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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42793
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/42793
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The chapters in my middle-grade novel are all over the map (408-1712 words). So far it hasn't been a problem, as I end them at natural stopping points, but this may be something I have to fix when the book is done and in a full edit.

I would not have a chapter as long as 7000 words though. This is middle-grade fiction and the chapter is just too long for that genre.

Middle grade is the age (8-12) where the readers scream "noooooooo!!!!" every time a book or TV series pauses. My daughter at that age used to refer to every single TV episode end as a "cliffhanger."

You might think it's better to give the kids what they want: more story. But I think it's better to make them stop. Because if you make them scream in protest, you've got them hooked. Even if that's for the very end of the book, it's still an engaged and motivated reader.

Much younger kids hate breaks when they're having fun. But this age group enjoys a bit of anticipation, just like they enjoy being scared (some of them anyway). If you're on a roller coaster, you don't want it all to be g-force.

So whether that chapter pause before the final push is enforced to "tomorrow sweetie" by a tired parent, or is nothing more than a two-second chance to scream, you've got a reader who can't wait to get back to it.

Original score: 1