Gathering Of Dedicated Scribblers discussion

The original structure of my novel was to alternate POV between the two MCs. Chapter 1 was his and chapter 2 hers. In order to stay within the 2500 word count, I had to split the first chapter in half. Normally I wouldn't be concerned and simply change the POV, but in this instance, it feels awkward and forced.

Do you think that alternating on even/odd chapters will encourage reader confusion? I will have to do this through the entire novel, all of the chapters I have to date are at least 4-5k words each.

If you think that alternating chapters work, just keep them at 4-5k each. There's no rule on how long they should be, only suggestions. I've seen books with very long chapters, and books with very short chapters. The 2,5k seems like a sweet spot for commute reading, though.

That said, I also don't think that having two chapters from one character followed by two chapters from another would be an issue. All I can suggest is: if you want to go with strictly one PoV per chapter, put the character's name below the chapter header in some form. That should be foolproof for avoiding confusion.

Then, you can swap PoV at any point and, as long as you have a clear scene break (the usual *** works well enough), it shouldn't be confusing.

Thank you!

I think that once you establish your characters' voices, it shouldn't be a problem for the reader to immediately tell whose POV is in which chapter. If you want to submit longer chapters, I see no problem with that, either. Most of my chapters are between 3 and 4k words. One chapter is even 5k heavy. No one has complained thus far. :)

One of the things that the course is not designed to accommodate is a longer second act. My second act is significantly longer than the first (which is the norm in most genres anyway), so I have to jam much more into chapters 8-14. Sometimes I blatantly pack two chapters into one. If you have a dedicated critique group, they shouldn’t mind. And feedback from a random reviewer on an individual chapter is usually only marginally helpful, at least in terms of plot and character development, which for me are the most important aspects when writing the first draft.