Chapter Length Consistency

[Slytherinchica08]

I've recently been working on my edits for Life As We Know It again and my newest chapter I'm working on (chapter 8 ) is currently about 1000 words shorter than most of my other chapters. I'm sure I can close that gap a little more before I post the chapter but it got me to wondering if other people feel as concerned as I do about remaining fairly consistent with my chapter lengths and shooting for about 3000+ words for a chapter. I'm not sure why but I feel like anything less than that and I worry that the shortness of the chapter messes with the overall flow of the story. 

So what are your thoughts as both a reader and a writer? Does it bother you if you read a story and the chapters vary in length by about 1000 or so words or more? Where do you think the cut off is in terms of it messing with the flow of the story? 

[Oregonian]

I think that a variation in chapter length of 1000 words is not something to worry about at all.  It is more important to end a chapter when the scene (speaking generally) is over -- a major change in location, activities, or actors.  I would not pad a chapter with material that you would otherwise not include, just to achieve a certain length; such added material would be at risk of not contributing strongly to the plot or of muddying the focus.

I have sometimes included some pretty long chapters in my stories because there was not a logical place to divide the scene without breaking up the action or the focus, and in those cases reviewers have sometimes said, "This was a long chapter, but I was so interested that I didn't notice."  But it's also true that readers will notice the chapter's word length before they click on the next chapter, and if the story is not a real page-turner, they may be reluctant to commit to another long chapter all at once.

Chapter lengths between 2,000 and 4,000 words are a safe bet unless, as I mentioned, you need to go a little longer so as not to break the action or focus artificially.

I hope this helps. 

Vicki

[Simplicius]

As a reader, I take in the narrative and judge it for what it is. Maybe there's a reason one chapter was longer than another, maybe not but the totality of the story is what matters. Some stories have actually used an inconsistency to create a style (I think Richard Montanari does this but I may be misremembering) or to pursue a certain dramatic effect.

As a writer, if the chapter I'm writing is not meeting my established pattern (I like to aim for a solid 1,500) then I feel like a failure and it's the most significant factor in me stepping away from the story. I like to hit a stride, as a lot of others do, and just keep writing for as long as possible (since cutting is much easier than padding). If I stop or wind down, that an inidication that either I didn't have enough planned or that I simply failing to properly convert my thoughts into words.