How long are your chapters? Do they vary by chapter?

[hotsubsandwich]

This is just a quick question that I was curious about for long form creators.
I finished my first chapter and have my second chapter inked and third chapter storyboarded. But I was thinking about adding a scene that would add about 5 or more pages to my second chapter. The problem I'm facing with this is that my first chapter was only 17 pages and I definitely wanted ch2 to be longer than 20pages so before the added scene, chapter 2 is double the length of chapter 1. Will adding the new scene make it too~ long? Should I save it for the beginning of Chapter 3 which is over 20 pages but not quite as long as chapter 2?
How long are your chapters? Do they vary by chapter or do you try to keep them around the same length (more or less)?

[joe_galindez]

I try to keep them short enough to read in a sitting, but otherwise I write each of them with a specific goal and I'll go on until that goal is met.

[darkone4587]

I normally stick to around 1,000 words but depending on the chapter it goes over or could be slightly less.

[feardeer]

When I'm writing out the script, chapters can go up to around 60 pages. Then I usually try to go back and find breaking points, so they average out to ~20-35 pages, which I'm pretty happy with. Long enough to have a decent arc, short enough to avoid burn out before I can take a break and rebuild my buffer, I figure.
As a reader, I don't think it matters if one chapter is twice the length of another though.

Personally, I'd base my decision on which chapter the scene belongs in story-wise, rather than based on chapter length.

[hotsubsandwich]

I try to keep them short enough to read in a sitting, but otherwise I write each of them with a specific goal and I'll go on until that goal is met.

This is a good way of doing things. I thought I had met my goal in chapter 2, but now I have had multiple questions about a certain character that was foreshadowed in chapter 1 and I kind of want to give her a tiny introduction? Because she's the antagonist, so I'm not sure if it's important to do it RIGHT NOW because readers are curious now, or if I should wait until chapter 3 (or chapter 4 like I originally planned and she'll have this grand reveal) and maybe just keep having characters mention that the antagonist is... well... villain-y.

they average out to ~20-35 pages, which I'm pretty happy with.

At first thought, 15 pages seems like a pretty large variable between chapters when I see 20-35, but it also seems like a really reasonable page estimate to stick to. A goal can be accomplished within 20-35 pages, you shouldn't get too burnt out with one idea, and readers can get through that in one sitting. Thats a good area to be in, I think.

[punkarsenic]

most of my chapters are about 25 pages long - shorter than 20 i would consider short, 30+ i would consider long. i think id minimum a chapter to 15 pages, and maximum to 35. lately my chapters have been really long due to either longass scenes or additional miniscenes and its been lowkey stressful.

the thing with webcomics is, unless you have a hiatus inbetween, or you post an entire chapter at a time, they can seem perfectly continuous - so i think scenes being too long is more of an issue than chapters being too long. chapters being too long is more likely to exhaust you than a reader imo.

story wise, i try to keep a chapter down to one to three scenes (one big one or three tiny ones), and you want a chapter to have some kind of arc to it. that im not actually very good at rn. but a chapter should set up tension (ask a question), relieve tension (answer the question), and then bring up the tension again for the next chapter. i dont think you have to answer the question you asked, however - say you start with a scene from your villain, so the question is 'whats this dodgy fucker up to?' and then last chapter your hero got hit on the head, so this chapter your answer is 'it was the love interest that hit them, because theyre a clutz.' and then you set up tension to keep reading by revealing that the love interest is related to the villain, putting it in a circle that makes the reader feel like progress is happening.

that all could take three pages, or thirty - its scene length that you need to worry about more than chapter length imo. (disclaimer: i am TERRIBLE at pacing. i understand it in theory but get lost in the 'but i want my babies to do all the things' sinkhole)

[hotsubsandwich]

so i think scenes being too long is more of an issue than chapters being too long. chapters being too long is more likely to exhaust you than a reader imo.

This really puts it into perspective for me and is a good way to think of it. I'm pretty new at making webcomics, so I haven't put much thought into my pacing and scene lengths yet.

i try to keep a chapter down to one to three scenes (one big one or three tiny ones)

I... definitely think I need to look at how many scenes I have each chapter. Pretty sure my pacing is all wrong.

but get lost in the but i want my babies to do all the things' sinkhole

This sinkhole is my home.

[punkarsenic]

pacing is a pretty difficult one, i guess largely because its unnatural. our lives dont cut to the most story-relevant bits all the time, trimming out the fat in dialogue, so its smth we need to consciously think about more. were more or less all working it out.

This sinkhole is my home.

a nice thing about webcomics is that youre more or less doing it just for yourself, so being self indulgent and making your babies do all the things is nowhere near the end of the world (thankfully)

[hotsubsandwich]

When I first had the idea for my comic I was like "Oh, we'll see side adventures of these four characters, and the romances of all the character's parents, and" basically my babies did ALL the things. Then I realized how much time that would take and how much time I do not have
I'll still probably draw all of that but it won't be a part of the story. More like, bonus promo art updates for holidays and milestones? because I still have to find a way to be self indulgent.

[mpiradarada]

Mine should be around 30-40 pages each but I won't ponder too much about that.
My first priority is for each of them to feel substantial enough.

I think chapter length is an issue closely tied to physicality. I have no intention to print my first webcomic so it should be fine.

[punkarsenic]

ooooh yes i love a good self indulgent side comic

[Kura]

For the comics that I draw in paged format, around 40 - 50 pages per chapter seems to be what is consistent for me. I've been a little less strict with these ones though since I don't have to deal with a printer / publisher.

[heterodont]

My average is 50-60 for a 'normal' chapter and 30-40 for a 'short' side-plot chapter.

I don't really understand following a strict number rule for how many pages you should have in a chapter tbqh. I'd just say use as many pages as you need to express an idea, everyone's method of story telling is different so while others may have more rigid/strict sense of expressing a story it can end up being a little formulaic <_>

and I don't really experience burnout when it comes to chapters unless it's been going on forever ( coughs the80pagechapterthatihaveyettofinish coughs)

You can easily keep pace within a longer chapter than a shorter one, since with a shorter one you might in fact rush the pacing because you're trying to stay under a certain amount of pages. it only becomes a problem when you drag it on f o r e v e r.

My motto for that kind of thing is each page has to push the story forward - so every line of dialogue and etc. has to have a reason to be there.

[spadesart]

chapter one of my comic is ~23 pages, then chapter 2 was ~103 pages and will likely be the longes in the story. chapter 3 is 25 and counting, will likely end at 50-60 pages. mine vary a lot by where i feel a cutoff point is good. i kind of treat my chapters like literal episodes of a show, so i cut them off when they have that feeling of completeness.

[indagold]

My early chapters so far are 30-40 pages but my later chapters will probably reach at least 60 or more. I feel it's a bit much but I guess the earlier ones are kinda a prologue. To me I can't stand super short chapters, I don't mind super long chapters but condensing chapters into like a few pages is kinda distracting for me given how comic mediums are to be read faster than lets say a novel or a book. 500 pages in a comic is much, much shorter than written text and having super short chapters stands out. I also feel chapters need to start and end on important points of the story so I understand if they're at weird lengths.

[hotsubsandwich]

chapter 2 was ~103 pages

That is the longest chapter I have ever heard of. You deserve an award for trucking along for that long on one chapter

To me I can't stand super short chapters

this is why I had to make sure my future chapters after chapter 1 were longer because as a reader I'd get annoyed by a chapter being less than 20 pages. I think you make a really good point about the difference between comics and novels. A really long chapter in a novel might be annoying to the reader because they may not be able to get through it in one sitting, but because of the way comics are consumed, a short chapter would actually probably be more distracting.

[375]

They vary depending on how long each chapter is XD Normally a chapter would go on for thirty or forty pages but I cant post that on Tapas so I go section by section, around one to three pages. cough Also its based on how much I wrote cough

[Hodge]

Well mine is a webtoon but I keep it to about 35-45 panels per chapter. Any more and I'd die, unless it's a really special chapter that I need to the reader to experience in one sitting.

[XzynderVexymous]

My chapters for my COMIC very. I’ve been developing this story for years and some parts are just more important than others. For example, the first chapter isn’t nearly as long as the (planned) second to last one.

[shazzbaa]

I think the biggest reason to keep chapter length consistent is if you intend to publish individual chapters. I publish my chapters in book form, so they can't vary TOO much or else what was a profitable price for one chapter will be just barely making a profit on another chapter.

If the comic is online only, or you're not planning on publishing chapter-issues of your comic, then it literally doesn't matter how long your chapters are, imo.