What's a good word count?

[Inkling-for-Christ]

Hi Emberlings (or whatever we call ourselves)

I have a question. I’m working on my manuscript and noticed that each chapter has a different word count. Some barely reach 200, most are between 200-300, a few exceed 800 and only two go above 1,000. What is a good word average for a chapter? I figured that ~420 words per chapter=15K, ~550 words=20K, and 950 words= 35K.

@kate

@briannastorm

@gabriellepollack

@jenwriter17

@morreafirebird
@joyofemberley

@lady-iliara, @anyone else

INFJ, Child of God, wannabe author, writer, dreamer, fan of DR. Who, Star Wars, NCIS-LA

[Brianna Storm Hilvety]

@inkling-for-christ

Here’s a post from Writer’s Digest that answers this question rather straightforwardly: http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/long-novel-chapters

And here’s an article that covers the issue in more depth: https://wordcounter.net/blog/2017/02/15/102944_how-many-words-chapter.html

Basically, you want to let your content dictate the length instead of constraining yourself to a set amount of words. 😉

[K.M. Small]

@inkling-for-christ what Brianna said 🙂 I think it mainly depends on the genre you’re writing and the pacing you want. For YA, I think between 1,500 and 2,500 is good (I’m usually at 2k). But if it’s a fast-paced story, it might be shorter.

"Beauty will save the world." - Dostoevsky

[Jenna Terese]

@inkling-for-christ I think Brianna covered it. 😉 In my opinion, chapters don’t matter too much in the first draft. I mean, it doesn’t have to be a hard and fast rule. Some people just write the whole book and then separate into chapters later. That’s just me though. 🙂

"If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write." -Martin Luther
www.jennaterese.com

[Inkling-for-Christ]

@jenwriter17, thanks. I’m actually deleting some chapters. (This is like my 10th draft.) I find that my chapters tend to just naturally end. and it’s like each break is kinda like the commercial period.

On the side, I can’t help but notice you are an INFJ too!!!! And a Marvel and Star wars person! Ready for questions?? 1) how do you as an INFJ work? 2)who is your favorite Marvel Character? 2a)what did you think of infinity war? 3)who is your favorite star wars character? 3a) how do you feel about the last Jedi?

INFJ, Child of God, wannabe author, writer, dreamer, fan of DR. Who, Star Wars, NCIS-LA

[Inkling-for-Christ]

@morreafirebird, interesting. I noticed that my chapters seem to hang around 2-300 with a few being more. I’m trying to set a 600 word per chapter goal just to lengthen it a bit, because my chapters are really kind short

INFJ, Child of God, wannabe author, writer, dreamer, fan of DR. Who, Star Wars, NCIS-LA

[Jenna Terese]

@inkling-for-christ I have actually changed to an INFP. Well, I think so anyway. I kind of bounce back and forth. 😉

Wow, all the questions! 😀 1) ‘Work’ as in writing? Or just life? 2) Captain America, without a doubt. 😉 But I also like Hawkeye 3) Infinity War…was my least favorite Avengers movie. I thought there were just too many characters (THAT’S WHY MY FAVE CHARACTERS ONLY GOT TWO MINUTES OF SCREEN TIME!!!) and the ending just tore my heart out 🙂 4) I really like the newer characters like Rey, Finn, and Poe. But I also like Kenobi as well 5) I loved it! It’s been a while since I’ve watched it, but I really liked Rey’s whole training period. she’s awesome 😀

How about you? asking you the same questions 😛

"If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write." -Martin Luther
www.jennaterese.com

[Gabrielle Pollack]

@inkling-for-christ What they said. 😛 Some people like each chapter to contain a scene while others like to break at different parts of the scene for impact. I like both ways of doing things. As Bri said, content is king and should determine where chapter breaks are. 🙂

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