by Anne R. Allen
“Chapter titles!?” sez you. What is this, the 18th century? What am I supposed to write? Something like this?
Chapter the first, in which our hero is born, discovers that fire is hot, learns to pull up his own breeches, and slays a smallish dragon.
Hey, those 18th century writers knew their marketing. A reader flipping through a book in the shop could get an idea what kind of things were going to happen in the novel if it had descriptive chapter headers.
But yes, I know chapter titles went out of style in the age of modern minimalism.
Hemingway didn’t need no stinkin’ chapter titles. Neither did Fitzgerald or Faulkner.
However, some of the postmoderns later ventured into chapter title waters. David Foster Wallace used them in Infinite Jest, and John Barth titled his chapters in The End of the Road.
And in the 1990s, Annie Proulx used chapter titles to great effect in her Pulitzer Prize winner The Shipping News. Most of the chapter titles are the names of sailors’ knots, or other naval terms. Each chapter embodies a certain kind of knot, like “Love Knot”, “Strangle Knot” and “A Rolling Hitch.”
These literary authors used the chapter titles to enhance and comment on the content of the chapter. Even though they wrote before the era of e-books, they used the chapter titles in a reader-enticing way.
Chapter Titles are Essential for the “Look Inside” Feature on Your Buy Page
But chapter titles are making a big comeback in the age of the e-book.
Why?
Because of the “Look Inside” function on a book’s buy page at most online retailers. This is where you make or break your sale, as Ruth showed us in her great post on How To Lose a Book Sale. Most retailers insist on a Table of Contents in your opening pages. And the average Table of Contents of a novel looks like this:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Bored yet?
Is that really what you want taking up the valuable real estate in your “Look Inside”?
Compare that with Rick Riordan’s current #1 Bestseller, The Red Pyramid
- A Death at the Needle
- An Explosion for Christmas
- Imprisoned with my Cat
- Kidnapped by a Not-So-Stranger…
Which table of contents is more likely to intrigue a reader?
Chapter Titles Aren’t Just for Children’s Books Anymore.
“Yeah, well,” sez you. “Rick Riordan writes for kids. I write for adults!”
It’s true that chapter titles are much more common in children’s literature, but savvy adult authors are using them too.
Delia Owens used chapter titles as well as titled sections in her runaway bestseller Where the Crawdads Sing. The titles intrigue readers as well as orient them in time and space.
The Crawdads Table of Contents looks like this:
Part 1—THE MARSH
Prologue (Yes, there’s a dreaded prologue. Owens breaks pretty much every rule, and sells millions.)
- Ma
- Jodie
- Chase
- School
- Investigation
- A Boat and a Boy
- The Fishing Season
- Negative Data
- Jumpin’
- Just Grass in the Wind…
The chapter titles tell us who the chapter is about, and then show how the story will develop — without offering any spoilers. Owens’ chapter titles also give the reader a sense of place.
It sure is more interesting than a list of numbers isn’t it?
Delia Owens not only hit the NYT bestseller list with a debut novel — an amazing feat in itself — but she stayed there through 2019 and part of 2020. I wonder if her chapter titles had anything to do with her initial sales?
What if you Write Super-Short Chapters, like James Patterson?
I’m a fan of chapter titles, as a reader and a writer. My first Camilla novel, The Best Revenge, was rejected by most of the agents I queried with my first version back in the 1990s. But several said they liked the chapter titles. They were a rarity in those days.
I used fun titles like “Clark Gable’s Ears” and “Mrs. Lester Stokes Does Not Go to Bergdorf’s.” They let the reader know from the get-go that it’s a funny book, and give an idea of the story arc.
But when I got to Book 5 in the series, So Much for Buckingham, I was writing much shorter chapters (on the advice of my editor.) No room for a clever title for each chapter. So instead, I named the sections — using a quote from Shakespeare’s Richard III for each 10-chapter part. The book’s title itself is a quote from Richard III, “Off with his head. So much for Buckingham.” (Although Shakespeare actually never wrote the line. It was added by the 18th century actor, Colley Cibber.)
So I had 8 parts to name. It was great fun finding the quotes, and they show to any prospective reader that the book probably has rather a lot to do with Richard III. (Who appears as a ghost.) And it gives a hint that this is not going to end tragically.
- The Summer of Our Discontent
- The Poisonous Bunch-Backed Toad
- The Kingdom of Perpetual Night
- Every Tale Condemns Me for a Villain
- There is No Creature Loves Me
- An Honest Tale Speeds Best
- Certain Dregs of Conscience
- True Hope Flies on Swallows Wings
So even though I didn’t give titles to the short chapters, I titled the main parts, which gives some information to the reader browsing the “Look Inside”.
How Do You Choose Good Chapter Titles?
You don’t want your chapter titles to give away too much of the story. A chapter toward the end of a mystery that’s called “The Butler Did It” would probably be something of a spoiler. At least if the butler actually did it. ????
But otherwise, you can do pretty much whatever you do to compose your book titles. Here’s my post on Choosing Book Titles.
Quotes make great chapter titles. A quote from the chapter is always good. Or a quote from a famous poem, book or play. It’s best to use classics to avoid copyright hassles. Although a short quote from most prose works are considered “fair use.”
Unfortunately lyrics from songs written since 1925 are out. However, you can use the song title because titles can’t be copyrighted. So your title can be “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” but not “Jumpin’ Jack Flash is a Gas, Gas, Gas.” For more on when you can use song lyrics, see our guest post from Michael Murphy: So You Want to Use Song Lyrics in Your Novel?
Chapter Titles Can Work as a Rough Outline
I’m mostly a pantser. I have a general idea of the story and jot it down before I start. But as I think of fun chapter titles, I write those down too.
Then when I start a new chapter, I like to choose a chapter title first. It may change, but it gives me an idea of where the chapter should go. And I sometimes make it into a kind of game.
I’m doing that with the chapter titles of my current WIP, Catfishing in America. All the chapter titles mention fish, or something fish-related.
So I’m having lots of fun thinking up fish-related sayings to use as chapter titles, like “Fish and Visitors”, “A Find Kettle of Fish”, “Shooting Fish in a Barrel”, “Sleep with the Fishes”, and “Other Fish in the Sea.”
Often thinking up the title first gives my chapter the momentum it needs.
Chapter Titles can Keep the Reader Grounded
Even if you don’t title each chapter with something clever, you can tell the reader where they are and also keep the reader from nodding off during those four pages of chapter numbers. Maybe something like this:
- Muriel, Chicago Ill, 1927
- Harald, Oslo, Norway, 1940
- Frida, Aboard the Spaceship Excelsior, 2083
- Muriel, Oak Park, Ill, Al Capone’s Home, 1929.
See how much more interesting that is than a list of numbers? And it will help a reader navigate what looks to be a rather complicated timeline. Pinpointing your chapter in place and time is essential, as Ruth advised us in her post on Deadly Writer Sins.
Chapter Titles Can Keep a Reader Turning the Pages
So you get to an exciting bit in the story, where Muriel has been kidnapped by Al Capone’s henchpersons, and she sees an incredibly bright star-like thing in the sky and wishes on it for a rescue.
And the chapter ends.
But if the next chapter has an intriguing title like “Al Capone Tries to Whack a Girl Space Alien,” you might be more likely to continue than if it just says “Chapter 7.”
So if you’ve been taught that chapter titles are childish or old-fashioned, think again. In the 21st Century, they’re trendy again!
By Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) October 17, 2021
What about you, scriveners? Do you use chapter titles? We’d love to hear some from your latest! When choosing a book, do you like to read chapter titles to see what the book is about? Or do you not notice chapter titles at all?
BOOK OF THE WEEK
SO MUCH FOR BUCKINGHAM: Camilla mystery #5
This comic novel — which takes its title from the most famous Shakespearean quote that Shakespeare never wrote — explores how easy it is to perpetrate a character assassination whether by a great playwright or a gang of online trolls.
Camilla makes the mistake of responding to an online review of one of her etiquette guides and sets off a chain of events that leads to arson, attempted rape and murder.
And there’s a cat.
“Laughs and social commentary abound in this global adventure. Camilla Randall, a down-on-her luck-socialite-turned-etiquette-expert, takes on review cyberbullies while her friend Plantagenet hunts down the ghost of Richard III. Anne R. Allen has given us a hilarious satire that pokes fun at some dark topics. And we get a mini refresher course in English history to boot.”–Maggie King
Available in ebook from:
All Amazons Kobo Nook Smashwords Googleplay Scribd
Available in paper from:
AmazonUS AmazonUK Barnes & Noble
Audiobook from Audible and iTunes
***’
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons
Anne—Totally agree. Thanks!
Here are the first ten chapter titles for THE BIG SIX-OH! which is Book #2 in my Cozy In The City series.
1 Mr. New-And-Improved.
2 Eau de Nada.
3 A new “Chanel.”
4 Male meno.
5 The Indispensable Woman
6 Image and Maintenance.
7 The Glamorous Gourmet
8 Dressed to overkill.
9 Queen of the AfPak border
10 Nem and pho.
Ruth–Your titles are terrific! They show the tone of the book and give an idea of what might happen.
My next book doesn’t have chapter titles, but I’ll have to rethink that now.
Alex–You might try it and see if you find them useful.
I’m using chapter titles on my novel Superhero Portal. I ran into them in a fantasy where the author pulled a phrase from the chapter itself and used that as a chapter title. These are some of them:
No One’s Calling Me a Food
It’s So Good For You to Almost Arrive on Time
You’re Named After Spotted Cubes?
Trust An Alien to Screw Up Your Life
The Chocolate Wanted to Win the Argument
Linda–These are definitely intriguing. I’d pick this one up. Love “the Chocolate Wanted to Win…”
These are fantastic!
I love using chapter titles. In my Dancing With Dementia, I used a lot of song titles because music is so important to my mom.
I use a lot of idioms and hashtags for my titles right now 🙂
Jemi–Old songs can conjure up memories so well. Using the titles for your chapters would work beautifully in that context.
Good Sunday morning, Anne & Ruth. I regularly use chapter headings, particularly date and time locators for each scene. I find it’s an easy way to orient the reader at almost no effort or distraction. Seems to me they’re a common device in today’s fiction.
Prologues – I think they’re great if done right. A while ago, I read some article by a no-name agent who said she’d drop any manuscript that used a prologue. So I did a little survey. I went to the bookstore and randomly flipped open the current fiction releases. About half used prologues, and many of those were by big-name writers that no-name agent could only dream to represent.
By the way, have you seen JK Rowling’s latest book titled The Christmas Pig? All its parts and chapters are named.
Garry–Giving the date and place (and the POV character if there are several) is such a help to the reader. I hate it when I read half a chapter before I realize this is a totally different person from the one in the last chapter, and we’re not in Kansas anymore. 🙂
There will always be raging battles over prologues. I think it’s because beginning writers tend to use them for infodumps. So somebody trying to land an agent is much better off not using a prologue. But once you’re established, you can get away with a lot more.
J.K. Rowling uses chapter titles to great effect in some of her books. I’ll have to check out the The Christmas Pig.
I reacted to this blog with a strong sense of relief and maybe a touch of vindication. I love Chapter Titles; I use them to orient me, to give a hint of tomorrow’s reading before I put the book down, to have a peek ahead and guess various plot twists (a game)… I’ve been using them as I write and spending time thinking about how I might be asked to take them out (and the short prologues). So I’m going to stop doing that fret – Yea, and thanks.
Lola–Well, if your editor asks you to take out your chapter titles, you can roll your eyes and say “You’re so last century.” 🙂 Then show her this post.
Prologues are another kettle of worms. Some readers skip them, and some editors hate them with a passion. But a short one seems acceptable to me.
Good timing for this post! I’ve been toying with the idea of chapter titles for my current WIP, more for clarity’s sake than anything else, but you’ve made some additonal good points to consider.
Liz–Chapter titles are reader-friendly, so you’ll make your readers happy. 🙂
What a refreshing post, Anne! I’ve never seen anything like this before, and you’ve sure changed my mind. Makes perfect sense, when you factor in ebooks. Thanks for this, and for this blogspot, again and again!
Melodie–Thanks! I’m glad to hear my arguments made sense to you.
Fabulous Anne! My titles are just like my character names. They either have one or they don’t, I have no involvement there. But I would agree that with works like epic fantasy (subcategory Cast of Dozens), if you lock each chapter into the POV of a new character, then just the name is pretty much mandatory. Give the reader a Who or Where to avoid giving them whiplash. When the ride involves whiplash, the book often winds up out the window.
Will–It’s funny how chapters often name themselves isn’t it? You’re right about giving readers whiplash. If you take them out of the story, wondering who this is and where they are, the book may be subject to defenestration.
Yes, as a reader I love chapter headings. Sara Paretsky has long since done this. And I was intrigue by the equations in Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut book
Gilly Flower–I knew there was an American mystery writer who used them. Couldn’t remember which one. And I don’t know Kowal’s work. She used equations for titles? That’s clever.
I am a fan of book chapters. Done correctly, the add to the reading experience.
Ingmar–Yes. I think they’re reader-friendly, and pleasing readers is what we want to do.
Since I’m starting a new chapter in my life {pun intended}, this sounds like a great idea to implement with my re-writes when I go to publish them. I’m getting ready apply my edit notes for my first draft, and this will definitely give me something good to add in and stand out.
Thanks!
G. B. Oh, good! I hope the chapter headings help with your revisions. And your new life chapter!
I am providing dates at the beginning of chapters. Maybe I’ll add a few words too. Thanks.
Beth–You could try it for a few chapters and see if the words come easily or it’s a hassle.
After reading everyone’s comments, I wasn’t going to post anything but then I thought, that’s silly. Everyone is welcome to his/her opinion. I like titles that tell the POV and the date or time or year, if it’s necessary for orientation purposes. However, any other titles, I read them and forget them the minute I begin reading the chapter. I don’t really look at them or use them in any way. In fact, I dislike them. But I come away from reading this and I’m thinking, it might be fun to think up titles for each of my chapters. And if people like them, then maybe I should do so. Perhaps I’m not your typical reader so I should shut up and start working on titles! Thank you for this post because I never thought of using them before now.
Patricia–Chapter titles are invisible to a lot of readers. That’s probably why they went out of style. But with the “Look Inside” function, they serve a different purpose.
Thank you. For my sequel, I’ll be doing that. It’s a sensible idea.
Thanks, Anne, interesting and helpful.
The book I’m reading right now–Astra by Cedar Bowers–that has chapter titles. Bowers use the titles to introduce the characters.
I didn’t realize that it would help with marketing the book. But now I see how.
Leanne–I’m glad to hear more authors are using them. I do find them great fun.
I wouldn’t be without chapters titles. I think they’re a great way to create some suspense of what’s coming. When I read novels with numbered chapters, I feel like it’s lunchbag letdown, lol 🙂
Debby–“Lunchbag letdown” 🙂
LOL, remember that phrase? 🙂
I like this! I’m glad they’re making a comeback. It’ll be challenging to say just enough but not too much, but much more colorful this way. I’m actually using chapter titles in a Kindle Vella serial I’m working on. They’re not terribly inspired, and I started it to help me keep myself organized as to which chapter had what going on, but I like the feel of having them there. ????
DD–Great point! With Kindle Vella or any serial, chapter titles have to be a huge selling point! And yes, they help keep me organized, too.
I use Native American quotes in my Mayhem Series to signal Mr. Mayhem’s chapters, kinda like the classic Da-na. Da-na. Da-na before Jaws appears. 😉 Otherwise, I use day/time stamps. Tip: Be sure to add the quotes to the series bible! Learned that lesson the hard way.
Sue–Add them to the series bible!! Yes! Great tip.
Anne,
I do!! And did in my published novel Colonel Baker’s Field: An American Pioneer Story…and as a newbie had no idea I was breaking a modern tradition!!
New Chapter Titles…
Homecoming, December 1867
Story Time: The Amazing Jim Bridger
Lessons: Sarah’s Dreams
Lessons: Seth’s Curiosity
Dr. Watson’s Prediction
Celebration: July 4, 1868
etc….
Judy–But now you’re right on trend!!
This is a great blog post! I love chapter titles. Not only do they leave a clue about what’s going to happen, it’s easy to get back to the place you left off reading if you misplace your bookmark!
I used chapter titles in my second novel and tried to make them either intriguing or interesting in a tangential way. For example, the first chapter is titled “Sunday Afternoon in the Park” and it’s supposed to evoke the essence of Seurat’s famous painting “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.” The painting is a masterpiece of a peaceful afternoon spent in a park.
However, when the two young women in chapter one of my book are jogging in a lovely park on a quiet day, they stumble on a dead body. I like to surprise my readers. 🙂
Kay–Yes! They do help with bookmarking. For me, that happens a lot on my Kindle. If it gets knocked around in my purse, the Kindle can go forward or back to some weird spot. I don’t remember what number chapter I’m reading, but I’ll remember a title. I love it that you’re all coming up with such great reasons for chapter titles!
I devise working chapter titles from my outline, to keep myself oriented as I write. But then I hate to let them go. And when I’m browsing a book through “Read Inside”, I loathe scrolling the anonymous chapter titles. Coming up with good titles is a challenge I relish. And so appreciate when an author has done a good job of it. Flavors the writing so well.
R Dacus–I find it a creative challenge, too. And as a reader, I appreciate the creativity that goes into a good title.
I was planning to have chapter titles in my novel, simply because I like them as a reader! But you add some additional great reasons to have them!
Zena–You can please your readers and have some fun besides!
Anne, another great post. I used chapter titles in all four of my published novels. In my fifth novel, still looking for a home, I didn’t. I did them in the first draft, but dropped them when I went to shorter chapters. My WIP is following the same path you’ve taken. The short chapters don’t have titles, but there are sectional titles.
Fred–When you’re writing short chapters, sectional titles do just as well IMO. 🙂
I am happy chapter titles are trendy again. I love coming up with clever hints. I usually use a line from the chapter and hope that my reader will recognise the line and find it satisfying that they did. Wonderful post!
Christine–Isn’t that fun when you’re reading and you come upon the quote or the clue that the title referred too? I think it enhances the reader’s experience.
Yes, I like chapter titles too. Here are my first ten chapter titles to my college memoir:
Seeking Permission
Who’s in Control?
The Problem with Words
Pillow Talk
The Courage to Begin
Searching for Understanding to Face the Firing Squad
Results of a Firing Squad – Was I Dead?
A Whirlwind Without the Teaching
Disrupting the Family Flow
My Native Tongue
What do you think? I’ve shared this post online. Have a beautiful day!
Victoria–Great titles! I’d definitely read the whole “Look Inside”.
Thank you so much, Anne. I truly appreciate your wisdom. Enjoy your weekend!
Great post as usual Anne! I had thought of chapter titles for my humorous YA novel, but for an adult mystery with serious themes, I’m wondering if it would be appropriate?
Gargi–If they’re good enough for David Foster Wallace and Annie Proulx, I think you’re safe writing “serious” fiction with chapter titles.
What a fab post, Anne. I’ve read these mostly in MG/YA but I can see them for adult books, too. (Ahem, you get what I mean.) Yay for the comeback of chapter titles! Such fun. ????????????
Sarah–Yeah. Why shouldn’t the adults have a little fun? 🙂
I love this post.
Coming up with chapter titles is one of my favorite parts of writing the book. In fact, I usually don’t let myself do the final versions until everything else is finished. That way, it’s a reward for having written the thing.
I nearly always pull a line from the chapter in question. while making sure it’s not a spoiler.
A sample from my latest:
A Gun Always Knows Its True Love
Knee-Deep in Do-Over
The Rubbish Gladiator
There Is No I in Scalded
Her Colorful History of Trauma
Whores and Battle Meat
Droog Cosplay
If You See Them, Send Them Home
An Outsider in Any Given Space
For Empty Rooms Could Carry News
When Noble Intentions Desert One So Young
Much of What Is True Is Dumb
Look for Yourself Where You’re Not
Never Offer a Smile Easily
Girls Could Be Mean. So Could Boys
Michael–I love your titles! They are fun, aren’t they?
They really are. I think that ignoring them is a missed opportunity for both creativity and engagement, as you say.
So happy to learn that Chapter Titles are really catching on again and even “trendy!” I haven’t been writing long, but knew from the start I’d be naming my chapters. It’s one more chance to be creative, after all, and I agreed 100% with everything you said above. Thanks for a very informative post on a topic near and dear to my heart. (BTW, I used song titles in a trilogy of novellas, and it was so much fun having chapters named things like “On the Road Again,” and “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” I got lots of positive response to the humorous but very appropriate titles I chose.)
Thanks again (and again, and again!) for this wonderful endorsement and the examples you shared! I love all the positive comments you received, as well! Chapter Titles RULE! ????
Marcia–I love the country music titles. Titles can be humorous or ironic or dead serious. But they all enrich the reader’s experience. And amuse us authors for hours. 🙂
I used Chapter Titles and subheadings ‘in which’ for my Princelings series, and I do it for all my children’s titles because I think it helps them know where they are and build anticipation. They also help me discover whether I’m anywhere near the plot in my head when I’ve written it (pantser born and bred). One of my reviewers commented on ‘love the witty chapter headings’.
I have no idea why I don’t do it for my scifi series, though. Next time, I’ll go back to chapter titles 🙂
Thanks for the tips, Anne!
Jemima–You used subheaders, too? I love subheaders in nonfiction, but I’ve never seen them in fiction. But why not!? Subheaders are signposts to help the reader. Fiction readers could use signposts too. Great idea. Yes, they’re also just plain fun to write.
What a great article and so helpful. I’m publishing an anthology of Short Stories which will be my first book. These will have the story titles so … ✅ Then a novella, novel and first book in a romance series. I was planning to use chapter titles in these too. I love books with chapter titles. This has inspired me more and I’m glad I’m on the same page. Pardon the Pun ????
Valerie–We are indeed on the same page. Or at least the same chapter. Have fun with your titles!
Helpful advice, thanks, Anne. I’ve almost always used chapter titles. I recall one from Ian Fleming: ’15. He disagreed with something that ate him.’ (Live and Let Die (1954)). In my ‘Avenging Cat’ series I used many titles that related to ‘cat’ somehow: Cat among the pigeons, Cat and Mouse.Cat’s Tail.’Cat got your tongue?’ Catananche.Caterpillar. Catsuit. Catacomb. Curious Cat… and so on. Plenty of others don’t so it doesn’t become too wearing!
Nick–How fun!! That’s just what I’m doing with “fish” in my WIP. But there’s so much more you can do with “cat”. Love it!
This article is a good reminder. Thanks! My ten cents: I like how Rick Riordan’s added action to his titles: death, explosion, imprisoned, kidnapped. Adding a verb can intensify the heading: “The Last Mile” vs. “Lasting the last mile”. Chapter titles can also create suspense if they put a question in the reader’s mind. Last but not least, a chapter title can indicate the chapter’s subtext or theme, meaning what it is really about.
Stefan–What a helpful observation! Verbs in chapter titles create suspense. So do questions. Thanks for the tips!