I thought I'd include a short chapter about what I do since I get this question a lot.
In short -- there is no standard chapter length, you can do whatever you like. You could have one chapter 400 words and then the very next chapter be 4000 words.
What I like to do is keep my chapters between 800 - 1300 words. I don't know what it is about me, maybe it's through repetition, but my chapters naturally seem to end around 1000 words. I have some chapters that are around 2400, but those are rare and they never go over that number. Sometimes if a chapter is say 2400 words, I may look for a natural break in the action at the 800 - 1200 mark and choose to split the chapter into two, but that's just me. If you do this, look for a spot whereby ending the chapter there would make for an exciting cliffhanger.
The shortest chapter I've seen was in the Twilight series. One of the chapters was one word long, it just said, "December." then you had to flip the page to read the next chapter, which was a little more substantial.
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How to Write a Novel
Non-FictionA quick and easy guide outlining my novel writing process. If you'd rather watch a video about this and other writing tips, please visit my website www.EdwardMullen.com or my YouTube channel.
