The End is -- Shoot, Too Soon: What to Do With a Chapter That's Too Short

We all know how critical it is to have the right chapter end. You want something unexpected, something that grabs the reader's attention and makes them desperate to turn the page. We usually recognize it when we reach it in our writing.

But what happens when you hit that perfect ending, and it's only halfway through what your target chapter size is?

For some folks this is a no brainer, because they'll just end the chapter there. But others prefer a general consistency of chapter length. To help figure out which way to go, here are a few options:

1. Look to see how you can flesh out the chapter so it ends closer to your target word count.
Pros: The chapter is the size you intended. You get to develop areas you might not have done if you hadn't been pressed to take another look.
Cons: You might be adding stuff just to add.

Sometimes it's easy to tell when you're just adding, because the additions are trivial. More details, empty dialog, cute little jokes or stuff that doesn't do anything to help the book. It just drags the scene out. Try going back and taking a too-short scene and look for ways you could make it a little bit tougher or a little more interesting to reach that target word count.

2. Use that as a scene ending and keep going.
Pros: You don't have to do anything.
Cons: The chapter ending might not be nearly as good, or there might not be a good spot to end it in the words required.

When this happens, just write the story as it should be told and let the word count fall where it may. Most of the time you can go back after and restructure a few chapters so they fit and flow better. You can also add more (or cut some) to a previous chapter and shift a few things around.

3. Don't end, just keep writing.
Pros: You don't have to do anything and there's good tension in the middle of the chapter to keep things moving.
Cons: The chapter often feels off because it reads as if it should have ended there and doesn't.

This might not bother a reader since they didn't know you meant to end it there and couldn't. But something might still feel off because everything builds toward that moment, and then whoops, it peaks and keeps going. Try looking for ways to tweak it and let that great moment give the scene a bump in tension or stakes, and end later with an even better punch.

4. Let the chapter end where it ends.
Pros: You don't have to do anything.
Cons: You have a short chapter.

If you feel really, really strongly that this is the perfect ending, leave it short. You never know how things will change during revisions, and you might be able to flesh out that chapter with something that happens later.

Not everyone will be sensitive to where a chapter ends (I know some writers who don't even break the novel into chapters until it's done), so if you don't care how many words each chapter has, don't sweat it. And certainly don't feel you need to start worrying just because I mentioned it. But if you do care, and it does bug you when the chapters don't fall out as planned, these tips might help you hit those goals.

Do you care what size your chapters are? Do you worry if one is too long or too short?