Good afternoon, readers! Before I start off on today's topic, I would like to mention that this word of the week is suborn, a verb meaning to induce, persuade, or influence someone secretly to do an unlawful thing. It's often used in sentences about law, like someone being persuaded to committ perjury (that person is being suborned to committ perjury). It comes from a Latin word, ""subornare," which translates to "to secretly furnish or equip." There, wasn't that fun?
So today's topic is chapter titles. You know, those things before a chapter that nobody reads? It's a shame really, but many readers either ignore them because they're boring or just don't notice them at all. However, I love chapter titles. I think that they're fun, insightful ways to see what the upcoming chapter is going to be about. I've seen them done many different ways. Some are long (ex. chapters in the point of view of Jacob Black in Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer), some are short ( like in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling) Some have only numbers. Some novels don't have chapters at all, but mainly asteriks separating the main scenes (The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger). I've seen novels that only use the name of the character of the point of view it's in (ex. in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, the chapters simply alternated by "1. Nick" and "2. Norah" and "3. Nick" etc.) However, creative chapter titles is a good way to keep your reader interested. After all, when you spot a captivating chapter title, it makes you want to keep reading. They can get a piblisher interested as well.
Every author does chapters differently, and many novels by a single author can have different styles of chapter titles. But the one main things that many of them (if not all) have in common is that they all relate to a main idea in the chapter. Some of them are broad, one word titles, and some are more specific, but they both relate to important aspects of the chapter.
Here are some hints that I've used or tried out in past chapters:
1. Reptition - Beginning each chapter with the same two words in a pattern can keep chapters entertaining. For example, you can have a novel with each chapter beginning with "Don't Forget to..." and then end with different words each time. It can keep things interesting.
2. Alitteration - Having alliteration in your chapters keeps your chapters flowing nicely, plus keeps them short and sweet. For example, one chapter can be "Daring Diasater" and another can be "Always Arrogant."
3. Clever and Humorous - Witty titles are a great way to catch a reader's attention, especially if it seems to be in the point of view of a witty character in the novel. For example, "How Not to Get Your Way" or "Don't Talk Back to Guys with Big Muscles." Keep it interesting.
4. Poems, Quotes or Song Lyrics - Having a brief quote or song lyric before a chapter is a great way of hinting what's going to happen in the chapter. You're welcome to use common or unrecognizable song titles as a chapter title (ex. Broken) but if you used a song title such as "Boulevarde of Broken Dreams," you might not be able to get away with that if the novel is published. You could also use a small portion of the quote as a title and include the full quote above.
5. Definition - Sometimes using definitions of words as a chapter titles can really work, depending on the story at hand. Or you could do something like, "Love: A 4-letter word that's impossible to define." Play around with it.
6. Language - I've seen novels where all the chapter titles are in a different language. Many of the words you can tell the meaning of in English, simply by how they look and sound, but it just keeps things a little spicy and special.
Remember: you don't have to be consistent! Sometimes changing things up can keep your reader (and you) entertained! Don't be afraid to mix things up!
The best advice I can give you is pay attention to what your story's about, the simple and the abstract things. For example, in Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, she could have titled each chapter with something that the main character wanted to say, but couldn't because she was too scared. The best chapter titles really relate to the story. You know your story better than anyone else; use that power to your advantage.
That's all for today, writers! Have a good night! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...
Question: Do you have a specific way to name your chapters? If so, what is it? If not, how do you name your chapters? Do you name them at all?
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