How long is the average novel chapter

The longest average chapter lengths were lord of the rings 7,500, prince of nothing 8,700, and the. As a general guideline, chapters should be between 3,000 to 5,000 words. More generally, you could end a chapter when the action is about to shift to another time and another place, or on a cliffhanger that is, between a compelling question being raised and the answer being provided. This is specially true in memoir, ive found, because people tend to write everything about their lifebecause it all really happened. Within the publishing industry we tend to talk about the length of a book in words rather than in pages. With that in mind, ive tried to put together the definitive post on word count for fiction novels.

This averages to about 22 to 23 chapters per novel, with the average chapter length around 4,280 words. In 2015, the drop resumed as the average fell to 345. Even the most avid reader wants to pause eventually, and scene and chapter breaks offer them chances to do so. Most chapters vary from just over one page to 3 pages in length on average, 2 pages per chapter. A change of scene, a change of chapter seems to make sense to me. A typical novel is somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 words for atypical novels, the range is more like 40,000 to 250,000 words. Your chapter structure needs to be in proportion to the overall length of the book. This isnt to say that long books are no longer succeeding. The fault in our stars, by john green, 65,750 words, 25 chapters, average. I personally find the trend these days, particularly in thrillers, is to use shorter chapters. I remember reading some westerns in high school and, if i. Onethird of the novels that come into the agency are rejected because theyre too long or. Your chapter length has to work well with the overall word count of the book short chapters create an even distribution of both content and action. You dont have to pick a number like 80,000 and then divide it by 30 chapters to give you 2500.

Or you could split a lengthy scene in the novel into two chapters. There are no hardandfast rules on how long or short a chapter needs to be. Sep 20, 2019 the average fantasy novel should have between 50,000 and 150,000 words. What most writers do is just write the chapter, and finish it when it feels right to finish regardless of length. However, i understand that the length of twilight is unusually long for a debut novel. I am 42000 words in to my first novel and i have 39 chapters, so on average its just over words per chapter, though some may be nearer 2000.

In 2011, the lists average length peaked at 467 pages. Harry potter and the sorcerers stone has 17 chapters with titles, and about 4560 words per chapter. And as you can see, it varies, depending on the story. Oct 18, 2017 the average chapter word count of these novels falls within the 2,0005,000 range. Generally speaking, if a scene runs to more than fifteen pages, its on the long side. The study found the average chapter length in fantasy novels ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 words. Dec 02, 2015 how long does it take to write a novel. But again as a surprise to me, dune was a close second, averaging just 3,800 words per chapter. And, keeping your chapters short creates a good balance between content and action, and fits with this model of short actionable content.

Familiarize yourself with the type of genre you want to write, and try to pick the sizes you aim for based on that. Everything you need to know about book chapters scribe writing. A number of fanasy novels were analyzed including dune, the wizard of earthsea and the lord of the rings. I know that the first chapter should be as long as the first chapter needs to be, but im curious as to the rough average of how long the first chapters of most 400700 page novels are. How many words should there be per chapter in the average ya.

In 2016s list, ron chernows 816page alexander hamilton managed to crack the top spot. Have you ever wondered how long your novel should be. Kids books will have chapter lengths that vary by age range. Before you decide your average chapter length, its a good idea to think about the purpose behind dividing a book into chapters. For childrens fiction, the general rule is the younger the audience the shorter the book, and for ya novels the average is 50,00070,000 words. The longest average chapter lengths were lord of the rings 7,500, prince of nothing 8,700, and the beefiest chapters were found in the black company, with.

Also, the chapters are evenly divided into 3 titled parts. The targets average chapter contains 1,600 words while the goldfinchs average chapter contains 25,000 words. This is not to say that all modern novels worth reading are shortchaptered, or readers wont be interested in your book if average chapter length. What is the ideal wordcount per chapter for a novel. If you search the internet for novel length, youll mostly receive the standard advice that a novel should fall somewhere between 80,000 and 100,000 words. I use the target average of 1,500 words per chapter. As persuasion progresses, jane austen seems to elongate hers, building them up on a crescendo. Im a details person and i like the intricacies of a good storyline. Chapters should be exactly as long as they need to be. May 12, 2012 new writers tend to assume that a chapter must be a certain set length in order to maintain the average novel length of around 80,000 95,000 words, but in truth, chapters can be as long or as short as you need them to be.

They pace a book, can be used for dramatic effect, and keep a readers. For full length novels on wattpad, the average or recommended length is generally 20003000 words per chapter. Memoir is the same as a novel and that means youre aiming for 80,00089,999. When it gets closer to 1,000, editors and agents may shy away. Really though, thats a terribly limited comparison, and a chapter can be as long as it needs to be. Chapter length is very hard to compare, because there is often a large variation in one novel, let alone the entire young adult genre. Sep 03, 2009 remember that a light novel is under 20,000 words but more than 15,000 words, so if ever wanting to publish it, be sure to convince the publisher that this is not a kids book. Analyzing chapter lengths in fantasy fiction creativity hacker.

The title with the shortest chapters, on average, was whirlwind in the thorn tree, averaging just 2,900 words each. When a tv show finishes act 1 which almost always happens just after something significant is revealed or an important question is raised, it goes to. Analyzing chapter lengths in fantasy fiction creativity. The hunger games has 27 untitled chapters, and about 3700 words per chapter. Most agree that under 1,000 words would be rather short and that over 5,000 might be rather too long. Some will tell you 2,500 words is the average, while others will say that 3,000 to 5,000 word chapters are more likely to be the norm. How long is an average chapter for a novel and how do writers. The average chapter word count of these novels falls within the.

However, keep in mind when we talked about how people dont know how to edit their work. Martin and harper lee keep things more evenly paced in a game of thrones and to kill a mockingbird, respectively. Never write a chapter longer than 4,000 words bookfox. You shouldnt set manuscript guidelines for yourself on chapter length. If anyone could give me an answer, that would be wonderful. For adult fiction especially crime, thrillers, womens fiction, saga and romance, 100,000 words is a good. In 2017, the downward trend has continued, with an average book length of 273 pages. I wrote, and published, a novel once that had a chapter that was 7 words long.

You could end a novels chapter after an interlude instead. You shouldnt set manuscript guidelinesfor yourself on chapter length. I reckon 60 words on 17 july was my low point, but i notice i worked on the outline, too, that day. But i dont like to do things halfheartedly, so here is the bigger picture of length in fiction a novel is anything over 50,000 words. A suitable boy, by vikram seth, 592,000 words, 19 chapter, average chapter length a totally insane 31,000 words. No one is going to take the time to count all the words in a chapter from thousands of books. The lengths vary hugely from title to title, but chapters released weekly seem to average 1620 pages while chapters released monthly average 3650 pages. The place where a chapter ends is a brilliant device to create suspense or surprise.

Martin and harper lee keep things more evenly paced in a game of thrones and to kill a mockingbird. New writers tend to assume that a chapter must be a certain set length in order to maintain the average novel length of around 80,000 95,000 words, but in. It should be enough to communicate your message effectively. Jan 25, 2018 the length of a chapter in a novel should be less about words and pages and more about plot points. Word count is something i dont think about too often until i travel to a writers conference, and then someone asks a simple, innocent question and a firestorm follows. A light novel is around 50,000 words on average, not 20,000. Sep, 2009 its really up to you though go with your gut on it if you think the chapter needs more then write more or if you think the chapter is too long, read over it again and chop and change. Count the pages in each chapter and divide by 250 to get an answer for what is the average number of words per chapter. Now that weve covered how many words are in a novel, its time to break it down even further by finding out the ideal number of chapters in a novel and how many words are used in a typical chapter depending on the writing genre, word count in book chapters can vary considerably. Speaking of thin and fat novels, youre probably wondering how long a novel is, precisely short answer. My knowledge of romances is limited to what my wife has lying around the house, but not many of them seem to be thick enough to hit 100,000 words. Mar 03, 2015 chapters should be just long enough to serve a purpose and, once that purpose is served, cut off so a new chapter or ministory can begin. Deciding how long your chapter should be depends a bit on your target audience.

These categories have long been a standard part of science fiction, at least, and long predate digital. That number actually lines up pretty well with the data we have on this, but again, that number should neither be a goal, nor a constraint. If im writing a novel, this gives me 40 chapters and 70,000 words when im done. As previously discussed, there are different requirements for both fiction and nonfiction genres. This means in a novel, a chapter can usually run from 628 novel pages or 314 word pages. You can fight that with short chapters that keep the readers attention and maintain a fast pace, but that can also be confusing to the reader. Oct 10, 2016 the lengths vary hugely from title to title, but chapters released weekly seem to average 1620 pages while chapters released monthly average 3650 pages.

Most manga stories run for as long as their mangaka manga author wants them to, or as long as their readership demands. In longer novels, the book may simply be divided into parts part i, part ii, part iii, etc. The last unicorn has a chapter that is 23,000 words long. Each chapter should be as long as it needs to be to communicate your message. Each chapter in your book tells a ministory that forwards your overall plot. A reasonable word count for a nonfiction book would be between 30,000 to 50,000 words. How long, on average, is the first chapter of a novel. Also, make sure your chapters are under 3,000 words. Typically, a book that is published in paperback format at a length of 300400 pages will come in between 80,000 and 100,000 words. The short novel has become quite rare in english, but in spanish many less than 100 pages are to be found.

A game of thrones, by george rr martin, 298,000 words, 60 chapters, average chapter length 4,970 words twlight, by stephenie meyer, 118,000 words, 25 chapters, average chapter length 4,720. There is interesting chapter length analysis available on creativity hacker. When i talk to my coaching clients about mapping out their story, the universal response is the assumption that there are only 2 possibilities. If the word count of twilight is disregarded, the average becomes around 88,625. That said, of course the books couldnt be more different. Perkins agency in new york says its much easier to market a firsttime novelists book if the word count falls between 80,000 and 100,000 words, or roughly 300 doublespaced, typed pagesthe average novel length. Therefore the novel has to be long, so seems to be the conventional logic. A scene can be picked up, read, and put back down though not too easily. If youre writing a young adult fantasy novel, you should keep your word count below 90,000 words or 300 book pages.

Deconstructing five spooky picture books with spoilers and word counts. Why chapter length matters more than you think medium. Things to know about chapter length in your novel joel. Go to the library and look at the top you define top ya books similar to what you are writing. If youd like some guidelines, you can assume that the average nonfiction book is 50k words, and that they have 12 chapters, so around 4k words would be an average chapter length. James patterson the mostselling author in the world is famous for his tiny chapter of a page and a half around 250500 words. Thats generally considered enough information to make a reader feel like an update was worth it, its long enough for most people to read in under ten minutes, its mobiledevice friendly, and its plenty of time for things to happen.