Book Chapters

[flipnflap]

can subsequent chapters in a book ever be a continuation of the same scene, or does a new chapter always have to mean a new scenario each time?

[Buenchico]

When writing fiction, there are no rules, other than those that you create for yourself. (James Joyce, for example, decided to omit nearly all punctuation in Ulysses. It was neither 'right' nor 'wrong'; it was just the way that he thought the book would work best).

Many novels don't even have separate chapters, whereas others are divided into many chapters (with the author ending one chapter, and starting another, wherever a break in the story seems natural to him/her).

My own preference is to end a chapter at a point where the work has reached a natural 'cliff-hanger' - but that might just be because I watched too many serials at the Saturday morning pictures when I was a kid!
;-)

[heathfield]

Take the example of Priestly's play "An Inspector Calls". It's in three acts, each of which could be looked upon as chapters, yet the closing and following opening scenes are continuous. Chris mentions a 'cliffhanger' as a natural break, and that's just what Priestly does, allowing the audience, (reader) an interval to mull over what's happened so far, before the story continues where it left off.

[jno]

in general writers don't start a new chapter in the middle of a single scene, unless it's a very long sequence and they think their readers need a break. But they can if they want to.