formatting - How should I break up chapters in a novel?

Is it acceptable to pace my chapters in terms of an event? Can I get away with a 4 page chapter here, and a 30 page chapter there?

Are there any reason why I should or should not be sticking to a specific page range for my chapters?

I basically just don't know what I should be doing with my chapters, and even if something I do is "acceptable", I don't want to piss off any readers.

I've seen the posts here and here and here, but I could not find the answers I am looking for.

The posts linked above highlight a typical word count for a chapter and mention that chapters should end when a scene is over, but for clarity, I want to know if it's all right that a chapter ends if a scene is super quick, rather than doing the technique of "line break, line break, asterisks, line break, line break" etc. kind of thing to break up events.

I don't want to fluff up my chapters because I feel like that's really frustrating and unnecessary. Sometimes, a scene is only 8 pages.

Is that okay? Why or why not?

Thanks guys.

Answer

Chapter length is often about pace. This can apply to a single chapter (i.e. ending on with a cliffhanger), but it can also apply to your novel as a whole. If each chapter is a radically different size than the last, it may be jarring for the reader. You may want that though. If you have three medium-length chapters followed by a very short one, it is going to cause a sense of urgency and surprise. As long as that is what you are going for, it can be very effective.

Chapter length, like everything in your piece, is just another tool to influence the readers experience.

P.S. Never "fluff" your writing. No good will come from it. Your reader will be able to tell.

Update: One more point: The structure of your novel is not going be the same in your first draft as when you finally submit it to an agent/publisher. In the meantime, you will have realized some things worked, some didn't, and some things needed to be moved for clarity or suspense or pace or whatever.

Don't worry too much about chapter length in your first draft. It's by your final draft where you need to perfect it.