Question Regarding Chapter Length

[emeraldpen]

In reading WiP's or Multi-Chaptered Fic, is there a rule of thumb regarding length?

I'm looking at this thing that I'm writing and I'm thinking that these two "chapters" should actually be one chapter instead. It does jump the length up from around 2400 words to around 5000 words.

Meep!

Comments

[unlovablehands]

I say go by, you know, has something happened in this chapter? I'd try to keep your chapters around the same size, but you don't have to, obviously. Usually I'd say 1,500-5,000 is a good size for a chapter in a story where you're finishing all the chapters and then posting them. If it's a WIP it can be a little shorter if you're going to update A LOT, y'know?

[daegaer]

For one set of stories I've tried to keep the chapters all more or less the same length, at approximately 3000 words each - if needed I go longer, but I try not to have them be any shorter. I think the longest chapter so far has been about 4300 words. Like other people have said, I want a chapter that's long enough to be satisfying, but not so long as to be intimidating to read when the story is taken as a whole (the shortest of these stories is about 71000 words, so manageable chapters are a real neccessity!)