Chapters

[anthimeria]

For those of us writing lengthy prose, I want to pose the question--What do you think about chapters?

I tend to read books straight through, so I don't notice chapters.  This, unfortunately, means I have a hard time writing them.  I know they serve a purpose, but what?  You tell me.

Should they all be approximately the same length in a given work?  Why do they exist at all?  Should there be internal structure in a chapter?  A cliffhanger ending?  How do chapters function for readers?

Comments

[anthimeria]

A lot of people seem to use chapters as reading breaks, which I find interesting.

There is a fine line between the cliffhanger and the flat note that seems to be important to hit at the end of a chapter--it's just hard to do!