: Techniques for lengthening or merging chapters When I'm working on a novel, I have a tendency to write short chapters (1k-3k words). This is not a problem, per se, but I sometimes feel the

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I have a tendency to write short chapters (1k-3k words)

Then there's your answer. Most writers would love to have a naturally-occurring tendency of any kind other than sucking.

You describe a process of struggle and literary engineering in which you attempt to subvert your own natural way of writing. Just reading the question is almost painful. Why are you torturing yourself like that? Where did you get the idea that your chapters should be longer?

Did someone in a writing group tell you that?

Is it because other writers' chapters are longer?

Do either of those sound like a good reason for doing anything?

It sounds to me as though your chapters are exactly the proper length. Just keep at it and perhaps someday people will be reading your stuff and then asking how they can break up their long, cumbersome chapters into shorter ones.

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Go through it and work with description. Find places where your description of things (the settings, a character's look, how someone is feeling, etc.) are weak and strengthen them.

Action descriptions: "She ran down the street to get away from him." could be replaced with "Her breath was labored as she sprinted down Main Street. Every couple of steps she glanced over her shoulder, checking to see if he was following. By the time she was satisfied that he wasn't following her, she was out of breath and ducked into the nearest store for cover."

Setting descriptions: "The building was tall and formidable." could be "The office building that housed all of Dream Computing jetted up into the sky. In the afternoon sun, the shadow it cast was enough to blanket half of the town in its shadow. Jamie was glad she wasn't the one who had to hang hundreds of feet in the air to clean the massive windows looking out over the town."

Feeling descriptions: "Jamie's fear of heights kicked in when she got close to the window." "Jamie's heart thudded in her chest as she approached the window. When she was only a few feet from the large sheet of Plexiglas, her palms were soaked with her own sweat and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Gazing down at the little dots milling around on the ground, she became light-headed and quickly backed away. She prayed the one day she might overcome her fear of heights."

This is going to be your best bet for lengthening chapters without adding new scenes or useless information. Make your reader feel like they're in the story. If the character is scared or nervous or excited, the reader should be able to feel it.

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