Crazy for Young Adult Books discussion

Do you prefer long or short chapters better?

I prefer short chapters because I just find myself reading more and reading longer when there is short chapters. Sometimes for me, when a book has long chapters, I feel like I have to finish the chapter before I stop reading (I'm currently reading a book and the chapters are about 40 pages each! Way too long!) and I just try to get it over with and then I don't remember anything because when I was reading the book I couldn't really pay attention because I just wanted to finish the chapter!

So, what do you prefer, long or short chapters?

Exactly!

haha... nice question & good answer. I love short chapters also.

Thanks!

I like short chapters! They just make it easier for me to read.

But if it's a great book, I still like short chapters, but it'd be great if there are many of them :)

Yeah, that's one of the reasons why I like them!

Gisbelle wrote: "But if it's a great book, I still like short chapters, but it'd be great if there are many of them :)"

Yeah! Many people say that the chapters in Maze Runner are about 4-5 pages each which means there must be lots of chapters!

Jacquelyn wrote: "Gisbelle wrote: "But if it's a great book, I still like short chapters, but it'd be great if there are many of them :)"

Yeah! Many people say that the chapters in Maze Runner are about 4-5 pages e..."

Excellent!!!
I so want to read the book after watching the trailer. Spooky!!!

I know right! It's awesome because we're reading it near Halloween and it seems like kind of a scary book so if it is that's just great timing!

Absolutely!

It depends on the writing style for me. Some books are better with short chapters and some with long ones. I believe that books have natural breaks and really good authors just know where that break is.

However I really like a combination of long and short chapters in a book.

Short chapters are better for me because if they are long I have to finish them before I go to bed!

That's one of the reasons I like short chapters as well, Merryn. I hate stopping in the middle of the chapter.

I like a mix of both. If there are too many short I find I can't get in to the story, but is there are too many long then I get bored and tired of the book altogether!

Exactly!

Kathryn wrote: "I like a mix of both. If there are too many short I find I can't get in to the story, but is there are too many long then I get bored and tired of the book altogether!"

That sounds exactly right! Sometimes it just depends on the type of book you are reading.

Kathryn wrote: "I like a mix of both. If there are too many short I find I can't get in to the story, but is there are too many long then I get bored and tired of the book altogether!"
That's what I was thinking. It also depends on the content-- heavy material or light.

I like both. It depends though.

I like both, because maybe it can be short or long and interesting or so boring. It depends :/

I don't really have a preference. I plow through a book no matter how long or short a chapter is. However, I get really annoyed when the chapter is like a page or half a page. Its just a pet peeve

I like short, because I read before bed so if im really tired its easy to stop when a chapter ends. Instead of forcing yourself to stay awake to finish a chapter

I like both. It also really depends on the story/book.
With some books I don't mind long chapters (don't want them to stop), but sometimes it just can get a bit boring.
I have had some books that mix it, some long and some short chapters, I really like it when books do that.

Yeah, I also like when they have a mixture of both!~

I really think it depends on the book. For me chapter length kind of does a lot of the pacing for the book. So imho some require a long chapter to get the right flow and some just need to have shorter chapters.

I do kind of agree that a shorter chapter makes the book go faster though. I also a gree a mix of both is kind of perfect.

Yes, I feel that with shorter chapters the books I read are finished much faster than ones with long chapters.

I love short chapters as well.

shhoooooooorrtttttttttttyyyyyyyyyyyyy

I'm guessing Michael likes short chapters?! lol....:D Michael and Maria, why do you like short chapters?

cause they are awesome

They do! :D

Medium?
Really short is just annoying but really long almost feels like the book is dragging on. Depends on the book though I guess...

I don't care as long as I'm reading a book it doesn't matter!!!!

Yep, I like short chapters as well. :)

Ooo! I'm glad you guys brought this up. As a reader, I like short chapters too. But, from a writer's perspective, sometimes we can't get in everything pertinent to the situation in just a few pages. I put in a lot of "chapter breaks," spaces to break up the chapter. (Personally, I break them up with **.)

To you, does that help ease the annoyance of the chapters that go on and on, or would you still prefer short chapters?

(Again, as a reader, and someone with OCD who just can't stop mid-chapter, I still prefer the short chapters. But I am curious about what other people think.)

I like chapters to be about 10 pages long. I like when there are a mix of short ans long chapters like in the maze runner.

T.C. wrote: "Ooo! I'm glad you guys brought this up. As a reader, I like short chapters too. But, from a writer's perspective, sometimes we can't get in everything pertinent to the situation in just a few page..."

I feel that the "chapter breaks" help because I'll stop at one of them if the chapters are too long. I can never just stop reading in the middle of a page.