Titling Chapters; Method or Madness?

There's nothing wrong with scene breaks, I use plenty of them, but personally, I would HATE to read a book that didn't have chapter breaks. Trying to read it would be exhausting, like there's nowhere to catch my breath, nowhere to stick a bookmark and take a pause. Really excellent books will have chapters that end on such an exciting note that you don't want to stop reading there, you turn the page and keep going. But to not have chapters at all? I couldn't deal with that.

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It's certainly no sweat to add page-breaks and numbers to a few of the breaks. I'll probably do it before I send fulls out to agents.

Shadow_Ferret said:

I have a hard enough time with the NOVEL'S title. Trying to come up with an additional 20 or 30 titles? Forget it.

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+1

I do usually like them in novels I'm reading.

Depends on the book. I think they can help set the scene. I love them, and mine are particularly funny, but I write funny books.

I do think they need to be short and not detract from the reading. A title should blend in or at the least make you think about something relevant.

pretty much the same

In addition, I use MS word document map. The chapter headers start out as mneumonics to help me find chapters. It's a lot easier the remember what "Escape" is all about that chapter 38. Besides, add a chapter and all the numbers change.

Devil Ledbetter said:

I take the most interesting word or phrase in that chapter and use it as a the chapter title. If the chapter lacks anything that shines enough for a standout title, I revise it until something shiny appears.

They may be a little cryptic (they don't give away what happens) but they're always relevant.

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In most cases I've found that chapter titles (in published books) to be of little concern or use. However there are certainly exceptions and good reasons to use them. George RR Martin, swaps POV every chapter and simply labels the new chapter with the name of the character whose POV you're taking. Handy to help you keep track and means he doesn't have to use the first few lines of each establishing who you're following again. Pratchett has sometimes used them for comedic effect, the chapter title and description being a joke in itself or drawing you onwards. A few others use titles to explain a long transition or major change. Mostly I found that chapter titles seem to be an older fashion, harking back to stories told in a serial nature where one chapter was released at a time, radio plays or when the voice of an independent narrator was used.

Using them within your own writing as a planning tool or reminder is certainly useful but I think it's rare for the reader to gain much from them.

As mentioned, unless you're doing something like GRRM and changing the POV each chapter, it makes little impact to me whether each chapter is titled or not. I know in some books I've read though, it was actually a distraction.

I still can't decide on the title to query with, even though I know there is a good chance it might change if I sell it anyway. My husband and I had another long discussion about it last night. I would go into a cold sweat if I had to come up with 25 more names!

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I'm right there with you. I'm terrible at titles. I would never make any progress if I had to do chapter titles!

When I'm reading, I don't mind chapter titles. Non-fiction almost always has them, and I like it when they're a little funny or clever. So I can see how they could add a little something in fiction, too, if done well. But my chapters are too short and numerous for that, and I've never read a novel and been disappointed by the fact it has no chapter titles.

They pull me out of the story, remind me that there is an author. Isn't that what they're for? To say, look, I'm writing this thing and aren't I clever? Chapter titles may work in a comic novel where it's all about the writer being witty and funny and the story's not very important (or at least not very believable) and it's not essential for the author to maintain the fictive dream.

I'm another who hates books without chapter breaks. Drives me insane.

I finished my first novel recently and opted the route of titling my chapters, but I'm still completely on the fence about them. I come from a songwriting background, so in my mind, perhaps titles carry more weight for me than they should.

I like Devil's idea of finding the one shiny word in the chapter and pulling it forward as the title but I'm not sure that I could make that work for me exclusively. I found myself trying to be too clever in some cases and ended up revising them several times once the novel was complete. I'd be curious to see other's chapter titles, just to see if they follow a pattern or don't. Here's mine:

Chapter 1: Jack Ward
Chapter 2: Pete Dyer
Chapter 3: Julie Bianca
Chapter 4: Small Town Fundamentals
Chapter 5: Leave the Porch Light On
Chapter 6: The Listening Game
Chapter 7: It’s Not Personal
Chapter 8: The New York Sessions
Chapter 9: Separate Ways
Chapter 10: Into the Wild
Chapter 11: The Solo After the Bridge
Chapter 12: Front Row Seats
Chapter 13: Closing the Deal
Chapter 14: Encore
Chapter 15: Friends Trading Fours
Chapter 16: Gram and Papa’s
Chapter 17: Coming Home
Chapter 18: Herringbone

I'm using chapter titles in my current WIP, because it's a thriller and time is important. Each chapter is headed by the chapter number, with the day and time on the next line.

I probably wouldn't use them otherwise. And I dislike quotes at the beginning of chapters.

Chapter 1
Saturday, 12:30 a.m.

I used chapter titles in my first MS, but I shied away in subsequent manuscripts because I worry that they foreshadow too much and ruin some of the mystery. (agreeing with VoireyLinger)

Chrisla / Devil:
Susan Elizabeth Phillips is one of my favorite authors. I read a book recently where she had a quote at the beginning of each chapter (THIS HEART OF MINE). Generally, the quotes were funny and added a little whimsy. They were snippets from her MC's Children's book or her MC's imagination. Her other books don't have the quotes, so it was unusual; but didn't detract from the story at all.

I hadn't thought of doing quotes; but pondering it now, I think it would take a little more planning and research than I'd enjoy to find (or make up) the perfect quote that fit the chapter without being a spoiler.

So to minimize work and risk of spoilers, I prefer to go with chapter numbers alone.