Do You Title Your Chapters or Just Number Them?

[Johnny Cosmo]

CicadaGrrl: I'm sure cursing is discouraged in the guidelines. I might be wrong, but I'm certain there are a lot of younger writers here!

 

[Meg the Healer]

I haven't decided if in the finished product whether or not I would want chapter titles or just numbers. However, I do find that when I'm writing I have definite things I want to accomplish and since I have a tendency to skip around a lot when I'm writing, it helps me remember.

In the version where I'm writing 3rd person POV, I currently have chapter titles like The Querent, Judgement, New Beginnings, Willow Brook, Glow, Dreamscape, Viewing Panes, Tabula Rosa, Illusion, and Knight of Cups. I've titled them so that I primarily can tell myself where I am in the story. I don't know if necessarily I would tell my reader (again in the finished work). As you can see some of my titles are pretty specific about what they're going to be talking about - other like Glow, Tabula Rosa, and Knight of Cups aren't exactly point specific.

When I was writing 1st person POV, I headed the chapter as which character was speaking and allowed each of them to have their own voice. In that case I would definitely have a chapter title - even though it would be a character title.

 

[Black Gate of Mordor]

I usually title my chapters, but I almost always give them an extremely generic name (such as "The Girl"). I do it so that potential readers won't be able to tell what the chapter is about, but reflecting back they'll work out why I named it such. I occasionally change the generic names to something less generic and a bit more mysterious, but I always make sure that I have titles.

 

[The Blue Lotus]

CicadaGrrl: I'm sure cursing is discouraged in the guidelines. I might be wrong, but I'm certain there are a lot of younger writers here!

Yeah well I have heard much worse come out of mouths that are decades younger than I am...
Thats saying a lot since I cuss like a salior on leave!
However the F word is extreamly functional in our language as is Sh*t
Don't think so? Watch here ROFL it is way funny... OSHO: Strange Consequences - YouTube
After you watch that consider this:
There is a bit of debate about which word is the most important here. This the other teams argument for the Word Sh*t

You can get sh*t-faced, be sh*t-out-of-luck, or have sh*t for brains. With a little effort, you can get your sh*t together, find a place for your sh*t, or be asked to sh*t or get off the pot.

You can smoke sh*t, buy sh*t, sell sh*t, lose sh*t, find sh*t, forget sh*t, and tell others to eat sh*t.

Some people know their sh*t, while others can't tell the difference between sh*t and Shine-O-La.

There are lucky sh*ts, dumb sh*ts, and crazy sh*ts. There is bull sh*t, horse sh*t, and chicken sh*t.

You can throw sh*t, sling sh*t, catch sh*t, shoot the sh*t, or duck when the sh*t hits the fan.

You can give a sh*t or serve sh*t on a shingle. You can find yourself in deep sh*t or be happier than a pig in sh*t.

Some days are colder than sh*t, some days are hotter than sh*t, and some days are just plain sh*tty.

Some music sounds like sh*t, things can look like sh*t, and there are times when you feel like sh*t.

You can have too much sh*t, not enough sh*t, the right sh*t, the wrong sh*t or a lot of weird sh*t.

You can carry sh*t, have a mountain of sh*t, or find yourself up sh*t creek without a paddle.

Sometimes everything you touch turns to sh*t and other times you fall in a bucket of sh*t and come out smelling like a rose.

Once in a while you have to wear boots because the sh*t is getting too deep.

When you stop to consider all the facts, it's the basic building block of the English language.

And remember, once you know your sh*t, you don't need to know anything else!!

So really when you consider all the facts there are reasons to not ban these two words...
Also the word Pr*ck It is a multi use word you can pr*ck your finger, but one can also be/have a pr*ck.

As for chapters I Number and name mine in my RD but on final drafts I leave it all naked like.

So after much to do, which team are you? That is assuming you give a Fing Sh*T.
Team F or team S

 

[Devor]

Yeah well I have heard much worse come out of mouths that are decades younger than I am...
Thats saying a lot since I cuss like a salior on leave!

So . . . is cursing discouraged or not? Does anybody know?

 

[Legendary Sidekick]

On-topic: I named my chapters.

On cursing: one of my chapters contains the S-word.

Back on chapter names: I named my chapters because I number the main character's journeys. That said, I wonder if, as a result of naming chapters, I ended up making my chapters too long. Which brings me to a question...

 

[Elder the Dwarf]

Blue Lotus, I'm pretty surprised you would have a bad mouth. Especially because you don't like rap because of bad language. And on the decades younger thing: yeah, a lot of kids are cussing in elementary school it kinda sucks. Probably the worst language is in middle school and it gets just slightly better in high school.

Devor, I believe it is. At least it is in the rules.

I don't name my chapters, mainly because coming up with a name for the novel my WIP will hopefully be will probably take me months, so I don't need any more naming trouble.

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

However the F word is extreamly functional in our language as is Sh*t

I don't know why this is directed at me. I'm of the opinion that those words are very functional, and I'm all for their proper use. Swearing really doesn't bother me, but I didn't write the guidelines here...

 

[The Blue Lotus]

I don't know why this is directed at me. I'm of the opinion that those words are very functional, and I'm all for their proper use. Swearing really doesn't bother me, but I didn't write the guidelines here...

You misunderstood why I quoted you dear.
I was not directing at you but rather using your post as my talking point. So sorry if you felt offended. Hugs.

Elder I cuss like a sailor mainly because I was a sailor, the whole when in Rome thing.... I guess...
But the words only have power if you let them. I never say these words around young kids, and my own kids have been taught that there is a time and place for these words. Like when you smash your finger with a hammer...

There are some words I simply won't use,
the F bomb does not bother me, neither does the s word. the Pri word depending on how it is used can be offensive. ( don't call people that! ) The words that really bother me are the ones that you find in music a lot the B word or other derivatives of it like the W word or the H word. there is never a good reason to say that to a lady! Well... unless she just ran over your puppy or something like that. Perhaps than I could understand it, but other than that NO.

I don't want to listen to derogatory lyrics that objectify ladies and reduce decent men to horney, slavating, dogs, that have turds for brains. >_>

So yes I totaly understand why some words are banned, and yes I also have the understanding that the rules here prohibit these words from finding there way to the boards where the younger kiddies can see them. However... I believe that is a bit like closing the barn door after the horse has run away.
If we teach the kids the uses for them you take their power away. IMHO

lol Elder for the longest time (years) I called my first novel "book" Now it has a proper title. It will come to you.

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

So sorry if you felt offended.

I'm not. You quoted me and then used 'you', so it was fair to assume you were talking to me (or else you should have specified otherwise). It doesn't matter either way, since it's not me who is asking for censorship of swearing. I don't get a say in the matter, it's just in the guidelines.

 

[The Blue Lotus]

Oh rofl the post I put up is a combo of jokes... So sorry.
I think they used you as a generlization rather than saying the reader... or something like that.

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

Well, I was the only person opposed to cursing (not that I am usually, again, just because we are asked not to).

I swear a lot in person, because it's just part of who I am and where I'm from. It's natural for me (and probably for you) but I don't see as much need to swear on forums. We have all the time in the world before submitting responses, so it's not like swearing just slips out. I'm sure that everyone here can elegantly present their opinion without swearing, so there's really no reason to go against the forum guidelines.

On topic: to the people who name their chapters, can I ask why? I've seen a couple of people say they intentionally give their chapters vague titles so that people only know what it means after they've read it, but what is the purpose of this? Would it not be better for them to continue to be engrossed into the story, rather than wondering what something with as little importance as a chapter name meant?

I usually name things for my own self-indulgence (and to a certain extent, peace of mind). Is this similar? Not to say it's a bad reason, just that I doubt it will be as important to the reader as it is to the writer. But, you could say the same about place names (which I spend a long time thinking of names for), so I'm guilty of this sort of thing too.

 

[Elder the Dwarf]

to Lotus, I also wasn't offended, just in case it was directed at me. Just a little surprised. And I understand you taking offense at some things in rap, but not all rap is like that.

 

[Johnny Cosmo]

And I understand you taking offense at some things in rap, but not all rap is like that.

Oh yeah, I meant to mention this. A lot of people make sweeping generalisations about music they don't like enough to know. It's natural, I guess, but it's not always right.

 

[The Blue Lotus]

I know that Elder, I just happen to prefer bubble gum pop Rap comes in many forms, me personaly I don't like the sounds (music that goes with the words,) they give me a headache.
I tend to run on the softer side of things, It is not unusual to walk into our home and hear Vavaldi, or Chopain, if we are in a funky mood, you might hear walking on sunshine... etc.
We just are not the harder sounds loving type people over here. Everything should remind us of a soft spring rain, clouds, and open hearts....

And Johnny, you are right there is no reason to fight the admins... there are more eloquent ways to say exactly what you/we mean.

I name my chapters to help me keep track of things, Sometimes I will write out a scene for book 3 while working on book 1 other times I write out something that does not have a home at that time. I write as things come to me and than go back and order them as I like. At that time I remove these titles and just let my story flow.

 

[Nyx]

I have been playing with this for a while now. My series is in first person, so I will probably go with a number and a characters name so it doesn't get too cluttered. I might experiment with titles in another project though, sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[Erica]

Juvenile fiction uses chapter titles more, it seems, than regular fiction. Maybe it's because the publishers/writers think younger readers need some sort of foreshadowing to hook them in?

I've seen writers in fantasy title their chapters simply by naming the place and date where the chapter is taking place. This can be handy if there are multiple places/times where the story is taking place (think a time travel story or a story with flashbacks). This can be a pain though if your chapter covers several days or has multiple scenes taking place in different locations. The other way chapters can be named is simply a brief description of something pivotal that happens there. For instance 'A Turning Point' or "A Terrible Dilemma'. I'm not sure why or when it is appropriate to use the latter form as it often seems needless.

I'm putting dates and locations on my chapters as I write, but I'll probably lose them if I ever try to publish it somewhere and make sure the information that's needed for the reader is in the actual text. The dates/locations are more there to help me keep track of plotting at this point.

 

[ThalaeaAithusia]

Depends on the story...my fantasy has titles like "Silence" "Before the Storm" "Voices in the Night" "The Storm Begins" "A Test of strength" and then the chapter after that is "Failure"...so you get the idea that the tes of strangth didn't go too well...

But say, in a western type story... I have it titled like a Ralph Moody book... "I get the right idea" "My horse outsmarts me" etc.

I wrote short story called "There be Dragons"...it was kind of dark, and I just numbered the chapters, using ROman Numerals to kind of set the mood...Roman Numerals just look ominous enough to help in a darker story...

Just my two cents.

 

[August Griffin]

Never let the reader relax. So no, the party posts a guard and takes a refreshing nap, chapter breaks.
Your basic building block is the scene. Label them until it is no longer useful. Eventually you combine the scenes into chapters so the headings become irrelevant.
When you are ready to chapter, you narrow your scenes down to, say, the eight to ten most exciting scenes or important moments. You analyze the structure and choose from the following possibilities, presented in the order of most likely--to least likely, to be chosen as the chapter break.
End at the moment of disaster ending the scene. Your party should be worse off than when they started the scene. You can end in the middle of the conflict, or the thought portion of a sequel. As in, mid-combat (chapter break) or (the inevitable spider rain has begun, making things look hopeless,) so there was no way out. (chapter break) Or you can end at the decision (we must carry on without Sir Waterbucket of Yuck) or new action portion (bleeding and bent, he crawled toward the object of the quest--the Chattering Feather Duster of Destiny!) Provided you have created enough anticipation in the reader. This is largely a paraphrase of, "Scene and Structure," by Jack M. Bickham.
Once you choose your chapter breaks, your structure will either lend itself to titles or not. The question becomes, do chapter headings add anything to the story? Only you can answer that.
Cheers!

 

[Empathy]

At the minute I just number them, as I can't really put a name on a chapter without ruining the story. Although I'm hoping before I finish to try and get a mixture.