In an article for The Writer, Jack Smith shares advice for structuring chapters to create a sound and successful novel. “How exactly does one successfully divide a novel into chapters?” he asks. That might sound easy, but making conscious decisions about your chapter structure can help you develop your novel. After speaking with some noted novelists, Smith identifies these tips:
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- A chapter is a breaking point. Chapter breaks allow your readers to take a breath, says Thrity Umrigar.
- Chapters should also stand alone. “Chapters are discrete entities with their own integrity but serve a larger purpose,” Umrigar added. They function “as individual engines that power a story and move it along.” That said, your chapters should integrate into a whole. “Chapters should have a little problem connected to the overall plot that you want to solve,” said Donna Hemans.
- Chapters allow the writer to shift gears. Chapter breaks can divide your novel by time or allow a POV shift. However, a chapter can span multiple timelines or POV, provided the overall structure is consistent.
- Chapters allow for a turning point. “A provisional definition of a novel chapter for my own writing purposes is an episode that culminates in a momentary resolution,” noted Phong Nguyen. “Write each chapter so that something is resolved by the end, even if that conflict rears its head again later on, or if the resolution is minor compared to an overarching conflict.”
- Chapters and novels have their own rhythm. In the past, novels might be divided into chapters of similar length, but writers today have more freedom. Novels have their own rhythm and flow, says James Scott Bell. “A chapter enhances and builds on that rhythm,” he says. “Length, function, and strategy of a chapter is whatever the author wants it to be.”
- Chapters should end memorably. Some writers end with a moment of suspense or a story question, but that’s not necessary. “It is important to give the reader something memorable to hang onto,” Nguyen says. “It should be a striking image or an important narrative development,” even if the moment isn’t high drama.
- Chapters should propel your story but still satisfy on their own. “Each chapter needs to have some substance to begin with before you can get the reader longing for the next thing,” says Yuvi Zalkow.
