Chapters

[mum23]

I notice many writers just number their chapters. Each of mine has a title. Is this going to be off-putting?

[jenngreenleaf]

Each of my chapters have titles, too, but they're in a non-fiction ms. Are you writing fiction or non-fiction? (I've read many fiction books with chapter titles -- V.C. Andrews, Jim Hines, Deanna Kizis . . .)

[mum23]

I am writing Fiction. I want each chapter to have it's own identity, not just 90k + words or so that all merge into one story.

[scarletpeaches]

Are you sure you're not a short story writer, then?

[mum23]

Yep i'm sure.

[jenngreenleaf]

I am writing Fiction. I want each chapter to have it's own identity, not just 90k + words or so that all merge into one story.Travel through your library or the bookstore and you'll notice quite a few authors writing in this manner. I've read books where the chapter titles identify the plot changes and how they merge back together throughout the book. (I hope that made sense.)

[Shadow_Ferret]

I just number mine. I don't see the point of giving each a title. Titles to me make it seem that each chapter can stand alone on its own as if they are, as SP suggested, short stories put together to form a novel. I don't write like that. My chapters are simply arbitrary resting points so the reader isn't overwhelmed by 70,000 non-stop words.

[Marva]

I give my chapters titles and that helps me relocate things in my ms when I'm going back through to recheck for inconsistencies, etc. Still, I love puns and quite often use them for chapter titles. I figure if a publisher doesn't like titles, she'll take them off.

Of course, I come from a tech writing background and chapter titles are essential.

[jenngreenleaf]

(So, it looks like this is just a matter of opinion - be it the author's or the editor's.)

[mum23]

I give my chapters titles and that helps me relocate things in my ms when I'm going back through to recheck for inconsistencies, etc. Still, I love puns and quite often use them for chapter titles. I figure if a publisher doesn't like titles, she'll take them off.

Of course, I come from a tech writing background and chapter titles are essential.

That's it! The puns! I have given each of my chapters a quirky title which I have picked from a sentance in the main chapter, so the title relates.
Like you say, if it isn't liked, they can take them out. Perhaps I'm being to cocky/clever lol.

[Moon Daughter]

A lot more YA writer's seem to use titles instead of numbering now (unless I'm just noticing now because of not paying attention to it before? ugh). Stephenie Meyer does and so did Laurie Stolarz (the spelling might be off). Oh, and Scott Westerfield.

[honeycomb]

mum23,

I personally don't like titles because I tend to skip chapters, because I know where to look for what excites me in the novel. But again, it's all what the reader prefers.

[mum23]

mum23,

I personally don't like titles because I tend to skip chapters, because I know where to look for what excites me in the novel. But again, it's all what the reader prefers.

You're not one of those who reads the last page first are you.;)

[scarletpeaches]

mum23,

I personally don't like titles because I tend to skip chapters, because I know where to look for what excites me in the novel. But again, it's all what the reader prefers.

How do you know where to look if you don't read the entire novel?!

Skipping chapters is an alien concept to me. It makes no sense. If someone's taken the time to write an entire book, I'll have the good grace to read the entirety of what they worked hard to produce!

[Zelenka]

Some of my WIPs want numbers only, some have chapter titles because names have just jumped out at me when I've been writing. I'm not published though so I don't know if there's any preference amongst agents / publishers. I've seen a fair mix of both styles in books though.

[honeycomb]

You're not one of those who reads the last page first are you.;)

LoL, :DI can't. But I am a skipper, especially if I know where to find what I'm looking for.

[honeycomb]

How do you know where to look if you don't read the entire novel?!
Skipping chapters is an alien concept to me. It makes no sense. If someone's taken the time to write an entire book, I'll have the good grace to read the entirety of what they worked hard to produce!

Sorry scarletpeaches:Shrug:But, no matter what book I read, I always find certain parts that don't interest me or drags on, so I skip. I'm sure I wouldn't skip anything you write, though:D

[TrainofThought]

I’ve read many books with titles and quotes for their chapters and that includes my WIP. It isn’t off-putting to me as long as the titles correspond with the chapter.

[Azure Skye]

I don't title my chapters only because I find it difficult to title most things. ACK! It might be just a matter of preference. Numbers or titles -- it doesn't bother me either way.

[Shadow_Ferret]

I'm with you on the Azure. It took me a dozen times to come up with a title for the novel itself that I was comfortable with. Titleing my chapters? Forget it.
Sorry scarletpeaches:Shrug:But, no matter what book I read, I always find certain parts that don't interest me or drags on, so I skip.
That's just... weird. How do you get a feeling of the work as a whole if you don't read the whole thing? Do you fast forward through movies and shows when they get to the boring parts, too?

Everything the writer put in there is important to the story, otherwise he would have left it out himself.

[DeadlyAccurate]

I don't title my chapters only because I find it difficult to title most things. ACK! It might be just a matter of preference. Numbers or titles -- it doesn't bother me either way.
Ditto. The thought of coming up with forty titles when I can barely handle one gives me hives. As for books I read, it doesn't bother me either way.

[Queen of Swords]

I don't title my chapters only because I find it difficult to title most things.

Some of the chapter titles in my WIP were difficult, but the perfect one came to me a few days ago. In that chapter, a character whose last name is Dust gets killed, but not before she causes a small earthquake and brings down part of a castle wall. The title of the chapter was "Dust to Dust".

It might sound a little corny, but I'm happy with it. :)

[DeleyanLee]

As a reader, I honestly don't usually notice if there's chapter titles or not. I'm interested in the story, not the markers along the way. Frankly, if I stop and notice chapter titles, then I'm not very into the story and there's a chance that I won't finish reading the book.

The only exception to this is the Myth series by Robert Asprin. But, then, the first thing I did when I get a Myth book is read all the chapter quotes so when I got into the story I wasn't missing (mything?) anything.

As a writer, I don't bother with chapter titles, basically because they have little impact on me as a reader. Creating the story and crafting the book is enough without adding more, IMO.

[Chasing the Horizon]

Like Marva, I name my chapters to help keep them straight in my own mind. I always use titles that relate to the chapter somehow, but don't give away any important events. I love sitting there and just making up titles, though, so I can see why you'd just use numbers if you didn't like coming up with titles. As a reader I really don't care, just give me a good story and break the chapters at reasonable places.

The idea of skipping chapters is alien to me as well. If it's a good book, I don't want to skip even a single paragraph. If a book has boring parts large enough to constitute an entire chapter, I'll probably just put it down and never pick it up again.

[Marva]

Some of the chapter titles in my WIP were difficult, but the perfect one came to me a few days ago. In that chapter, a character whose last name is Dust gets killed, but not before she causes a small earthquake and brings down part of a castle wall. The title of the chapter was "Dust to Dust".

It might sound a little corny, but I'm happy with it. :)

I like how you think, Queen. Let's see, some of my favs are "Scry Me a River", "Trolling for Information", "Thrown to the Wolves". A funny fantasy, obviously.

[ishtar'sgate]

I notice many writers just number their chapters. Each of mine has a title. Is this going to be off-putting?
Not at all. It gives a hint of what lies ahead.
Linnea

[TrickyFiction]

I use both numbers and titles.
That's what I like best when I'm reading, so that's what I write.

[ChaosTitan]

I've used both, depending on what the story demands.

Most recently, I used something a little bit different. The MC had a strict 3-day time limit to reach her goal, so each chapter is numbered, and it also has a clock counting down. Frex:

Chapter One
71:59

Chapter Two
69:30

etc..etc...

[scarletpeaches]

Not at all. It gives a hint of what lies ahead.
Linnea

And that could be a problem for some (namely, me and readers like me). I like to find out what lies ahead by, uh...well, reading the book. Not chapter titles.

[FennelGiraffe]

I notice many writers just number their chapters. Each of mine has a title. Is this going to be off-putting? Odds are I won't even notice them.

[jchines]

Each of my chapters have titles, too, but they're in a non-fiction ms. Are you writing fiction or non-fiction? (I've read many fiction books with chapter titles -- V.C. Andrews, Jim Hines, Deanna Kizis . . .)

Jenn pointed me to this thread. I used puns/jokes as the chapter titles in my first book, but to be honest, it was such a pain in the tuckus that I haven't done it since. Fun, but dang, sometimes it was more work than writing the actual chapter!

[katiemac]

Like someone already mentioned, chapter titles are more popular among middle grade and YA books, although that's certainly not a reason to drop them from your book.

I try to ignore chapter titles myself. The only thing I dislike about them is when they are so obvious, a reader can figure out key plot elements by scanning the table of contents. I've had more than one decent book ruined for me that way.

[narnia]

You're not one of those who reads the last page first are you.;)

Meekly raises hand...

I have a habit of reading the ending first more often than not. I've always done this, even before I got serious about writing, because I wanted to see how the author got from point A to point B. I think it started with Agatha Christie and snowballed from there ...:D

Perhaps I was subconsciously training to actually be an author some day but as of yet whatever I learned hasn't seemed to materialize.

I still have hope.

As for putting titles to my chapters - I agonize over character names!!! I would probably need to be committed if I had to come up with chapter titles.

[David I]

I love putting titles on my chapters, though they are designed to puzzle and intrigue or amuse rather than tell what's coming.

The popularity of titles on chapters comes and goes. One of my favorite SF books from long ago, John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar, has some great chapter titles, including It's Supposed To Be Automatic, But Actually You Have To Press This Button.

One of my novels, Tomorrowville (a grim comedy), has chapters titles that include:

--Four Million Nine-Hundred Ninety-Three Thousand Six Hundred Eighty-Four Dollars and Eighteen Cents

--As In, Shining Armor?

--Who Cares? Most Of ’Em Are Completely Swiss Already

--Just Add Beer And CNN

--An Appliance Store Of The Damned

--Help, Permission, Or Any of Those Other Unfortunate Things

--He’d Suck In More Viewership Than The Second Coming

--In Canada, They Have Everything

The titles are lifted from lines in the chapters--but I don't think they give much away. And I have terrific fun finding the titles.

If only finding titles for whole books were so easy...(sigh)

[Matera the Mad]

I have come to like numbering and titling. Because I am a non-outliner at heart, the chapter headings are my outline surrogate. They give me something to hang my thoughts on. When I want to find a particular scene, I know that it is in Chapter --, and I go right to it (my chapters are in separate files too, until formatting time). Even if I were not going to leave the titles in the finished work, I would use them. Thats-a da me.

[TPCSWR]

It really depends on the story, some it works, some it doesn't but personally I think you should probably number it as well to make the book easier to navigate if the reader loses their page etc.

[jenngreenleaf]

Jenn pointed me to this thread. I used puns/jokes as the chapter titles in my first book, but to be honest, it was such a pain in the tuckus that I haven't done it since. Fun, but dang, sometimes it was more work than writing the actual chapter!Thank you for sharing your experience with this, Jim! :)

[Prawn]

I always use chapter titles.