Vignettes

My first draft chapters usually run at about 1,800 - 2,000 words. Once I've completed the entire first draft I'll go back and edit, usually bringing them up to around 2,500 words with added detail and missed logic from the first draft.

This chapter length isn't something I deliberately set out to achieve, it's just a natural break point in my story telling methods. When I'm reading I tend to prefer shorter rather than longer chapters and so I think my writing naturally follows a similar path.

So last night I came upon a minor problem: while drafting a bar scene in which the protagonist and a some support characters do a bit of bonding and foreshadowing, I'd reached my natural cut-off point but still had a large chunk of work to do. Valentine, the hero of 'Mirror Man' is about to reminisce with a little vignette which is intended to both solidify his love for his lost Father and raise questions about his real age.

Now, if I was writing a screenplay this would be easy; we'd either fade to a black and white sequence or have a 'Scooby Doo' moment where the screen goes all wobbly. But, in a novel, I'm not sure if a separate chapter for the flashback scene would be too clumsy?

Without a separate chapter however, I'm going to have one chapter in the book that's almost twice as long as the others and I don't know if that's equally jarring for the reader?

I think I will initially separate the flashback into its own chapter and see how it flows when complete. Any ideas? Have you ever been disturbed by a chapter that significantly differed in length from the main body of the story? Let me know...