That's exactly why I stopped doing it. It was getting really hard to come up with different titles so I just got lazy and said "eff it, Chapter One." 
Old People Writing for Teens, IV
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This is my first time doing it and it just feels right. But who knows. Maybe I won't go through with it and discard the idea later.
But who knows. Maybe I won't go through with it and discard the idea later.
If you can make it work I think it's a good idea. Having chapters with titles can add a certain something interesting if done right. 
I love chapters because I like spoilers and I feel like you can guess a lot but not nearly enough from a good chapter title.
I'm no use with coming up with them myself though, purely because I can never stay consistent. Have you tried looking through some books you remember doing chapter titles well?
I'm no use with coming up with them myself though, purely because I can never stay consistent. Have you tried looking through some books you remember doing chapter titles well?
Second this too. Looking at TV show episode titles was another source I used for inspiration. Supernatural has some awesome titles.
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No, I haven't. I never thought about that.
;And Supernatural does have some great titles. I need to finish season 4, but I stopped because then that means I have two seasons left before I go get seasons 7 and 8.
On a different note, Beneath the Clouds is going great and I'm super excited for it. Half of chapter four is done. Once I get to chapter five, the meaty part begins.
I doubt I'll ever give my chapters titles. I have enough trouble coming up with book titles!
Welcome! I write urban fantasy as well
Phew! What a relief! I thought it was only me
evil just kidding). I like the "hidden in plain sight" mentality that comes with UF, the idea that all this stuff is happening around us but we can't really see them or notice them. With regard to the chapter title issue, I usually just go with whatever feels right. If I have good chapter titles for a book I'll use them, but if I'm writing a book and I can't (or won't) come up with chapter titles I just type 1 or chapter 1. No need to force the issue.
My chapter titles are usually just one or two words. Not really describing what's happening in the chapter, but rather the mentality of the chapter or the characters in the chapter.
Mel, that's good for you. Drink a little is lifestyle; drink a lot screws up everything. My binge drinking became history when I finished college. Since my wife doesn't drink, I'm drinking lesser and lesser. Nowadays one six-pack often lasts 2-3 weeks, which is good for health and wallet.
As for titles... I dislike chapter titles, esp the poetic ones. Most of the meaningful ones contain spoilers, which disturb how I read the chapters. (I often skip until where the spoilers point to).
However whilst in WIP stage I label my chapters so I can find the scenes easier, and I usually refer them by the scene/place names, like Airport, Hotel California, Steamy Sex I, Break up fight II, etc.
As for titles... I dislike chapter titles, esp the poetic ones. Most of the meaningful ones contain spoilers, which disturb how I read the chapters. (I often skip until where the spoilers point to).
However whilst in WIP stage I label my chapters so I can find the scenes easier, and I usually refer them by the scene/place names, like Airport, Hotel California, Steamy Sex I, Break up fight II, etc.
That's pretty much what I've done. Chapter three is the hardest, and I'll probably call chapter four "Birthday Wishes" for now. I just wanted to see how others do it.
For what it's worth, I never read chapter titles unless it's essential to the story (POV shifts).
Until Book 6, I didn't even realize Harry Potter had chapter titles. They're just not important to me.
Crossing fingers that you sell soon so you can be rid of the roomie terror.
Which means you need to fail part of the physical fitness test, since we're "old."
Like, if you go from a crouching position to standing up straight and something inside your body makes a cracking sound? Congrats and welcome to the club! Sometimes you can't help it. I HATE cigarette smoke, yet I married a smoker. *shrugs*
YES! I seriously need to catch up with the Winchesters. Like, seriously.
So to the other teachers out there...
Any advice on what to do if a student is writing an essay that actually offends you?
I've never run into this before because I'm pretty tolerant. But I don't know if I can grade this without bias.
They're writing about why Hitler is great because he was hard working and a clever robber.
I can't even...
Any advice on what to do if a student is writing an essay that actually offends you?
I've never run into this before because I'm pretty tolerant. But I don't know if I can grade this without bias.
They're writing about why Hitler is great because he was hard working and a clever robber.
I can't even...
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Which means you need to fail part of the physical fitness test, since we're "old."
LOL, so that's what the physical fitness test means. I did wonder.
I grunt when I get up. Will that do?
I would think the best arguments argue both sides, so if this kid doesn't even bother playing devil's advocate, I'd say fail him/her. Either the kid wants a rise out of you, or this kid needs some psychological help (which doesn't need to be ignored, especially not in this day). There is nothing hard working about a man who murders millions of innocent human beings under some delusional guise that he was trying purify the human race.
In any case, I miss titles for chapters, actually. I know Harry Potter didn't, and I haven't read a book since Twilight that's done it. I myself haven't used chapter titles, but I may for Stolentime.
Also, my contract manager wants me to start compiling a list of reviewers for my paranormal romance, When Stars Die. I was wondering if any of you would be interested. It probably won't be for a month or two, but you'd receive an e-ARC in exchange for either a review or a quote.
Kewii, not a teacher here, but just offering some personal viewpoints.
In all due respect your student has a point. Most of the evilest but successful people have/had qualities that are "admirable" cuz that's why they made it. From Hitler, Mao Zedong, Saddam Hussein to Bonnie and Clyde. What your student has missed in his paper is obviously how many people have suffered from these "qualities" and why. What if Hitler didn't believe in Führerprinzip and had pushed for civil rights? What if Mao was smart enough to know communism didn't work? What if Saddam didn't rule his country in iron fist & invade Kuwait? What if Bonnie and Clyde had teamed up to sing country songs instead?
In all due respect your student has a point. Most of the evilest but successful people have/had qualities that are "admirable" cuz that's why they made it. From Hitler, Mao Zedong, Saddam Hussein to Bonnie and Clyde. What your student has missed in his paper is obviously how many people have suffered from these "qualities" and why. What if Hitler didn't believe in Führerprinzip and had pushed for civil rights? What if Mao was smart enough to know communism didn't work? What if Saddam didn't rule his country in iron fist & invade Kuwait? What if Bonnie and Clyde had teamed up to sing country songs instead?
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BING! If Bonnie and Clyde sang country ballads? STILL wouldn't buy their CD. But if they sang power-punk rock? Okay.
My dad used to say Hitler had some admirable qualities. The fact that he rallied a country behind him. (This theory proved not very popular at parties). I tried to sway him to admire Donald Trump instead. The lesser of two evils.
As for naming chapters? I guess I don't get it. Let 'em stand on their own. I like good ol'-fashioned "chapter one," "chapter two,"...
Lotsa' new "ol' folks" on board. Welcome everyone. I'm probably the oldest here. No doubt the most juvenile as well.
My dad used to say Hitler had some admirable qualities. The fact that he rallied a country behind him. (This theory proved not very popular at parties). I tried to sway him to admire Donald Trump instead. The lesser of two evils.
As for naming chapters? I guess I don't get it. Let 'em stand on their own. I like good ol'-fashioned "chapter one," "chapter two,"...
Lotsa' new "ol' folks" on board. Welcome everyone. I'm probably the oldest here. No doubt the most juvenile as well.
In university a lot of my friends took this viewpoint and would bring it up over civilised dinners in a bid to be controversial. It's the sort of thing people start thinking when they're trying to develop their personality and rationalise their morals.
If she thought about it for a second she would realise that saying 'so Hitler was bad yeah but he was also really clever' is not actually saying anything. We all know he was clever. We also don't regard him as the greatest villain to have existed in the last several centuries because he was stupid. So why does she need to argue on his behalf?
I'd say grade it how you normally would, consider her points and ability to argue and mark it accordingly. Then I'd have a really long discussion with her about why she felt the need to defend Hitler's clever mind, why it interested her, and whether she feels for herself that there is anything wrong with discussing his merits.
Then I'd give her some hard truths and say like, the holocaust REALLY HAPPENED, and not even THAT LONG AGO, and it's likely that her GRANDPARENTS if not her GRANDPARENTS PARENTS were probably alive during that war so it really isn't all in the past. The world is still recovering from his actions today. Maybe even recommend her some light hearted reading about WWII if its something that interests her.
Admittedly Hitler is a fascinating character but your student doesn't sound developed enough to rationalise that against how atrocious he was.
EDIT: You never know, they might surprise you and conclude that "despite his ample potential to be whatever he wanted, Hitler turned out to be a crazy dictator and will go down in history as hated by everyone."
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Well, he had to have been hard working if he managed to do all the horrible stuff that he did. However, that shit does hit close to home for a lot of people. You might have to sit down with the student and talk to him about it.
My great grandfather on my mom's mom's side left Germany because he didn't trust Hitler. He came to the United States to get established, then a year later, went back to Germany to get my grandmother and my great grandmother. My great grandmother hated him, but at the time, he felt it was the right thing to do.
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SHAMELESS PIMPING TIME!
I know. I suck. And have no scruples.
But, please come vote for my book in the "YA Debut Novel 2013" list on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/12392.YA_Debuts_2013?page=2#17254166
I'll walk your dog. Bake cookies. Be your best friend.
Right now, I think "Tex, The Witch Boy" is at #153. I'm competing against Dorothy (who I voted for), maybe a few of you others. Need I say it again? Cookies.
Oh. And Hitler sucks.
I know. I suck. And have no scruples.
But, please come vote for my book in the "YA Debut Novel 2013" list on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/12392.YA_Debuts_2013?page=2#17254166
I'll walk your dog. Bake cookies. Be your best friend.
Right now, I think "Tex, The Witch Boy" is at #153. I'm competing against Dorothy (who I voted for), maybe a few of you others. Need I say it again? Cookies.
Oh. And Hitler sucks.
When I decided to name the Cg chapters, I went through the whole thing and plugged in those "yes, that's it!" titles, and simple placeholders for the others. Sometimes the placeholders would end up pointing to some interesting structural things in the narrative, and I'd end up keeping them (for example, I had the placeholders GIRLS/GOD/GUYS back to back to back and while none of them would have been a very good chapter title on their own, I think they work well in sequence). Some I'm still not 100% on, but it's the easiest kind of thing to keep tinkering with, so just go ahead and tinker. A lot of people (me, most of the time) skip over chapter titles when they really get into a book, but I like it when they add little jokes or layers of meaning.
I used to name chapters after the songs on the soundtrack that they lined up with. I also named my chapter book titles, but I was told by betas that they were too spoilery
Welcome Wendy Jenae and Arianne
nice to see you in the threads
Ack! I was hoping to sneak in without anyone noticing!
Thank you for the welcome! I look forward to getting to know you guys!
Welcome Wendy Jenae and Arianne
nice to see you in the threads
Ack! I was hoping to sneak in without anyone noticing!
Thank you for the welcome! I look forward to getting to know you guys!
Reading this made me wonder, how many of you have a special playlist you play only when writing your novel? I personally just play whatever (I have like 1000+ songs on my computer so usually I just pick a "mood' on my music player and play songs at random).
Half of the time I don't even hear the music too much, unless it really fits the scene i'm writing or something.
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