@CurtisFamWriters
So, I'm good with the middle of chapters, but I need help with starting and ending them. Oh, and its a first person point of view in the past tense if that matters.
So, I'm good with the middle of chapters, but I need help with starting and ending them. Oh, and its a first person point of view in the past tense if that matters.
Set the scene when you open the chapter. Make sure the reader knows where you are (unless of course, the situation demands otherwise). Give context for what's happening. End them with a continued action (like the duration of a short journey that you don't want to describe in detail), an end (like the end of a day), or the character perhaps waiting for a specific day, and between now and then, it's clear there's no major action (in this case you would be preceding a time skip).
I'm sure there are people out there who'd do better at explaining it than me, but that's a start, hopefully.
Thank you!
So a chapter is like a sequence of events right? That would mean whatever happens in a chapter is all related and is a smooth telling of what's occurring.
Beginning a chapter would be introducing the main goal or problem in a way - there are a lot of ways too. In every chapter the characters should want something and be working towards something whether it be related to the main plot or not.
It's tricky to know when to end a chapter. Multiple chapters could be focused on the same plot point. I think cliff hangers are a good way to end it because it makes the reader want to keep reading. It should be the closing of something. The end of a scene or action, even the beginning of action. Time skips are good too like the above post.
I'll use one of my chapters for an example. It's the first chapter so I used it to introduce the character and the situation surrounding the story. These are the two opening sentences- 'Louise’s muscles ached and quivered. Metal screeched against metal as she struggled against the sword pinning her down.'
Here's the end- 'Louise swallowed and beckoned for Ignavess to follow as she left the battlefield to find her army.'
I think all chapters should have an interesting beginning that quickly draws a reader in so they want to read it and it's the same with the end. The end can be used to tell the reader what's about to happen next. It's all about interest.
I hope that helped a little.
^^^ Good advice right there
Thanks! While we're at it, any advise on how quickly a story should progress?
That's up to you. Depends on a lot of factors. Length of your total story, plot spacing (like does it take place over a week? Months? Years?), what types of POVs you have… the list goes on. I know this is horrible advice, but when you read back through your stuff, you should know. If you feel like it goes a little too fast or is dragged on too much, you're probably right.
Thanks. Thats good advise!
Yeah what bec said.
The shorter the timeline, the longer things should take. It's all based on what's happening. Action should be fast-paced whereas long distance traveling would take more time.
But, again, it's based on how it feels. I recommend getting someone to read it and ask them if it's too slow or too fast.
Oh yeah another thing. I feel like the pacing can be affected by the sentence length too. Longer, more descriptive sentences would be used for slower paces whereas shorter more to the point sentences would be used for faster-paced scenes.
It all adds up eventually.
You can end a chapter on a cliffhanger
And if you want to name your chapters instead of doing the basic “chapter one,” “chapter two,” etc, look at Rick Riordan’s for example. His chapter names are amazing!!
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