Chapters that hurt my head

I will give simple advice tonight that I think is very useful. Don't make chapters too long! Readers hate it. I hate it.

Sounds simple, and perhaps even amateur to some, but it's advice that should almost always be followed. I understand the temptation of writing very long chapters because of how scholarly it seems, but long long chapters are just annoying. I don't want to have to read 50 pages or more just to get from chapter 1 to 2. Twenty-Five pages should be a maximum, and I can't say what should be a minimum. I would have said five once upon a time, but the success of writers like Dan Brown with their frequent 1 page chapters shows that a writer can be successful with really short chapters.


Obviously, there are always exceptions to the rule, but there aren't many. Long chapters are usually unnecessary, and always bog down the reader. Many readers that get bogged down don't finish a book. Readers that don't finish a book don't recommend it to others, and that's sometimes how a book ends up in the bargain bin at the dollar store.

Taylor