Naming Chapters!

[Autumnlily]

I have a book that I’m working on and I feel like naming instead of numbering the chapters fits the feel of the story more than previous things that I’ve written. Any suggestions or tips on naming chapters would be amazing!

[MineralizedWritings]

I tend to name chapters based on the lesson learned or progress to character arcs. For instance, instead of naming a chapter on the physical things that happened (visiting the bakery) I would rather name it based on the conversation the characters had at the bakery (Such as… “If you only understood”)

Hope that helps 🙂

へびは　かっこいい　です！

[Allison]

@autumnlily

I am also naming the chapters of my WIP, I feel like it helps readers keep track of everything. It is a bit tricky to come up with a good name, I really like it when the name vaguely hints about what happens and one that dosent spoil anything. Theres a good in between, like you dont want to name one “This character died.” Instead, be mysterious, maybe name the chapter after the character?   Thats all the tips I really have, I hope that helps! 🙂

[RAE]

@autumnlily

Honestly, I personally don’t like long names to chapters that tell you exactly what’s going on. I usually like chapters that begin with a name that might give you a small hint, but are rather mysterious to the reader.

To show you what I mean, here is the name of the first chapter of Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson

I Set Off upon My Journey to the House of Shaws

Now I know where he’s going, before I read the chapter. I consider the names of the chapters in Kidnapped uninteresting in my personal opinion.

 

Contrast that chapter name with the first chapter of The Two Towers by J.R.R.Tolkien (used since my copy of The Fellowship of the Ring is in our car right now)

The Departure of Boromir

In my personal opinion that is a chapter name that is more interesting and most likely for me to remember.

 

Note: All statements are my own personal opinion and are not meant to curve your thoughts against any form of chapter-naming you so desire.

[Autumnlily]

Thank you everyone! I feel like I have a bit of a better idea of what to do now.

[Karissa Chmil]

@autumnlily I’m sliding in a few days late, but I think that generally, at least from what I’ve seen, middle grade is the best genre for chapter titles nowadays. (There are certainly exceptions – think The Book Thief – but as a rule of thumb, that’s what I’ve seen.) And when it comes to that, I honestly think the best chapter titles are the ones that don’t fully make sense until you’ve read the chapter. They should tickle the reader’s fancy, almost make them laugh out of anticipation of what’s in the chapter, but also not completely fit until you’ve read it.

A few that I’ve had fun with:

Chapter One: A Story Almost Doesn’t Happen

Chapter Three: In Which Nayela Is Cold and Cinnie Is Confused (And Cold)

Chapter Four: Time Travelers Are Clumsy

Aaaand you get the idea. Something that hints at what’s coming and draws the reader in without actually giving it away (and often something that has a bit of humor in it, especially for MG).

Hope that helped a bit!

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