I’m just speaking from what I (think I) appreciate as a reader. Of course, any one person’s advice, especially mine, should be taken with a grain of salt.
Even that can get absurd if it doesn’t come naturally and you constantly force it.
I’m definitely in favor of giving your novel enough forward momentum that the reader wants to keep going. Keep them wondering what will happen next, give them questions they’ll want the answer to, keep the story moving, etc. I just don’t think you should necessarily focus on the last sentences of your chapters as the place to do that.
Indeed. If I want to keep reading the book, I’ll do so whether the chapter ends on cliff hanger or at a natural break in the story. The book has my interest.
Conversely, if I’m ambivalent or negative about continuing reading, a cliff hanger won’t make me keep going, because I already don’t care how it resolves.
But why do you want to keep reading (or not?) I’ve found that some stories encourage me to put down the book or magazine every page or so, and others encourage me to keep reading. Some good stories I can get through in half the time as poorly written ones. I think there is a readability metric in there somewhere.
I just judged over 180 indie books, and I’ve seen the good and the bad. There are some common mistakes, like dumping back story of the character or the setting before the reader has been given any reason to be interested in the character or the setting. Stuff like that slows the reader down.
I prefer chapters to be approximately the same length so I will know the approximate amount of time it will take me to read the next one, or the rest of the book. I don’t think irregular chapter length would stop me from reading a book though.
I have a friend writing a first novel. (His day job is Aerospace Engineer.) Reading your post about how to craft a novel has reminded me pretty strongly about the things in his draft that bother me.
I’m sure he’s still trying to find his voice and style. Seems to me, though, that “trying to be clever” is not a great substitute for style. He’s kind of that way in real life, and it shows through in his writing. I can’t exactly tell him that, not as a friend, so I’ve held off on offering comments.
I think I’d tell him to avoid drawing negative attention to his writing, like using too many synonyms for “said.” Actually, I think trying to not draw negative attention anywhere might be a good general goal. But then…what is negative? That depends. But I’m sure most of us will agree on certain things that annoy, like, trying to be so clever all the time. Especially if it comes at the expense of believable characters and situations.
If I had a great handle on that then I’d be some sort of big shot book editor or literary agent!
Some books (and TV shows, movies, albums) I just put down and never pick up again. I don’t care what happens next.
That, to me, is different than some books which are dense, but rewarding. I often can only take those in small doses, but I do want more, just not right now. Others, it’s 1:15am, I’ve got 140 page left, and I know I’m going to finish the book, even though I have to wake up in 6 hours.
I know what kind of book I’m reading when I’m in the middle of it, but can’t say anything more than the general: the writing is good, the characters are compelling, the plot is fascinating, etc.
Here’s what I think, after about eight years of studying craft intensively in an effort to become a better writer. I think that writing advice is kind of a throw-it-at-the-wall and see what sticks kind of situation. What your prose needs is not what my prose needs. I recently encountered advice to do away with adjectives as much as possible (Chuck Pahlaniuk, I think) - and you know what, it sounds ridiculous but it was good advice for me!
At some point you have to learn to trust your internal sense of what’s working and what’s not. You may not be there yet, and that’s cool, but I guess what I’m saying is don’t assume any piece of writing advice is some kind of universal or objective truth, especially when that advice comes from someone who doesn’t know your work. What works may also depend heavily on your genre. I have a writer friend who was always advising me to cut my internal dialogue, but the thing is, I write romance, where that’s expected (technically sci Fi action romantic thrillers, but I lay on the romance pretty thick.) I read heavily in the genre, whereas my friend, a 67 year old man, does not. Romance is all about BIG feelings, and overthinking those feelings. So, even though he’s a much more experienced writer, I’m confident that he’s wrong about this part.
So there’s a piece of advice: know your genre. Find stories like yours and see how they do the cool stuff you admire. If you’re concerned about chapter breaks, check out how other writers you like do it. Explore how your favorite authors write dialogue. (But with a caveat - also read a lot outside your genre to ensure you’re bringing something interesting to the table.)
Believe me when I tell you that Story Grid is a cult, but their general advice is pretty solid, as long as you don’t take it as the final word. There is no final word.
The mystery writer and writing teacher Jane Cleland talks about how you should have a certain number of plot twists in your book, the number and spacing depending on the genre that you are doing. She’s very analytical, and gives a way you can plot this. She does a free webinar every month which a lot of us in my writing group has found useful. She started it at the start of Covid when all her events got canceled, but has kept it up ever since.
As you seem to have recognized, there’s a risk in using too many synonyms for “said”; if overdone, it sounds unnatural and gets distracting. Alternating dialogue at times when it’s obvious who’s speaking is a legit way to avoid the problem. Infovore had a good suggestion about using a character’s actions to indicate who’s speaking.
I’m reminded of a Nero Wolfe novel featuring extortionists who are involved in a scheme to target novelists with false plagiarism allegations. Drafts are identified as coming from the same writer due to use of repetitive language; one telltale sign is the frequent use of “averred” instead of “said”.
The ideal length of chapters is partially dependent on what happens in them. If serious shit goes down, abbreviating a chapter may help emphasize the action.