I know what you’re probably thinking. Can there really be more to this than I thought?
Something must have gotten you to click on this page, but on some level you’re right. We all have an innate understanding of chapters and scenes. It’s likely this is going to be some level of review for you. So, what’s the big deal? Keep reading, and you might find something that fundamentally changes the way you think about writing:
What is a Scene?
A scene is the telling of an event in one location and time from one point of view. If you change location, skip through time, or view the event from a new perspective, you have started a new scene. They are units of time as experienced by your characters, usually in your imagination, that you manipulate the length of retelling for your readers. This is why scenes can take place over hours but be summed up in a sentence or two. Or you can dole out every excruciating detail and have a scene that lasts hundreds of pages and take longer to read than the amount of time it occurred in.
What is a Chapter?
A chapter is a unit of your story as experienced by the reader. Most readers want to take breaks in their reading at the end of a chapter because it’s a natural pause in the narrative. Lengths of chapters vary greatly, but usually they contain one or a few full scenes. It is rare for chapters to hold partial scenes because of the human experience, but there are notable exceptions, which will be addressed further below.
So, What’s the Difference Again?
Basically, the difference between chapters and scenes comes down to a point of view. Scenes are experienced by characters, and chapters are experienced by readers. Readers read scenes as well as chapters, but their experience is primarily shaped by the chapters, not scenes, because of how authors use the chapters to manipulate their reading patterns. Devilish people, authors.
Quick Tips for Leveraging Chapters and Scenes
Okay, we’re through the boring part. But why does any of this matter? Primarily, it’s because understanding this separation is going to give you more insight into self-editing as well as leading readers through your story. Here’s how:
Scene v. Chapter Pacing
Just because something happens quickly to a character doesn’t mean it should happen quickly for a reader. Adjusting the length of the reader experience according to its location in the book can help keep you from needing to outdo yourself in a way that feels unnatural to ensure an effective climax.
Keep to Scenes for Writing and Chapters for Editing
If chapters are designations of the reader’s experience, then including them is inherently editing your story. What do they say about editing as you go? Don’t do it. So, don’t do it! Write, and separate your writing by scenes similar to a play. This will make it easy to rearrange your scenes as you do your structural developmental edit. Then go in and add them after you’re done. It’s one less thing to worry about for your continuity.
Adjusting Chapter Length for Dramatic Effect
Have you ever read a book with a chapter that was just one word, one sentence, or one paragraph? Don’t those chapters really stick with you? Adjusting a scene to a micro scene and letting it stand alone can often be more effective in transferring emotionally-charged scenes for characters onto their readers.
Cliffhangers
Remember how we said there are notable exceptions to chapters with partial scenes? Yeah, it’s because they’re cliffhangers. Every scene has a beginning, middle, and end, but cliffhangers happen when you chop off the scene at the climax before the character makes their final decision and resolution. Then, that resolution and its consequences form the beginning of the next scene.
So, what do you think? Have you thought about chapters and scenes this way? Some of our authors find this intuitive, while with others it changes their way of writing forever. Want more tips to help streamline your writing and editing? Reach out to our book coaching team for a personalized strategy session.
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