There are thousands upon thousands of books out there, and just as many authors, but one thing that’s always made me paranoid is chapter length. Early on, based simply on what I’d seen in other books, I resolved that every chapter should be a minimum of ten pages. I’ve done pretty well at sticking to that; in book format, some wind up being much longer. Clearly every author has their own view on things; sometimes I run across books where the chapters are no longer than a page. It doesn’t detract from the story, but I do find it confusing. I suppose the point I am trying to make—if there is one—is that different things work for different authors. If you can get your point across in a shorter chapter, then good on you. I know for a fact that some of my chapters are way too long, but I’ve also been my own editor for much of the process. I try to get a complete thought in, or at least lead into the next chapter before I end the current one. Any thoughts on this? I’ve also gotten to the point where I’m okay with writing an epilogue; those are usually short by definition.
I've always found it confusing when chapters are only a page or less. I find it much easier to follow when a chapter is ended with a certain point that may or may not be followed up with the very next chapter. I'm a huge fan of epilogues, especially when it may be a book that may not be part of a series. It just gives me a few more pages with the characters and an idea of where the author thinks they may be.
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