The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[Z_TheWriter]

Well I managed to get something on the page anyway.

Related question: How the hell do proper writers manage relatively consistent chapter lengths? The leadup/sex scene is as long as an entire other chapter!

 

[iwatchus]

Well I managed to get something on the page anyway.

Related question: How the hell do proper writers manage relatively consistent chapter lengths? The leadup/sex scene is as long as an entire other chapter!

Brandon Sanderson talks about rearranging what goes into what chapters as part of his rewriting process after the first draft is done.

 

[Z_TheWriter]

Brandon Sanderson talks about rearranging what goes into what chapters as part of his rewriting process after the first draft is done.

Makes sense. I've already done some of that, and will probably do more.

I just realized that my current chaptering makes the chapter I just finished drafting longer than my entire first published story.

This project may have been a bad idea

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Despite forecasts to be at or near 40 for the past two days, we've only barely cracked 30.

 

[iwatchus]

Usually I would recommend waiting for a few more short stories before starting to write longer ones, but what ever works for you is great.
At the worst, chalk it up to a learning exercise.

I just realized that my current chaptering makes the chapter I just finished drafting longer than my entire first published story.

This project may have been a bad idea

 

[crookedletter]

Related question: How the hell do proper writers manage relatively consistent chapter lengths? The leadup/sex scene is as long as an entire other chapter!

Who said your chapter lengths need to be consistent?

 

[Z_TheWriter]

Who said your chapter lengths need to be consistent?

You may have a point. Especially since I don't see a reasonable way to break this one up, and I don't think I like the idea of every chapter being ~7.5K

 

[YmaOHyd]

You may have a point. Especially since I don't see a reasonable way to break this one up, and I don't think I like the idea of every chapter being ~7.5K

Not gonna say how people should write, but ~10k is about the length I like for a chapter. That's four-ish Lit-pages, and to me it's a good number of words for a sitting.

 

[YmaOHyd]

Also, I needed a name for both my reporter character and his newspaper, and "Brent Trimm, the Independent" jumped in my head and now I can't get it out.

 

[Z_TheWriter]

Not gonna say how people should write, but ~10k is about the length I like for a chapter. That's four-ish Lit-pages, and to me it's a good number of words for a sitting.

I was thinking less chapters for publication and more trying to cut the story into content-related chunks which can have a heading.
No idea yet how I'm gonna tackle publishing this thing.

Also, I needed a name for both my reporter character and his newspaper, and "Brent Trimm, the Independent" jumped in my head and now I can't get it out.

I like Brent Timm more.

 

[iwatchus]

I was thinking less chapters for publication and more trying to cut the story into content-related chunks which can have a heading.
No idea yet how I'm gonna tackle publishing this thing.

I know you have been told this before, but finish writing it and then decide on a packaging strategy. My first novel (the only I have published yet) I put into 6 parts, which average about 20K each, averaging almost 3 chapters per publication chunk. But I grouped them based on being nice chunks to read at once and the lengths of chapters and chunks varied notably.

See what feels right once it's done.

 

[YmaOHyd]

I know you have been told this before, but finish writing it and then decide on a packaging strategy. My first novel (the only I have published yet) I put into 6 parts, which average about 20K each, averaging almost 3 chapters per publication chunk. But I grouped them based on being nice chunks to read at once and the lengths of chapters and chunks varied notably.

See what feels right once it's done.

I regret starting to publish a series before I had it done. I lucked into discovering a convenient long-pause spot, but I shouldn't have hit publish on the first part before I got there at least.

 

[Z_TheWriter]

Yeah sorry, I'm just continuing to ramble cause I'm freaking out just a little realizing what I've started.

I should probably just go to bed.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Yeah sorry, I'm just continuing to ramble cause I'm freaking out just a little realizing what I've started.

I should probably just go to bed.

This is a good thread to ramble in.

 

[JGittes]

Throughout the 1970s, I was a weather forecaster for the USAF/CalNatGuard. The 70% probability referred to the persistence probability tables and meant that, in the past under the current conditions, it rained/snowed 70% of the time. More recently, I've read journalists explain it in terms of % coverage of a geographic area, but that doesn't make sense to me.

Chapter lengths in traditionally published books are based on commercial considerations. Standard format romance novels are 70k words +-10% and have very standard chapter lengths, for example. Years of publishing experience and reader focus groups determine these parameters for individual publishers. Pumping out four of those a year is almost mechanical. That's when one might use Scrivener to keep track of everything and easily rearrange 'blocks' of story to fit the 'format.'

 

[NotWise]

Throughout the 1970s, I was a weather forecaster for the USAF/CalNatGuard. The 70% probability referred to the persistence probability tables and meant that, in the past under the current conditions, it rained/snowed 70% of the time. More recently, I've read journalists explain it in terms of % coverage of a geographic area, but that doesn't make sense to me.

Chapter lengths in traditionally published books are based on commercial considerations. Standard format romance novels are 70k words +-10% and have very standard chapter lengths, for example. Years of publishing experience and reader focus groups determine these parameters for individual publishers. Pumping out four of those a year is almost mechanical. That's when one might use Scrivener to keep track of everything and easily rearrange 'blocks' of story to fit the 'format.'

I asked Google "how does NWS define precipitation probability" and its AI answer is a combination of both:

The National Weather Service (NWS) defines the probability of precipitation (PoP) as
the likelihood of a measurable amount of precipitation (0.01 inches or more) occurring at any given point in a specified forecast area during a specific time period. The PoP is calculated by combining the forecaster's confidence in precipitation occurring and the percentage of the forecast area expected to receive it. For example, if there is an 80% confidence that rain will occur, but only 50% of the area is expected to receive it, the PoP is 40%
(0.80×0.50=0.400).

• For a single point: If the forecast area is a single point (like your exact location), the PoP is simply the forecaster's confidence that at least 0.01 inches of precipitation will fall there.
• Not about duration or intensity: A PoP forecast does not indicate how long the precipitation will last or how intense it will be. A 100% chance of precipitation could mean a brief, heavy thunderstorm or a steady, all-day drizzle.
• Time period: The specified time period is typically 12 hours, but this can vary and should be noted in the forecast.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Well I managed to get something on the page anyway.

Related question: How the hell do proper writers manage relatively consistent chapter lengths? The leadup/sex scene is as long as an entire other chapter!

They probably don't worry about it. There's nothing says all chapters should be the same length. Write till the episode ends, however long that might be.

 

[TheLobster]

You probably shouldn't have order-of-magnitude differences in chapter lengths (like 2k vs. 20k), but even that advice gets ignored sometimes (*cough* Dan Brown *cough*).

Do keep in mind, though, that a scene break doesn't necessarily mean you need another chapter. You can just drop *** or <hr> any other separator of your liking, and simply proceed with the next scene within the same chapter.

 

[YmaOHyd]

One of the chapters in Christopher Moore's The Stupidest Angel reads in its entirety:

Well, that sucked.

 

[TheLobster]

One of the chapters in Christopher Moore's The Stupidest Angel reads in its entirety:

That's either the biggest neon sign ever, to point out where the most important narrative beat of the novel is, or a misdirection of epic proportions

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Stay out of the Goo. Nothing goods comes from it.

 

[sirhugs]

Good to see the Cafe busy at night. Is the coffee hot?

 

[Rustyoznail]

Good to see the Cafe busy at night. Is the coffee hot?

Always. Hot and strong.

Well, things are getting very real. Tonight was my last night of karate, probably forever. I'm actually quite sad about that. It's been a big part of my life for close to ten years. The removalist truck turns up on Monday and thankfully the house is mostly boxed up and ready to move 2700 km (1677 miles) west.

For some reason, I haven't done much writing.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Hope you know what you're doing.

Backsies won't be fun.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Hope you know what you're doing.

Backsies won't be fun.

I hope so too.