Chapter intros: short vs long chapters

Post by **chocoholic** » March 13th, 2007, 2:24 pm

I realize this is my call as BC, but I'd welcome opinions.

I just recorded a Jules Verne chapter that's a minute and a half long. I think the abbreviated intro (the one for poetry) would be more appropriate than the standard, but I can also see the value in consistency through the book. If you were listening to a book, would it sound odd to have one chapter with a different intro? (This is what I did with my 2 minute chapter for How to Cook Fish -- just not sure if I should be making a habit of it.) Any thoughts on how short a chapter should be to get the abbreviated intro? How about short prefaces? Is it simpler just to keep everything uniform and quit thinking about it?

TBOL3 · Post by **TBOL3** » March 13th, 2007, 2:34 pm

Well, with the file that came with Ubuntu, I thought it was strange that the intro was twice as long as the text.

But then, I would think it just as strange to have on chapter different.

Post by **knotyouraveragejo** » March 13th, 2007, 3:55 pm

My personal preference as a listener would be for you to group such short chapters with another chapter (or chapters) and avoid the issue altogether.

In my current solo project, I am reading three chapters in each section so that they are all ~30 minutes long. The Awakening was done in similar fashion with five chapters in each section. It makes for a much nicer listening experience and is much less disruptive to the flow of the book while keeping the disclaimer on each file.

Just my opinion though,
Jo

Starlite · Post by **Starlite** » March 13th, 2007, 4:14 pm

I agree with Jo

Post by **chocoholic** » March 13th, 2007, 4:57 pm

Well, that would be easy enough since I read the preceding chapter as well. For any other short chapters it would require more advance planning than I usually do.

kri · Post by **kri** » March 13th, 2007, 9:50 pm

I'd say, as long as it's not the first section/chapter, the abbreviated disclaimer shouldn't be a problem. I like consistency, but for one or two chapters that's fine. If there is a book with multiple chapters so short however, but others that are long, you might perhaps consider reorganizing things so that the sections are more even.