For me it's all about pacing. A chapter should: A) advance the overall plot, if even by the tiniest bit B) expand on character if possible C) end in a place that makes the reader *want* to continue. (1/3)

Epic fantasy tends to hit 4k words per chapter. I'm aiming for 3-4k. Mainly because I don't want to feel constrained with how much detail I can add per scene.

I do it based off the feel of what’s happening. One time I wrote a 4,000 word chapter and that felt like a good time to break the action. On my current WIP I’m trying to stick closer to 1,000 so I can keep momentum up. It all comes down to where it feels like a good break in the action.

When I write the first draft, I write in scenes only. I add chapter breaks later, during edits, and they basically fall where feels natural to the story. Faster-paced stories tend to have shorter chapters.

All based on feels tbh. Whenever the scene feels closed or at a good pause (or cliffhanger). I’m currently working with a lot of page breaks because I have scenes that have similar vibes/themes that I wanna keep together so they have shorter pieces stitched together. Other scenes happen at the same time but I split the chapter at certain parts anyway. As a reader, I love a good mix of short and long chapters. Give me a single page chapter. Give me a hundred page chapter. It’s all great to me.

I just let it end naturally… I like to stick to 12 pages minimum but if its 5-8 so be it.