Dealing with criticism

Hey everyone. I am currently writing a novel called Shift (if you want to read it, you'll find the prologue and the first three chapters under the science fiction forum)and I have been getting some pretty harsh criticism about how short the chapters are. They are like one to three pages, and everyone says, the chapters are too short! If anyone here as read any of James Patterson's books, then they will see that his chapters are just as short. I just want to know if I should expand my chapters, or keep writing short ones. I enjoy writing short ones. It's what I write. I don't know why everyone else doesn't get that. Thanks everyone
AMGreen

One of my favourite writers is George RR Martin, a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning master of science fiction and fantasy with a forty-year career in television and novels. Martin can characterise someone in a single sentence, describe them in a single clause, pack a chapter's worth of plot and atmosphere into a single scene. Sadly, I'm not Martin, and I can't write like he does. I need time and space to develop a character - one paragraph is not enough.

Similarly, you're not James Patterson. Maybe he writes short chapters because he sells well enough to get away with it, or because he's a skilled enough writer to pull it off. You're not him, so you can't invoke the Patterson exception.

Useful rule of thumb: If many of your reviewers tell you the same thing, it's time to listen.

I took a look at your chapters, and people are probably complaining more about how they can't really get an impression of your writing style because you're posting such short sections. On YWS, we tend to post about 1,500 word segments, so your 500 word segments look very short in comparison. Not to mention, it's harder to critique very small parts of a whole instead of larger parts; some of my best critiques are on works with 3,000 words posted because I could get a very good feel for what was going on (I do not suggest making your parts that long. You won't get many people reviewing your story on their own). Short parts are like trying to judge a fine work of art through a very small viewfinder. It's much easier to take a step back and look at the whole work, or larger segments.

Try putting a few chapters together in one post (only, I'd suggest you don't label them "Shift, Chapters 4-6" that makes the post look scary long. I'd suggest labeling them "Shift, Part -a number-") and see if the comments change!

Chapters can be any length you like. They're an entirely arbitrary system, put in place to give the reader a chance to put down the book every now and then.

I think the issue people are probably having (without checking any of their comments) is probably more to do with scene length than chapter length.

After all, a single chapter can contain multiple scenes, or several chapters can be dedicated to a single scene.

However, having a scenes that are too long or too short can lead to pacing issues.

If it's too short, then perhaps you're not getting enough information into the scene? Perhaps you're skipping through the event as fast as possible, not taking time to explore the characters' thoughts and feelings, or not describing the environment or character as thoroughly as perhaps you should do.

When writing, try dwelling a little longer in each area, and really try to show the scene to the reader.

Thanks everyone for you're help. I think I see what I'm doing wrong now.
AMGreen