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Chapter titles, yay or nay?

yay 0.58333333333333 58.3% [ 35 ]
nay 0.41666666666667 41.7% [ 25 ]
Total Votes:[ 60 ]
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Elysian Dreamer

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When writing Chapters, is it better to title each chapter, or just leave as numbers?
depends on the story, chapter involved, and what the chapter titles in question will add or supplement in the overall scheme of things. like all the other words in the project, chapter titles should add something and have purpose.

Quotable Explorer

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I usually don't but I think you should just do what comes easier to you. I can't imagine that it would be the difference between being published and being tossed in the bin so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
mm... i've seen chapter titles work to a story's advantage.
i've also seen them flop superfluously.


unless they drive the story, i personally wouldn't bother creating them until after i'd finished writing a first or second (or fifth) draft. (even then, for myself, i stink at titles. how strapped would i be for words if i had to engineer titles for every chapter? egad. haha.)

if you're great at titles, why not? for "big picture" people (or for those who like a subtle nudge or detail), a chapter title can scratch an itch or tickle a fancy or two.
I don't care for them.

In a book series I read, the author occasionally reused the same chapter names (granted, there were 10+ books and I wouldn't have noticed it myself if I hadn't been reading a few books in one day). Seemed to me like the author didn't really care about the chapter titles themself.

Unforgiving Duelist

That would solely depend on whether you can think of any names for the chapters - or if you don't want to. If otherwise, just leave them numbered. Doesn't really matter either way unless you want your readers to have an inkling of what the chapter's going to be about from its title.
Write the story. Decide later.

I think they can add something if its the right story. I can also see them not. I'd go with numbers and decide later. A lot of it might depend on what you intend to use them for.

As you edit it, consider it. Keep an open mind to potential titles. If you come up with some, ok. If not, no biggie.
I like both, so long as they work with the book. I also like when authors do something more with their chapter changes. For example, in Harris and Me Gary Paulsen used chapter numbers, but would also put a short, one sentence preview of what was to come in that chapter.

In Dragonflight Anne McCaffrey used poetry at breaks. Instead of chapters, the four sections were called "part (1,2,3,4)" with a part title underneath. The poetry helped break things up between parts and gave natural stopping points for the reader. The poetry also had something to do with the over all story as well. In the two following books (Dragonquest and The White Dragon), McCaffrey used chapter numbers, but also put chapter names that were location and sometimes, time stamps. These were useful as she might not have wanted to have to give exposition as to where the characters were and when they were each and every time she wanted to change the scene between chapters. As a reader, I would have found it rather annoying as well.

In The Riddled Night, Valery Leith used chapter names. The names had something to do with the upcoming chapter though. Similar to the previews Gary Paulson would do (as described above), but shorter and usually not descriptive.

Over all, I'd say that chapter numbers are the easiest. As a reader, I don't have to memorize a bunch of chapter names if I want to talk about the book. As a writer, its just easier to keep track of things while writing. If I were going to put chapter names in something I wrote, I'd also make sure it was relevant to the story. I find "just because" chapter names annoying and pointless. If you really can't make up your mind, you can always do both.

I would also agree with what Sir Icehawk said: "Write the story. Decide later." Your readers are going to be spending most of their time reading the story, not the chapter titles or numbers.
Just like int he other thread about chapters, it's all about how it affects the story (or if it does).

Divine Zealot

I find it depends on how much foreshadowing you want to give the readers. It might help finding favorite scenes. Other than that, however, I've never been too fond for them, let alone paid attention to them half the time, even if they were named.

Shameless Loiterer

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Honestly, I don't think it really matters. Most people aren't going to pay that much attention to a chapter title. If this is a story that you are going to post online, one chapter at a time, it might help readers keep track of were they left off. I've done it both ways, but I've only used chapter titles when I could be consistent with the theme of them for all chapters. So, go ahead and use them if you want, or don't. It's mostly just author preference. Just try to make them relevant to the chapter.

On a side note, the only chapter title I remember from the books I've read was SO. I remember it because it was actually the first word of the first and only sentence in that particular chapter. Otherwise, I usually forget chapter titles almost as soon as I've read them.
My view on chapter titles is that it depends more on the author's style rather than on the story itself. You can see author's get too creative or too generic when creating chapter titles, so in my opinion as an author play with your strengths. If you want chapter titles my advice is be careful.

Diligent Sophomore

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It would depend on your tone. For example, some books have really smartass chapter names (Charming by Elliot James comes to mind) that definitely add to the narrator's voice and fit really well. Other times, chapter titles just acknowledge what's happening in the story. If you're banking on a strong narrator voice, you may want to make sure your chapter titles are equally strong (like "Chapter Four, In Which I Smash Pumpkins With My Fists and Cry Later" or something).

Dedicated Bibliophile

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I had one novel I wrote with music and musicians being a main focus. For chapter titles (which I usually abstain from,) I used song titles. Afterwards I had a soundtrack as well. smile

Edited to add smile Oh, I just remembered Steven Brust's Dragaera books. Some of his chapter titles were very creative, and usually listed as a group as a psudo table of contents without the page numbers listed. One list was in the form of instructions to his character's laundry service, with each detail pertaining to what happened in the chapter. I don't have it with me, but for example, in a scene with a fight it was "repair cut in sleeve, remove blood stain." Another book had a menu as the table of contents, and another was quotes from a military treatise by one of the other characters.

Newbie Gaian

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well, i think in writing a novel, it's important to put chapters and chapter names on it. you put the chapter names for them to identify the highlight of that event. smile

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