Showing posts with label unbroken narratives. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unbroken narratives. Show all posts

Friday, 16 September 2011

The love of chapters

I've just read a novel which has no chapters; it was just one lengthy narrative, with no sub-divisions of any kind. And it made me realise something: I love chapters.

I love the way they break the story up; the "I'll just read to the end of this chapter" thing; the way each one is a link in a chain, with a hook (of excitement/uncertainty/mystery/expectation or whatever) to lead the reader on to the next. They also give the opportunity for a clear change in POV or scene. They are a useful device, for both reader and writer.

I always write in chapters, generally quite short ones, and I don't think I could write in any other way. I tend to edit each one as I go along (which is probably bad practice, but never mind), and so each one has several little drafts of its own (I think this is probably a relic of my short story days).

How does anyone else feel? Do chapters really make that much difference?