: Re: Does something need to happen in every single chapter? My style of writing is - I think - more investigative into characters and what drives them. I think however that this could be problematic

@Holmes449

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I think you are wrong in thinking that nothing happens in your chapters. As you said, you are focusing more on the characters, and when you develop your characters, there is something "happening".

It shouldn't be underestimated, chapters to let the reader delve in the mind of the character. It creates a much needed sense of connection, and not only that, but a deeper understanding of who they are and what they think.

A book is not an action movie. You can take your time. Describe thoughts, describe things, describe scenes. It's your imaginary playground, and it is your job to populate it with as much depth as you find necessary.

You see, i am Brazilian, and our classic literature has a lot of this sort of thing. We have entire chapters used to describe how beautiful the love interest of the main characters. We have poems describing the beauty of the arms of a beautiful woman. The arms for god's sake!

There is a chapter in a brazilian book called "Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas" or, as the english translation goes "The Postumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas". In the book there is an entire chapter where the main character describes his delirium. One entire chapter, nothing happening story-wise, not even deepening the character in any way. Just describing his delirium, describing what he saw and thought. I'm going to translate the first paragraph of this chapter, because i think it that what the narrator-protagonist says sums up well what my point is:

I believe no one has described his own delirium yet. So i'll do it myself, and let science thank me! If the reader is not keen on the contemplation of such mental phenomena, then by all means, skip this chapter, head straight back to the narrative. But, no matter how little curious you are, i believe it is interesting to know what was going on in my head for 20 or 30 minutes.

Of course, that is a rough translation, used only to get the point across. Yes, some people will find it boring, but no matter how uninterested you are, is always good to see what goes on in the mind of the character.

TL;DR

No, you don't need to have a major plot point in every chapter, in fact, in my own opinion, having a couple of "break" chapters, that focus only on the thoughts of your characters make them feel way more alive.

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