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Hellooo everybody! Today's vlog comes as a special request from one of my patrons over on Patreon,
Caroline Wheeler. (Singing) “Sweet Caroline! Pah, pah, pahhh.” Caroline wants to know all
about chapters. How to start them. Should they be long? Should they be short? What
the fuck ever? And I think this is a great idea. Don’t you? If you've been with me for a while,
you'll know I already covered this topic a really long time ago, but I still get questions about
it on a near daily basis. Which means, we're long overdue for an update. I'm dishing out the answers
to your 10 most popular questions about chapters, right now. Number One (1): What's a chapter? A
chapter is a division of a novel, that’s it. Books are typically divided up into smaller digestible
parts. And each of these parts is a chapter. Chapters are usually numbered. Sometimes authors
also give each chapter a title, which is fun, but unnecessary. Chapters allow your reader to find
natural pauses within the story in order to take a break, but only if they have to because if you're
writing your book correctly, they shouldn't want to put it down. Number Two (2): What sort of shit
do you HAVE to put in a Chapter? Each chapter needs to play some role in telling the story,
in moving the plot forward. Which means every single chapter needs to showcase at least ONE
major plot point. It's also common for subplots to be featured alongside the main plot. So if your
chapter moves the subplots forward, even better. “But Jenna! I have a chapter that features no plot
points, but it's great for character development. That's okay. Right?” Nope. Sometimes aspiring
writers will add content to their story that serves absolutely no benefit toward the plot.
They’ll say it’s character development, but it's really just filler. Here's the thing,
you should be able to show the development of your character over the course of the
story through the plot and subplots. If your main plot is a fantastic adventure,
you should have plenty of plot centric moments to showcase your characters fear, strength, or
curiosity. If you're featuring a romantic subplot, then you should have lots of opportunities to
show off your character's flirtatious side, or their blossoming sexuality. Simply put,
you don't need to include an entire chapter that's strictly character growth. Not only will this bore
the reader, it just doesn't make sense because you should be developing your character through
your plot points and subplots. Chapter Three (3): How do I know where one chapter ends and
another begins? They're labeled. So that should help. The outlining phase is the ideal time to
divide your story into chapters. Look for natural breaks between scenes that could easily translate
into a segue between one chapter to the next. Maybe the next scene is the start of a new day,
or maybe the scene ends with the perfect cliffhanger. The stopping points are way more
obvious while outlining, versus while writing the story itself. In other words, if you’re a pantser,
I've got nothing for you. Sorry about it. Number Four (4): Should I write my entire novel first,
then divided into chapters? No, that's an awful idea. Chapters are structured, they often have
a beginning, middle and end, kind of like a mini story. If you write the novel straight through,
then divide it into chapters, this is gonna require a ton of rewrites because now you got
to lock down some intros, some transitions, some cliffhangers, a bunch of shit. You’re creating a
headache for yourself. One that could have been avoided if you just plan your chapters ahead of
time. Number Five (5): How should I start and end my chapters? There's kind of a trick to
starting and ending chapters in a way that will effectively hook the reader. For most genres of
fiction you want to react emotionally invested in the story. And in order to achieve this,
shit needs to be unpredictable. The mood and momentum needs to constantly change. Fight scenes
are exciting. But if the first chapter is a fight scene, and the second chapter is a fight scene,
and the third chapter is a fight scene, the fun is gonna disappear real quick. No one's on the
edge of their seat anymore. They're either emotionally exhausted, or they're bored.
And that's a problem. The key to keeping your reader engaged is to make sure you start and
end each chapter with a different emotion. If a chapter opens with humor, it could end with lust
or terror. If a chapter opens with action and blood, it could end with calm and peace. Make
sure your reader is feeling something different by the end of the chapter. That way the story
doesn't become stagnant or stale. You're keeping them guessing. Number Six (6): How long should my
chapter be? However long you need it to be to tell whatever part of the story you're trying to tell.
Sometimes chapters are long. Sometimes they're short. I've read chapters that were four pages,
and I've read chapters that were 40 pages. It really doesn't make that big of a difference,
so long as the chapters are well written, entertaining and relevant to the story. The length
is usually an afterthought. Number Seven (7): Do all my chapters need to be the same length? No,
they don't. A lot of aspiring writers get bent out of shape about making their chapters the
same length. And I don't understand why, this is not a thing. You don't have to make your chapters
matchy-match. As a storyteller, your focus should be on telling your story in the most
entertaining and efficient way possible. Not on making sure each and every division of the story
is identical. Number Eight (8): How do I know if my chapter sucks? Your chapter sucks if it’s
pointless. Filler content is something you want to avoid while writing, and if your entire chapter
is filler that's a very bad thing. If you're not sure what filler is, it's any scene or moment that
doesn't benefit the plot or subplots or move the story forward in any way. If you're not sure if
your chapter is filler, think of it this way. If you could remove the entire thing from the novel
and the story would still continue as normal, you done fucked up! Each chapter needs to be vital,
and if it's not, your chapter sucks. Number Nine (9): What makes a good chapter? I've already said
a good chapter propels the story forward roughly a bajillion times. But there's a bit more to it
than that. It's kind of like a dance. A chapter cha-cha, if you will. I'm so clever! As your
story progresses, questions will pop up. You got to keep your readers guessing how shit’s gonna
end. A really good chapter will answer enough questions to move the plot forward, but still
create more questions to keep people reading. “But Jenna, I'm not writing a mystery novel.
Why would my readers have any questions at all?” (Dumbfounded pause) Good fucking God. Most genres
of fiction leave their readers with questions. Adventure novels leave you wondering, is she
gonna make it? Romance novels make you ask, is he gonna get the girl? And as the plot becomes more
complex with twists and cliff hangers, even more questions are gonna pop up. Did her father kill
her mother? Is the love interest really a villain? Is his magic wand a euphemism for his penis? And
of course your subplots will create their own questions as well. A really solid chapter will
provide closure on previous events, while still opening up new cans of worms. Your reader should
never end a chapter feeling like all of their questions were answered. Because if that's the
case, there's no point finishing the book. And lastly, Number Ten (10): How many chapters in
my book have? However many chapters your book requires. I've read books with 10 chapters,
I’ve read books with 100 chapters. It really just depends on the content of your story and how many
parts your character's journey contains. Don't add useless chapters just to meet some imagined norm,
and don't delete imperative chapters because you think you might have more than the average. Do
what you gotta do to tell your story correctly. So that's all I got for you today. Those were my
answers to your ten most popular questions about chapters. I hope you enjoy them. I know I did. A
huge thank you to Caroline Wheeler for suggesting this topic, and for supporting me over on Patreon.
You are an absolute delight. If you'd like the chance to have a vlog dedicated to you, or if you
want access to tons of other rewards check me out on Patreon. The link is listed below. With that
said, don't forget to subscribe to my channel. I post new videos on Wednesdays. My book is
still available in ebook and paperback on Amazon right now. You can also order a signed copy, all
the links are listed below. And if you have any questions be sure to Tweet me @JennaMoreci! Bye!