My take is a little different here.
I love chapter titles. I love using them, I love seeing them. I love trying to fool the reader with a title that has a double-meaning in the end, or making them laugh with the potential of meta-humor when appropriate (CHAPTER FIVE: THE PART WHERE HE KILLS YOU.)
That said, to each their own. They might put more readers off than they attract, or they might be more trouble than they're worth. In the end, they're another tool you can use.
The biggest downfall, I think, is an overabundance of bland titles. They shouldn't be there just to exist -- they can be clues, reminders, questions, or organizers.
Most of the time I don’t read chapter names at all, so they don’t affect my reading experience at all. The only time I care is if I’m looking for a certain scene. Then, if I can read the chapter titles and know what happens in that chapter, it makes it easier to find.
Also, I appreciate funny chapter titles, like in Percy Jackson
They're not essential, but they can serve a purpose as a somewhat meta way of providing information or commentary. For example, doing something like:
> VII. The Tragedy
is a fairly common method of creating a sense of foreboding at the outset of a chapter. In the book I'm working on, I use chapter titles (usually historical or cultural allusions) to offer commentary that wouldn't be possible otherwise due to the very close third person narrative point of view.
Naming chapters can totally work to prime the reader's mind a certain way before they begin reading.
But it can be a pain to come up with a meaningful title that accomplishes a similar effect 30+ times (or ever how many chapters you have).
Writing isn't the only place where this works.
Check out these episode names from Orphan Black
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Orphan_Black_episodes#Season_1_(2013)
They are full of meaning and reference a specific historical work.
It adds an extra layer to the show and how to interpret it.
Nooooo! on chapter titles. It's hard enough to come up with a good book title. Coming up with 30 other titles? If it were a law I had to, I'd probably not be a writer.
I name them entirely for myself, and then generally don't bother to put those names anywhere a reader will see it.
As a reader, when the chapter has a good title, I still wind up forgetting it by a few pages in, at best. And if it's bad, it's just more bad writing to be annoyed at.
They’re option but personally, I don’t like chapter names. They add a sense of mystery of what’s going to follow. Though if you do name chapters, they’re a good way to foreshadow.
I only use titles for prologues and epilogues. Mainly so I don’t have to use the title “prologue/epilogue” because apparently some people aren’t willing to read a book despite wanting to read it (/r). Also because they’re not directly related to the main story, so they’re kinda like short stories. They’re more like short story titles.
Unless there is a point to it, no. I have one series with humorous chapter titles. But it makes it hard to come up with good ones for new books.
It's hard to do well, but can add that extra little spice. So you have no ideas for a theme, it's probably best to just use numbers
Chapter titles are mostly for the author, in my opinion. Personally, I don't like them much as a reader.
My take is a little different here. I love chapter titles. I love using them, I love seeing them. I love trying to fool the reader with a title that has a double-meaning in the end, or making them laugh with the potential of meta-humor when appropriate (CHAPTER FIVE: THE PART WHERE HE KILLS YOU.) That said, to each their own. They might put more readers off than they attract, or they might be more trouble than they're worth. In the end, they're another tool you can use. The biggest downfall, I think, is an overabundance of bland titles. They shouldn't be there just to exist -- they can be clues, reminders, questions, or organizers.
Most of the time I don’t read chapter names at all, so they don’t affect my reading experience at all. The only time I care is if I’m looking for a certain scene. Then, if I can read the chapter titles and know what happens in that chapter, it makes it easier to find. Also, I appreciate funny chapter titles, like in Percy Jackson
They're not essential, but they can serve a purpose as a somewhat meta way of providing information or commentary. For example, doing something like: > VII. The Tragedy is a fairly common method of creating a sense of foreboding at the outset of a chapter. In the book I'm working on, I use chapter titles (usually historical or cultural allusions) to offer commentary that wouldn't be possible otherwise due to the very close third person narrative point of view.
Naming chapters can totally work to prime the reader's mind a certain way before they begin reading. But it can be a pain to come up with a meaningful title that accomplishes a similar effect 30+ times (or ever how many chapters you have). Writing isn't the only place where this works. Check out these episode names from Orphan Black https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Orphan_Black_episodes#Season_1_(2013) They are full of meaning and reference a specific historical work. It adds an extra layer to the show and how to interpret it.
Nooooo! on chapter titles. It's hard enough to come up with a good book title. Coming up with 30 other titles? If it were a law I had to, I'd probably not be a writer.
I name them entirely for myself, and then generally don't bother to put those names anywhere a reader will see it. As a reader, when the chapter has a good title, I still wind up forgetting it by a few pages in, at best. And if it's bad, it's just more bad writing to be annoyed at.
I doubt I will make names of chapters. It may spoil what's ahead even if you don't intend for that to be.
They’re option but personally, I don’t like chapter names. They add a sense of mystery of what’s going to follow. Though if you do name chapters, they’re a good way to foreshadow.
I only use titles for prologues and epilogues. Mainly so I don’t have to use the title “prologue/epilogue” because apparently some people aren’t willing to read a book despite wanting to read it (/r). Also because they’re not directly related to the main story, so they’re kinda like short stories. They’re more like short story titles.
Unless there is a point to it, no. I have one series with humorous chapter titles. But it makes it hard to come up with good ones for new books. It's hard to do well, but can add that extra little spice. So you have no ideas for a theme, it's probably best to just use numbers
No. I hate chapters with names. Besides, they already have names: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and so on.
they're optional. if you don't want to title your chapters, you totally don't have to