So far I’ve talked
about where story ideas come from, naming characters, dramatic story situations, title choices and brainstorming. Scroll down for more of this blog series on how I put a book
together.
It’s one of the mysteries of writing: no one ever tells you
the required length for a chapter. That’s in part because a chapter is as long as it
needs to be to reach the end of the scene in progress. Some writers create
multiple short
scenes while others like working with a single long one per chapter. Some have a single POV (point of
view) while others are written from the viewpoint of different characters with their
scenes divided by space transitions. It’s all good. Yet it’s also true that the
average length for most chapters in mainstream commerical fiction is 5000 words
comprising two scenes.
With this information in mind, it’s easy to see that a basic
chapter chart for a shorter contemporary romance should look something like the
MS Word document below:
Chapter 1
See the general idea?
Please feel free to cut/paste the Chapter Chart above if you feel it could be useful.
It’s one of the mysteries of writing: no one ever tells you
the required length for a chapter. That’s in part because a chapter is as long as it
needs to be to reach the end of the scene in progress. Some writers create
multiple short
scenes while others like working with a single long one per chapter. Some have a single POV (point of
view) while others are written from the viewpoint of different characters with their
scenes divided by space transitions. It’s all good. Yet it’s also true that the
average length for most chapters in mainstream commerical fiction is 5000 words
comprising two scenes.
This means a romance story of about 100,000 words, or 400
pages, usually covers 20 – 24 chapters. The difference between the two numbers allows
for cutting some chapters shorter for dramatic emphasis or letting them run
longer to complete a scene or include reaction to an event in the POV of
another character.
A contemporary category romance novel of 50,000 - 60,000 words requires shorter chapters as
there is less room for extraneous description or internal monologue; chapters
in these run 2500 - 4000 words. Though novels of
this kind can have fewer chapters and words than the average given, cut them too short
and they become novellas, usually pegged at 20, 000 –
30,000 words.
For planning purposes, a longer book should begin with an
inciting incident or crisis, as described in my previous post on brainstorming,
then include other planned dramatic incidents or events every two or three
chapters. The next to last chapter is normally dedicated to the climax, and the
final chapter ties up loose ends in an exercise known as the denouement. The
final paragraph, for romance novels, usually provides the traditional HEA,
or Happy Ever After.
CHAPTER
CHART
Chapter 1
Inciting incident or first crisis
Chapter 2
Reaction to and discussion of incident
Chapter 3
Crisis/dramatic incident/plot point
Chapter 4
Reaction to and discussion of crisis
Chapter 5
Crisis/dramatic incident/plot point
Chapter 6
Reaction to and discussion of crisis
Chapter 7
Crisis/dramatic incident/plot point
Chapter 8
Explanation and discussion of crisis
Chapter 9
Climax of story, a larger event than previous crises
Chapter 10
Denouement and HEA
Actual events and character actions should of course replace
the general descriptions. I often indicate, as well, the central action or conflict in the
scenes that will take place in each chapter, and the character POV
for the scenes. A longer book would differ only by adding more
crises/dramatic events/plot points and including an extra chapter or two between
these as needed.
Please remember that this is just a guide, a basic road map
for your story. Things can easily change or be rearranged as the story
progresses.
For an example of how to use a chapter chart,
here’s the first entry for book 3 of my Italian Billionaires series, “The Amalfitano’s Bold Abduction”:
Chapter 1
Inciting incident, heroine's POV with possible change to hero's for final action: Traffic cop Dana Marsden’s Italian vacation is
interrupted by a traffic jam on the narrow, fog-obscured Amalfi Coast road.
While trying to untangle it, she rescues a cat – and a handsome Italian appears
out of the mist to offer his aid. During their disagreement over who will
establish order, Dana’s rental car with all her possessions goes over the
cliff.
Please feel free to cut/paste the Chapter Chart above if you feel it could be useful.
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 | Since publishing her first book at age 27, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Blake has gone on to write over 65 historical and contemporary novels in multiple genres. She brings the story-telling power and seductive passion of the South to her stories, reflecting her 8th-generation Louisiana heritage. Jennifer lives with her husband in northern Louisiana. |
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