Q&A: Scene/Sequel progression and chapter breaks

Cynthia asked:

I have read articles, but this is unclear...how should scene/sequel progression relate to chapter breaks, or does it at all?

Camy here: Good question! I’ve had a few people ask me this question lately so I thought I’d post the answer here.

I usually go by page count for my chapter lengths, and whatever—Scene or Sequel or both—fits into the chapter is what I include. My chapters are typically 8-12 double spaced pages long.

My Scene/Sequel progression usually depends on:

1)the length of the Scene or Sequel
2)what’s going on in my storyline
3)if the Scene or Sequel ends with a good hook

If the Scene or Sequel is long, I might only have the one Scene or one Sequel in my chapter—I look to see if my chapter is between 8-12 pages. If one Scene or one Sequel makes it less than 8 pages (like, say, only 6 pages), then I’ll include the next Scene or Sequel. If adding another Scene or Sequel makes the chapter significantly longer than 12 pages, I might instead include the 6-page Scene or Sequel in the previous chapter.

I also look to see if I have a pattern of Scene-Sequel-Scene-Sequel in my storyline. You do not need to always follow a Scene with a Sequel—you can have two Scenes or two Sequels in a row. However, I try not to have too many Scenes right after each other, and the same thing with Sequels—especially if the Scene or Sequel is long, say 12 pages or more. You don’t want too many Scenes or Sequels in a row because it alters the reading pace and story flow, and you want good pacing especially for the middle and end of the book.

Lastly, I look to see if the Scene or Sequel ends with a good hook, or “rise.” Just like each section should open with a strong hook sentence or paragraph, you want each section to end with a strong hook sentence or paragraph—something exactly like the opening hook. Something cute, clever, mysterious, dangerous, puzzling, ominous, curious, disastrous... Basically, something unusual is happening or going to happen, or the character comes to some startling realization, or some ominous decision, or whatever. Make it intriguing (as opposed to the character falling asleep, for example).

If the Scene or Sequel ends with a good hook, I try to have that at the end of the chapter so it will hook the reader and keep them reading the next chapter. If the Scene or Sequel doesn’t have a good ending hook, I’ll either rewrite the ending or try to rearrange my Scenes and Sequels so that the chapter does end with a good ending hook.

I hope that helps!

If any of you guys have any other questions for my Q&A series, just leave a comment and I'll be sure to get to it!