More thinking re. DH and ATNF sections, while mowing back yard. The ATNF section I looked at basically reads something like: travel-travel-travel, piece of information, travel-travel-travel. Well, not exactly, because sometimes it's stop-for-the-night, piece of information, travel-travel-travel, etc. But anyway, the info is broken up into small digestible pieces by the other stuff so you have time to absorb it. In DH, the chapter break is set at a revelatory moment, but it also has the effect of breaking up what would otherwise be around seven to eight pages of straight information. So maybe--I'm not saying the authors did this on purpose; maybe they did, or maybe it just turned out that way by authorial instinct--the thing to take away from it is this: figure out what needs to be said, get it said as efficiently and readably as possible, make sure you don't cram it too full, then back off for a sec. The reader needs the main idea in one readily understandable chunk, then a break to absorb/digest. If you don't provide the break--or if you fill it with too many other things that must be understood and digested--you're in danger of losing your reader and screwing up your pacing.

So maybe the thing for me to think about next re. Chapter 4 is what's the most important piece of info I need to get in, what's the second most important, etc. And then think how to get those in, with time between to absorb. The between-times can hint at more minor stuff re. characters, world, set-up for later, etc. I have a plethora of minor stuff to choose from, so can pick whatever comes most naturally to the scene. I'm guessing I can get two important pieces of info in before it feels like the chapter is at its limit, but we'll see.