On the other hand, I don’t like lots of short chapters where the POV switches with each chapter. I like to get to know characters, and that’s hard to do with some fast-paced plots told from multiple points of view. Finding the right balance for the elements of a story is difficult.
I think chapters tend to write themselves. You can sense a natural break in the narrative in many spots, but it’s where that time shift, small climax, resolution or impending new problem (to name a few) occur that the chapter seems to want to end.
I find long chapters daunting to read. If I look at a 500 page book and there are only a dozen chapters, I shudder. Chapters are like ocean waves; they build slowly, crest, break and scatter all over the beach. Then the next one starts.
As far as POV shifts, all I care is that it is done skillfully and seamlessly. I’ve seen shifts between paragraphs that work okay. I think the chapter shift works best, but I wouldn’t say it’s the only way. However, when a writer head hops mid-paragraph, during dialog exchanges or mid-sentence, that’s when they usually lose me.
John, it does seem like most chapters end at a natural breaking point, but sometimes in the suspense genre the authors seem to purposely put in a cliffhanger and switch POV characters in the next chapter. I’m annoyed when I have to wait several chapters to get back to the characters I like reading about. In a book I read last week, I skipped ahead to finish the entire subplot about one guy I wanted to know what happened to, then went back and read a little about the others. Since I knew the ending, though, the story didn’t hold my interest…
I agree with you about head-hopping. I like distinct changes at natural breaking points so I don’t have to think too hard about what’s going on. Reading shouldn’t be work (unless it’s for pay).
I hope Erik isn’t keeping you up all night–or perhaps that’s giving you more hours to work on your writing? The first few months after each of my kids were born were always hardest for me to adjust to, but I’d love to have the chance to go back and enjoy it all again.
Carol
I forgot to add, with apologies for a semi-plug for a friend, that if you really want to get into the breakdown of chapters and scenes, Jordan Rosenfeld’s “Make A Scene” guide to writing is worthy of your attention. It is instructive on many aspects of writing, breaking down types of scenes, creating settings and weaving subtext and background into the story that really bring the writing alive.
–John
John, I don’t mind plugs for friends, but you didn’t mention where to find her guide. I checked the Editor Unleashed forum and didn’t see a workshop called Make a Scene. If you’d like to post the link so anyone interested could find it, that would be fine with me.
Carol
Carol,
Rosenfeld’s Make A Scene is a book published by Writer’s Digest Books. I agree with John that it’s a good read and well-worth your time.
On the question of length, I think it depends. As you’ve already mentioned, chapters have a natural breaking point, either at the end of one scene or at the end of multiple scenes that are so closely related it would feel awkward to split them up. Still, that’s a call for the writer and his intent. You’ve already mentioned pace. In order to speed things up, a writer may chop the chapters down, especially toward the end as the suspense and tension ratchets up.
On the issue of changing POVs, either through a scene break or a chapter break, I believe that some stories demand it. For example, when you’re reading a book by Tom Clancy, with multiple “key” characters who are worlds apart (or even separated by depths, as was the case in The Hunt for Red October), you can’t avoid flipping from one to the other to keep things moving in real time. Stephen King also did this in a couple of his books: The Stand and The Dark Half.
I agree with you on the cliffhanger issue, though. It’s a crime to jerk the reader away from a cliffhanger, only to catch up twenty pages later. Really, what was so important in those twenty pages that couldn’t have waited until the cliffhanger had been resolved? At the very least, the twenty pages should have been scaled down to a page or two, IMO.
An informative and thought-provoking post. As always.
Stephen, thanks for clarifying that Make a Scene is a book. That’s one more for my “to read” list.
You make some good points about the breaking points for chapters, and I agree with you about cliffhangers. I’m happiest with 2 or 3 POV characters, with each having their own (short)chapters. I don’t mind lots of cliffhangers as long as I don’t have to wait long to find out what happens.
I like chapters that end with cliffhangers. I find that most of the time I quit reading is mid-chapter, after the cliffhanger has been resolved. I don’t have an opinion on chapter length. I’ve written long and short. I only like writing head hopping if there’s a huge event that needs to be covered from different perspectives but I don’t like writing (or reading) POV’s that haven’t been present for the entire novel. I don’t usually do “one-shots,” the exception being character death, which can be kind of cool for a one-shot POV.
Cliffhangers are good, though sometimes they feel like a plot device instead of a natural break in the story.
I like POV’s from characters that are established early in the story, too. When I read one half way through the book from some minor character’s view, it feels like a disruption.
Stephen took care of your request for me (waves: thanks Stephen!) but here’s a link to her web page if anyone is interested.
http://jordanrosenfeld.wordpress.com/
Funny Stephen mentions The Stand because that was one story where the head-hopping worked okay. I’ve read it twice, the second time after I’d become a little more informed about writing technique, and so I “noticed” the transitions on one level and appreciated the way they were deftly handled.
–John
Thanks for the link, John.
I haven’t read The Stand. I’ve tried reading a few of King’s books, but they’re too intense for me.
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