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Q&A Is it okay for the final chapter to be a lot longer than all the other chapters?

I think chapter length matters, some of my readers have specifically complained about my chapters being uneven. Although I don't personally do this, I think some readers use chapters as a kind of p...

posted 5y ago by Amadeus‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-19T22:13:41Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42771
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T11:04:40Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42771
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T11:04:40Z (almost 5 years ago)
I think chapter length matters, some of my readers have specifically complained about my chapters being uneven. Although I don't personally do this, I think some readers use chapters as a kind of progress marker, and don't like it when they are too long. Short, that's okay, a positive surprise. Too long is not good.

So I now measure them, and find a natural break point, or even a cliff-hanger. Apparently that's okay, all they really care about is the metronome of chapters ticking by. I'd break it up, if you can, into sizes comparable to (or shorter than) your other chapters. The rest of your book has trained your reader's expectations.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-02-28T21:41:50Z (over 5 years ago)
Original score: 2