It’s not always easy to know where to end a chapter. Naturally, you need a strong hook that will make readers want to turn the page even if if they’ve promised themselves that they’re just going to read one more chapter before turning off the light. There’s also an issue of length. It’s perfectly fine for the number of pages to vary from chapter to chapter, but I typically don’t want chapters to run on the long side unless it’s a climactic chapter.
My old Chapter 14 was definitely on the long side. As I reviewed it further, I saw a great place for a dramatic hook at about five pages in. So instead of having one really long chapter, I decided to have a comparatively short one and one of average length. That means, that I’m suddenly working on Chapter 16 after making a few necessary fixes in Chapters 13 and 14 to stitch my new characters into the fabric of the book without creating any unsightly gaps or holes.
Kristin Wolden Nitz 