Have you ever read a book with chapters so long you thought the chapter would never end? It can seem like the chapter goes on forever, especially when you're searching for a good stopping point. If you're like me you refuse to stop reading in the middle of a chapter. It's these types of books that I tend to fall asleep reading only to wake up having lost my place because the book has fallen onto the floor or my page is wrinkled from my face having laid on it. These are some of my biggest pet peeves when reading.
Then there are authors like James Patterson who write very short, concise chapters. While I love James Patterson's writing and do enjoy the short chapters when I need to find a good stopping point, his writing can seem a bit choppy at times, especially when he doesn't give enough time to a particular scene.
Overall, I prefer writers who know how to end a chapter successfully without being wordy. I love James Patterson's writing for more reasons than the short chapters, but they do help. Personally, I think the length of a chapter may not matter if the author writes well. There are those times I love reading long chapters, but they have to be able to keep my attention.
Which style do you prefer and why? Comment below.
I honestly prefer shorter chapters... when reading AND writing =). I often find that as I'm writing I get bored if nothing's really going on, so I end up throwing something crazy in there and then ending it. lol
ReplyDeleteI definitely prefer writing shorter chapters. Even when I try to write longer ones I do the same thing you do by ending the chapter on some crazy note. :)
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