What did everyone make of Pratchett not using chapters?

[The Big Peat]

I read Discworld young enough that I thought not having chapters was normal, until I started thinking of publishing and realised it was very unusual.

Works fine for me.

 

[Bick]

I very much enjoy the books... but the lack of chapters is a silly affectation and the books would be better off with them.

 

[Pyan]

Would you include all books without chapter headings as "silly affectation", Blick?
Dune? Flowers for Algernon? Wide Sargasso Sea? Mrs Dalloway? Ulysses?

 

[Bick]

Would you include all books without chapter headings as "silly affectation", Blick?
Dune? Flowers for Algernon? Wide Sargasso Sea? Mrs Dalloway? Ulysses?

Umm, I think maybe you missed the central theme of the discussion, Pyan. Discworld books don’t lack only chapter headings, they have no chapters at all.

 

[Pyan]

But they do have line spaces between changes of location or character viewpoint. The just don't have chapter numbers or headings.

 

[Bick]

But they do have line spaces between changes of location or character viewpoint. The just don't have chapter numbers or headings.

A line space is not the same as a new chapter though is it? Most books have chapters and also commonly have line spacing within the chapters. DW books clearly have no chapters (hence the point of the thread, and as acknowledged by all who have commented here) whilst all the books you named obviously do have chapters. I can’t think of any other novels that have no chapters… hence my feeling that it is a rather silly thing. I’m reading one right now (Soul Music), and it’s very enjoyable. But I feel would be slightly better with the usual chapter structure we’re all used to.

 

[Brian G Turner]

Some Pratchett books do at least have chapters, though, don't they? I distinctly remember reading a few where there was an italicized summary at the start of each, but I was wary of reading it in case of spoilers.

 

[The Big Peat]

Some Pratchett books do at least have chapters, though, don't they? I distinctly remember reading a few where there was an italicized summary at the start of each, but I was wary of reading it in case of spoilers.

The Moist von Lipwig books, where he's aping Victorian styles.

Which raises a whole other question of why are we so fiercely anti-spoiler these days? People used to think nothing of telling people exactly what was going to happen in a chapter, or perhaps better to say they thought it would whet the appetite. But these days we try to go in as blind as possible. Is this really the best story experience for us?

 

[Elentarri]

Some Pratchett books do at least have chapters, though, don't they? I distinctly remember reading a few where there was an italicized summary at the start of each, but I was wary of reading it in case of spoilers.

The Tiffany books have chapters, I think with chapter headings too. The publisher insisted because they were kiddies books. The Johnny Maxwell books might have chapters as well, but I don't remember.

 

[clarissajaneen]

I didn't notice until a few books in. It's pretty common for me to say "just one more chapter" and then I somehow completely gloss over the chapter break and just plow forward. So when I'm reading Pratchett, I just tell myself I'll end at the next section break. To me this has actually made reading easier because I don't have to fret about stopping at neatly defined chapter endpoints, especially when I'm reading to pass the time.

 

[Ray Zdybrow]

Having read the replies here, I'm definitely in the "didn't notice until it was pointed out" camp.
But, why DO most novels have chapters? Perhaps it's a hangover from the days when novels were published serially in magazines?
Perhaps there were novels before this which had chapters, I don't know as I have difficulty reading anything earlier than late 19th century.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Most books don't need chapters. Stories such as LOTR, where the storyline continues from a different time or with different characters, do find it useful to have these breaks. But in the majority of cases, chapters are the author telling the reader 'its time for bed/work/real life now, come back and rejoin the story at THIS particular point.' They aren't necessary.