Questions tagged [chapters]
This tag should be used for questions about chapters, a way to divide a book into smaller parts.
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Is it necessary to use chapters for fiction?
Life doesn't happen in chapters — at least, not regular ones. Nor do movies. Homer didn't write in chapters. I can see what their purpose is in children's books ("I'll read to the end of the chapter, ...
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Writing garbage to see if the characters do something interesting?
I need a change ~ 80% of the way through my story. At the moment, I'm just throwing my characters into different combinations and seeing if they come up with anything interesting.
Two of my ...
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When we start a book from the climax (from the middle of the chapter), what is it called?
Let's say that we have a plot that goes from A-Z and M is the middle (climax) part of it. There is this style of writing in which we start from M, then again back to A-Z.
At the start of a book is ...
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Should important events that happen a long time before the rest of the story be in a prologue or in chapter 1?
Context: I’m currently writing a novel that has a built in prologue. I’m unsure if I should use the prologue as the first chapter. It involves the main character being sent away by his parents for his ...
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How do you deal with Chapter 2 when Chapter 1 is a volcano opening?
I know the logic behind volcano openings and why they’re problematic (they set the expectation that that level of action and excitement will continue; they’re a hard act to follow; they make a promise ...
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Is it okay for a chapter's POV to shift as it progresses?
I have this duo in my novel, they're always together in chapters. Usually the story alternates between them within their plot, though mostly leaning to one of the characters, as he's one of the MCs ...
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Are there any established rules for splitting books into parts, chapters, sections etc?
I am working with an author, whose approach is to write her text, approximately divided by indicators where she wants the breaks to be, with the idea that later she and I would improve the breaks and ...
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Building a scene and readability
When building a scene at the beginning of a chapter for instance, before character interactions take place, what are the important elements to consider, and how long should the description be, before ...
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Sizing of a chapter and how many should I use?
This is basically a follow-up question I asked here: Scene switching and how to do it?
I always considered it normal for a chapter to have between 3000 and 5000 words.
And people around here thought ...
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Reusing story title as chapter title
I've come up with a good title for my story, but it would also work really well as the title for the first chapter. However, I wonder whether it's at all advisable to do that. Do other stories do that?...
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Chapters - Writing Order
I, like most writers, have a number of ideas about my current work in progress. I know how some chapters in the story will play out almost precisely (the ending / final chapter, for example) and how ...
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Is there a place for an epilogue in a standalone novel?
By definition, an epilogue is an additional chapter after the end of a book. Also, it literally means "additional word".
I can imagine a need for an epilogue in a series of novels when there is a ...
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Is starting each chapter with a diary entry cliche?
In my post-apocalyptic story, my narrator keeps a journal, and each new chapter starts with a journal entry of hers that's relevant to the events of the chapter. How often is this done, and is this a ...
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What is front/back matter?
I was browsing around for different writing tools and one of the sites mentioned tools for front and back matter in addition to tools for chapter planning. What is front / back matter?
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Is it okay for the final chapter to be a lot longer than all the other chapters?
In one of my novels (it's a middle grade fantasy novel) the chapters average around 2,000 words. But the final climactic chapter is currently almost 7,000 words. I am considering splitting it into two ...
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Is 7000 words too long for a chapter? [duplicate]
I've been working on a story for the last 4 years. It's just a personal project now and I've gone really in depth to clean up any plot holes I can readily see (thanks Cinemasins). I think I love this ...
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Longer or shorter chapters?
This is not a question asking if I should add more or less to my chapters in terms of descriptions and so on to make them longer or shorter. It's more about grouping an already written story.
I'm ...
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What to submit when asked for "sample chapters"?
For a submission (to a grant program, competition, agent, or publisher) that asks for sample chapters, which chapters do you choose?
For example, a grant program for unfinished works I'm interested ...
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What to do with 'blank' chapters?
I have a chapter outline for the novel series I'm writing, and I have a few 'blank' chapters where I don't know what to write in them. I need to do something quickly, because I've started writing the ...
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Should I drop my chapter because I don't like it?
I'm writing a chapter where my character is having an educational competition and I feel that my writing is very poor. I can't find events to write about aside from asking and answering questions of ...
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Am I Breaking Too Many Rules?
I've finally committed to writing my first novel. I've been listening to things like Writing Excuses which encourages first time writers to finish their works, but I'm definitely writing an old ...
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Self-Publishing Chapters
Is selling individual chapters a valid marketing scheme? Is there anything against it or examples where it worked to sell a whole novel?
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Chapter 1 Problems
I've written for a year now(ish) and I've come along some great ideas I'd like to form into existence.
But I always, always, ALWAYS have one problem. I can't seem to get past the first chapter or ...
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How can I plan the chapters in my book?
I'm looking for methods of planning chapters for books. I always saw structures and scripting in the macro level, but never in the micro level.
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How can I prevent the ends of my chapters from feeling forced?
Background
I've found that at the end of a lot of my chapters, the endings feel quite forced and abrupt. This is because I don't know where to go, I've done what I need to do. For example:
Excerpt ...
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Prologue or chapter 1?
Ok so, I’m kind of new to writing. I wrote a couple of books in my teens but they were just for fun. I’m now starting to write a book I hope to get published.
So, my book starts about a year in the ...
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Is it too long for each chapter of a 12-15 chapter novel to be around 10k words in length?
I'm writing my first novel and I wanted to try and write around 12-15 chapters about 10k-ish (give or take a thousand or two) words each. The idea behind it being each chapter covers a very large arc ...
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Organizing categories and tags for a writing blog
I've started a writing blog (specifically for research and other information about my novel in progress) with Wordpress and am having a very difficult time with categorization. In other blogs I've ...
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How can I change scene without changing chapter?
I'm writing a short story/novelette (unfinished but at about 7k words) and I have 5 chapters already. I intend to add more content during a second or third pass.
I've been using chapters to change ...
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Is a Prologue a Chapter?
Many agents ask for the first 3 chapters. Is a prologue a chapter? So send the prologue & chapters One & two?
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Use of Separating Fiction into "Parts?"
I was wondering about the use of separating fiction into "parts", similar to chapters but larger and spanning more text and using these to divide up books within a series. If I am unclear, refer to ...
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Can other characters than the main character have point of view?
I am writing a story. I actually just started and I am still writing the first chapter. Is it okay to write from a minor character's point of view first?
Simply put, the main character is unconscious ...
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Is there any published resource on how many words chapters should be?
I'm aware of the rules of thumb (around 3,000 - 5,000 words, depending on whom you ask), but has this actually been written in a credible manual for writers that can be cited (not a website)?
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Trouble focusing on Story 1 because Story 2 seems so much better. How to get the next Story 1 chapter done?
I have 3 stories that I rotate between when writing the new chapters, one of which I just recently finished the first chapter. This new story('Tech Vs Magic'* ) seems really good to me right after ...
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Is it a big no-no to have different sections in each chapter?
For non fiction writing, is it a must to structure all chapters in the same way?
For example, a book has a few chapters, with each chapter having a few sections that name the topic that's being ...
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How to show time lapse between two chapters?
I have a ten year time lapse between an event in my first chapter and the second chapter.
The first chapter has an event that takes place during the protagonist's teenage years that lays the ...
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When should I start thinking about chapters?
I'm putting together an editing plan for myself for my novel, and someone said something that made me think of chapters. For my first draft, I hadn't ever thought about chapters that much, only ...
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Is it okay to have wildly varying chapter lengths in a fantasy novel?
I'm currently writing a fantasy novel and it's my first piece of work. My chapters currently range from 500 to 3,350 words. Is this too much of a dramatic change? Should I go back and pad out some of ...
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Is it ok to begin a new chapter with a completely new character/time/setting? [closed]
I think I've written a pretty good chapter one, but now the question is: where do I go from there?
I mean: should I introduce a new POV character? Can I jump ahead in time a little to somewhat after ...
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Is there a word for when a text is between chapters that enriches the story but is not part of the previous or following chapter?
Is there a word for when a text is between chapters that enriches the story but are not part of the previous or following chapter?
I'm writing fiction and wanted to have in-universe news articles from ...
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Chapter size matters?
My chapters are usually 10 or so pages long, but I've been reading this one book with chapters as small as 2 pages.
Does this affect the story progression at all?
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What is the best way to test two version of chapter 1?
Here I ask/discuss some feedback I have gotten about my chapter 1.
After attending a different/second writers' critique group, I was sufficiently motivated to try to write chapter 1 with multiple ...
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Is it bad if you start all your chapters with a description of the surroundings?
Is it bad if you start all your chapters with a description of the surroundings? I wrote 4 chapters and it looks terrible, because I always start in a room and I am just describing the room with the ...
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How many pages are required to be in each chapter?
I’m writing a book right now. The chapter that I just finished seems as if it’s done but it’s only four pages. Should I leave it as it is, or does it need more pages?
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Character feelings?
I have 2 characters that I want to have a romantic tension with. The feelings are unrequited. Can I have it so that 1 chapter basically introduces and then ends the conflicting feelings or is this ...
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Is it confusing to name a chapter after a non-POV character?
I've got another chapter title question.
In the first chapter of my story, a significant secondary character is introduced, and I think it makes sense to use the character's name as the chapter title....
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Should the average length of a chapter depend on the length of the novel?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Word_count#In_fiction
This Wikipedia page tells you under which classification a fictional work falls under depending on its length, so we have 3 I am most interested in,...
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Are filler chapters/episodes unnecessary?
I was considering the use of filler chapters in my story, to flesh out the character's problems and daily life. These don't necessary progress the plot, but they do help the characters' relationships ...
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The value of labeling book sections
My wife is beginning a novel, and she's written four chapters in under six pages. I suggested that she consider using page breaks, or lowercase Roman numbered sections, instead of chapters because a ...
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Can I just change the whole subplot for a new character?
I have a side character that I'm writing the POV of and their story just opened up so many possibilities for the story. I don't know what happens after this story, but so far it has all been rated E ...
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