When I’m reading I don’t really mind the presence or absence of chapter titles, but when I write I love using chapter titles. I always write the chapter title when I finish writing the chapter and it’s so satisfying, I always look forward to it!
Hi Ellen, do you think you can do a video on how to handle the overall structure of a chapter and how to handle paragraph breaks. I know there are many ways to do it, but if you can do a video on the main different ways on chapter structure and how to progress a chapter would be incredibly helpful, thank you.
One way I use chapter titles is to give clues. Only, the reader doesn't know they're clues until they read the entire book; a second read can prove more entertaining due not only to the attained knowledge of the mystery, but also to the discovery that the answers were staring you in the face all along ;^)
Another situation to use chapter titles is with complex stories. Chapter titles can help keep the reader connected to the plot elements and characters.
I read “Geek Love” in my American Lit class and it’s been my favorite book ever since. The writing style is gorgeous and the titles help keep the reader tracked during the time jumps. And they give a little taste of what’s to come. So good!
This was a great! It's given me an idea for an in-class lesson for my sophomore English class. We've been reading an older novel lately (T.H. White's The Once & Future King) and it only uses numbers for the chapter. I've been having the students mark up the chapters with bullet-sized page summaries and pretty literal and plot-based chapter titles (Example: "Wart & Kay go to the forest to begin their adventure.") Once they finish reading the book, I'm going to show them this video in class so they can start thinking about all the neat things titles do, and then have them go back and write creative, enigmatic, and thematically-linked titles for each chapter for future generations to enjoy. Thank you for the inspiring video. Keep up the good work, Ellen :)
Your videos are so good! I really appreciate the broad range of topics you cover, the examples you include, and the direct/informative content. Well done, once again!
For my novel, chapter titles are a necessity because I'm using the Victor Hugo structure of storytelling. The first three chapters concern the three main protagonists and several important characters who live in five different places under different circumstances, have different goals, and have not yet met. Several story lines cross paths , separate, and cross paths again. In the first third of the novel, two of the main characters and two other important characters meet. By the middle of the story, all three main characters have met, but the story lines continue to separate and cross again. Toward the end, all the protagonists are working toward the same goal. Chapter titles are a vital guide for the reader.
Thanks, but there's no similarity in storyline or characters. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is the third best novel I've ever read. The other two are "Don Quixote" and "Journey to the West," both of which have basially episodic structures.
Hi Ellen , Iove your videos. I think chapter titles are very useful to the writer when it comes to the editing process. I find them to be helpful when I am navigating back through the scenes, whenever a change becomes necessary. Also, from the point of view of a reader, I love them for helping me find those best loved passages or poems. If I had to rely solely on the numbers of chapters, it would become very problematic to find and revisit those verbal treasures. Thanks for all the wonderfully helpful information. You are a brilliant young lady. Best Regards
Before even watching. I both love and hate chapter titles. They are so hard to come up with! but I kinda love books that have it, because it gives me a little hint to what the chapter is about. :)
What you said about chapter titles and non-linear novels reminded me of James Patterson's The Black Book. I don't have the book with me at the moment, but the book is organized in parts, with each part having chapters in it. The parts have titles, not the chapters, and they're titled something like "The Present", "X Weeks Ago", etc.
Using chapter titles helps to keep a reader grounded. It offers context and helps them reference back to prior story points..... as chapter titles will spark recall to those sections better than chapter numbers alone can.
I am terrible at coming up with titles for my stories, let alone chapter titles. This video just gave me something to think about, though... Perhaps I could use the info and examples given for chap. titles to come up with book titles? Thank you for another awesome video!
I feel like chapter titles are something you do for fun as you edit the book. Like as you edit and read through it you might realize a certain situation or phrase or something would be fun to use as a chapter title for that particular chapter.
I'm writing a sci-fi action/adventure story in a very cinematic style since I hope to have the series adapted into graphic novels and eventually an animated series. As such, I use chapter titles in order to essentially give each chapter an "episode" title. Would that be a turn-off to publishers, even if the story hits on some very deep and dark themes that obviously cater to an adult audience? And just for an example as to what kind of titles I give them, they're usually just one word that vaguely hints at a common theme or major occurrence in the chapter, such as one chapter where a divisive issue splits the group of main characters up and is simply titled "Schism".
Im currently in beginning works of a sci/fy fantasy novel and the thought of chapter titles never really appealed to me before until i thought of a possible title for one of my chapters. "The Bear and the Reaper." Now im second thinking the whole not having chapter titles idea
great video as always, thank you. I would suggest reducing your lighting though, you pretty much wash yourself out looking whiter than normal and shiny
i think you you can get in legal troubles unless you get proper permission. check a site where you can research public domain issues for book titles songs and song titles poetry and the like to see if and how and when you can use such materials as its a copyright legal issue and its complicated legally i guess. im writing my first novel and i want to use an old scottish lullyabye in my story and im trying to find out the legal issues of that! hope we both can get answers !
It's an autobiography and I only want to use the song titles with the singer or band, none of the lyrics. Like the book has a soundtrack and every chapter has its song.
deareditor.com/2010/05/re-using-song-titles-as-chapter-headers/ Would this be useful? If not, there is plenty of info online that can help you in the right direction :)
Hi there, I've just started writing and I'm on the 4th revision of my very first novel, but as a novice writer, I have a doubt about something. You see, I have a few pages at the beginning of the book (about 4-5) and a few more at the end (3 pages), that act both as a hook and as a wrap up of the story, but they are very short in comparison to the rest of the chapters and the book itself (always 10+ per chapter and a total of 285 pages on the book) so I don't feel like stating them as full chapters. At first i saw them as a prologue and an epilogue, but on some point I've read the definition of prologue, and I don't think that my hook is a prologue, since it is a part of the story, and I even read somewhere that most people don't even read prologues. My question is, how would I go about naming those "chapters" in a way that it's clear that its a part of the story, but also clear that it's not the same as a main chapter? My last idea is to simply name them "Beginning chapter" and "Final chapter" instead of chapter 1,2... etc. As a way to enclose the full book, but I don't know if that's the best. Thanks for your videos, they are very helpful! and sorry if you already answered this question or if it's obvious, I'm a very novice writer!
Hi frylander, I am NOT Ellen but I have written some books and do have some suggestions for you. The first thing you need to understand is, what is a chapter? A chapter is simply a point where you choose to separate one important moment from the next. It can be a collection of scenes or one really important scene and sometimes it can just be 3 sentences. Point is, the chapter mark has a loose set of rules. You could name is beginning chapter or final chapter, but why would you do that? Do you think the reader will not be able to understand where your story begins and where your story ends? If your reader cannot understand that the story has begun or has ended because of how you've written it, then you may want to consider more revisions until it is crystal clear where the story begins and ends. There is no rule to naming chapters. You could just say one, two, three, or start with the character's name like in Game of Thrones, or give it a title that will foreshadow what will happen in that chapter. What I recommend you NOT do is give your chapter some random name that makes no sense and is disconnected from the story. Calling a chapter "Jellybeans" or "Yogurt" in a novel set in a world where these things do not exist would be distracting and detrimental to the story. Whatever you name your chapters, keep it consistent with the tone and mood of your novel.
Well, it's fairly clear where the story starts and ends by the way its written, but from an organization standpoint, I want people to look at the table of contents and clearly see where the contents of the book start and end without having to read a single word, that's what I meant, because some people might completely skip some pages and go to "chapter 1" even if that's not the start of the book. That's especially true on kindle books where you have links that literally skip to a certain part of the book, so I have to take care of that. As for the way I named my chapters, it's something like this: "Chapter 2: Deal with the Devil" So, chapter number and the title of the chapter, which is a title based on the theme of the chapter. In this one for instance, two characters discuss and make a deal through the chapter, hence the title. I'll look more into it to see what I can come up with, thanks for the help!
I think you are overthinking the issue. Most people will start a book from Page 1, not from what the Kindle says to start on. When I load up a book, I don't go straight to the TOC, I go to the very beginning of the book including the front matter. If the book doesn't have front matter, then I go to the first page of the first chapter. I don't think you should worry about reader's skipping content. Anyone who skips content is in the minority. Also, if the chapter in question is not a prologue and it's a part of your main story, then it is technically Chapter 1. It doesn't matter if it's short. If that's where the story begins then that is your first chapter.
Is it a good idea for chapter titles to be a single word? I've seen television episodes do this. For example, an episode can be named "Confusion" and the plot involves the characters trying to solve a different puzzle. Is this a good way to name a chapter, or is it too simple?
There is no rule for how long a chapter title should be. It can be a sentence or it can be a single word. And not all TV shows use one word to name their episodes. For example, Star Trek has an episode called, 'The trouble with tribbles." Use a title that fits with the overall theme of the book. The only reason you would want to keep it short is so that your Table of Contents doesn't go out of whack from a sentence long title. (Table of Contents must be created in e-books)
It's true that chapter titles can help create foreshadowing and elicit anticipation, but tread carefully: you should avoid spoilers in your own titles.
I never consider chapter titles in my writing, I find them infuriating. In almost every book I've ever read which used them, they just seem to either be stating the obvious (the reader will discover the content & purpose of the chapter by reading it!) or they're a pretentious soundbite which is of no use to the reader whatsoever. If your writing is good enough, don't mess around with a weird chapter title; it'll just distract the reader from gliding through your book. EDIT: The same goes for POV character names as titles (I don't care if G Martin does it). There is no need; the reader will know in the first paragraph or two which character is the subject, if properly written.
this is very interesting because I've never disagreed more. Yes the reader will discover the content and purpose of the chapter by reading it, but that's also true of books and every piece of media, which all need titles. And something I LOVE when authors or TV writers do, and I love doing in my stuff, is giving a title an obvious meaning that the reader will know since the beginning of the chapter, but then also one or more hidden meanings that only make sense at the end of the chapter, giving the reader an "Ohhhh" moment. The TV show Crazy Ex Girlfriend has probably my favorite episode titles ever, because each of them have so much meaning crammed into them, I could go on and on. That's not the same as chapter titles I know, but as small parts of a whole story, it shows the potential for what chapter titles can do instead of being obvious/pretentious. And as for POV, I don't think a reader should have to fight to figure out who's talking. Sure, they will likely decipher it within the first page, but why not save any confusion and just write whose perspective it is at the top so they can find out immediately? Curious what u think ab these
I title my chapters with locations or character names so the reader knows where or whose POV they’ll be following next because my novel jumps between several characters.
I love chapter titles used for evil foreshadowing. Where the reader only understands it... too late! Oh noes!
I love the chapter titles in all Rick Riordan’s books. They’re always super hilarious. I die laughing every time I read a table of contents
I agree! They are comedic but somewhat helpful when trying to find out what's going to happen in the chapter.
An alternative way of using chapter titles is like G.R.R. Martin does, using the name of the perspective as the title.
Also if you follow multiple protagonists, a chapter title can serve as an indication of who that chapter is following
When I’m reading I don’t really mind the presence or absence of chapter titles, but when I write I love using chapter titles. I always write the chapter title when I finish writing the chapter and it’s so satisfying, I always look forward to it!
Hi Ellen, do you think you can do a video on how to handle the overall structure of a chapter and how to handle paragraph breaks. I know there are many ways to do it, but if you can do a video on the main different ways on chapter structure and how to progress a chapter would be incredibly helpful, thank you.
One way I use chapter titles is to give clues. Only, the reader doesn't know they're clues until they read the entire book; a second read can prove more entertaining due not only to the attained knowledge of the mystery, but also to the discovery that the answers were staring you in the face all along ;^)
Thank you. Your advice is simple and easy to implement. I appreciate that.
Just was told my titles need improving. Thanks for the tips, Ellen.👏Have a gift of cheese🧀
Another situation to use chapter titles is with complex stories. Chapter titles can help keep the reader connected to the plot elements and characters.
Best chapter titles I've seen - Adam Hall's Quiller spy series. One or two words. Dramatic and meaningful.
I read “Geek Love” in my American Lit class and it’s been my favorite book ever since. The writing style is gorgeous and the titles help keep the reader tracked during the time jumps. And they give a little taste of what’s to come. So good!
This was a great! It's given me an idea for an in-class lesson for my sophomore English class. We've been reading an older novel lately (T.H. White's The Once & Future King) and it only uses numbers for the chapter. I've been having the students mark up the chapters with bullet-sized page summaries and pretty literal and plot-based chapter titles (Example: "Wart & Kay go to the forest to begin their adventure.") Once they finish reading the book, I'm going to show them this video in class so they can start thinking about all the neat things titles do, and then have them go back and write creative, enigmatic, and thematically-linked titles for each chapter for future generations to enjoy. Thank you for the inspiring video. Keep up the good work, Ellen :)
Your videos are so good! I really appreciate the broad range of topics you cover, the examples you include, and the direct/informative content. Well done, once again!
A new video from you is a great way to start the day ☕🍪 And yes, sometimes I eat cookies for breakfast
I want a cookie breakfast.
The best teacher on RUclips, hands down! :-)
For my novel, chapter titles are a necessity because I'm using the Victor Hugo structure of storytelling. The first three chapters concern the three main protagonists and several important characters who live in five different places under different circumstances, have different goals, and have not yet met. Several story lines cross paths , separate, and cross paths again. In the first third of the novel, two of the main characters and two other important characters meet. By the middle of the story, all three main characters have met, but the story lines continue to separate and cross again. Toward the end, all the protagonists are working toward the same goal. Chapter titles are a vital guide for the reader.
Victor Hugo. Hope you do him justice.
Thanks, but there's no similarity in storyline or characters. "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" is the third best novel I've ever read. The other two are "Don Quixote" and "Journey to the West," both of which have basially episodic structures.
Thanks for the tips. I appreciate your time.
This is really helpful. Thank you very much Ellen.
Hi Ellen , Iove your videos.
I think chapter titles are very useful to the writer when it comes to the editing process. I find them to be helpful when I am navigating back through the scenes, whenever a change becomes necessary.
Also, from the point of view of a reader, I love them for helping me find those best loved passages or poems. If I had to rely solely on the numbers of chapters, it would become very problematic to find and revisit those verbal treasures.
Thanks for all the wonderfully helpful information. You are a brilliant young lady.
Best Regards
Looking forward to your next videos, they sound really useful :)
Yes, I love the chapter titles in Geek Love!
Before even watching. I both love and hate chapter titles. They are so hard to come up with! but I kinda love books that have it, because it gives me a little hint to what the chapter is about. :)
What you said about chapter titles and non-linear novels reminded me of James Patterson's The Black Book. I don't have the book with me at the moment, but the book is organized in parts, with each part having chapters in it. The parts have titles, not the chapters, and they're titled something like "The Present", "X Weeks Ago", etc.
THANK YOUUUUUUU!
Using chapter titles helps to keep a reader grounded. It offers context and helps them reference back to prior story points..... as chapter titles will spark recall to those sections better than chapter numbers alone can.
I'm a fan of your videos. Very helpful advice. 😁
I am terrible at coming up with titles for my stories, let alone chapter titles. This video just gave me something to think about, though... Perhaps I could use the info and examples given for chap. titles to come up with book titles? Thank you for another awesome video!
Hi Ellen Brocknoveleditor!
Love your videos :)
Wonderful.
Best use of Chapter Titles: MythAdventures Series.
I feel like chapter titles are something you do for fun as you edit the book. Like as you edit and read through it you might realize a certain situation or phrase or something would be fun to use as a chapter title for that particular chapter.
Very helpful video!
I'm writing a sci-fi action/adventure story in a very cinematic style since I hope to have the series adapted into graphic novels and eventually an animated series. As such, I use chapter titles in order to essentially give each chapter an "episode" title. Would that be a turn-off to publishers, even if the story hits on some very deep and dark themes that obviously cater to an adult audience? And just for an example as to what kind of titles I give them, they're usually just one word that vaguely hints at a common theme or major occurrence in the chapter, such as one chapter where a divisive issue splits the group of main characters up and is simply titled "Schism".
Im currently in beginning works of a sci/fy fantasy novel and the thought of chapter titles never really appealed to me before until i thought of a possible title for one of my chapters. "The Bear and the Reaper." Now im second thinking the whole not having chapter titles idea
Great thanks 🙏
Titles can give Whole new layers and meanings to an Artwork. They create questions, clarity, suspence... Why not use this superpower for chapters?
What do you think of a book that generally is divided by chapters with no Titles, except for some specific ones which do have them?
I think I’ll use titles.
great video as always, thank you. I would suggest reducing your lighting though, you pretty much wash yourself out looking whiter than normal and shiny
Question: I want to use song titles as chapter titles! Can I do this???
i think you you can get in legal troubles unless you get proper permission. check a site where you can research public domain issues for book titles songs and song titles poetry and the like to see if and how and when you can use such materials as its a copyright legal issue and its complicated legally i guess. im writing my first novel and i want to use an old scottish lullyabye in my story and im trying to find out the legal issues of that! hope we both can get answers !
It's an autobiography and I only want to use the song titles with the singer or band, none of the lyrics.
Like the book has a soundtrack and every chapter has its song.
Hi Ann, I have the same question. I hope Ellen responds.
deareditor.com/2010/05/re-using-song-titles-as-chapter-headers/ Would this be useful? If not, there is plenty of info online that can help you in the right direction :)
Very cool, thanks.
Hi there, I've just started writing and I'm on the 4th revision of my very first novel, but as a novice writer, I have a doubt about something.
You see, I have a few pages at the beginning of the book (about 4-5) and a few more at the end (3 pages), that act both as a hook and as a wrap up of the story, but they are very short in comparison to the rest of the chapters and the book itself (always 10+ per chapter and a total of 285 pages on the book) so I don't feel like stating them as full chapters.
At first i saw them as a prologue and an epilogue, but on some point I've read the definition of prologue, and I don't think that my hook is a prologue, since it is a part of the story, and I even read somewhere that most people don't even read prologues.
My question is, how would I go about naming those "chapters" in a way that it's clear that its a part of the story, but also clear that it's not the same as a main chapter?
My last idea is to simply name them "Beginning chapter" and "Final chapter" instead of chapter 1,2... etc. As a way to enclose the full book, but I don't know if that's the best.
Thanks for your videos, they are very helpful! and sorry if you already answered this question or if it's obvious, I'm a very novice writer!
Hi frylander, I am NOT Ellen but I have written some books and do have some suggestions for you. The first thing you need to understand is, what is a chapter? A chapter is simply a point where you choose to separate one important moment from the next. It can be a collection of scenes or one really important scene and sometimes it can just be 3 sentences.
Point is, the chapter mark has a loose set of rules.
You could name is beginning chapter or final chapter, but why would you do that? Do you think the reader will not be able to understand where your story begins and where your story ends? If your reader cannot understand that the story has begun or has ended because of how you've written it, then you may want to consider more revisions until it is crystal clear where the story begins and ends.
There is no rule to naming chapters. You could just say one, two, three, or start with the character's name like in Game of Thrones, or give it a title that will foreshadow what will happen in that chapter.
What I recommend you NOT do is give your chapter some random name that makes no sense and is disconnected from the story. Calling a chapter "Jellybeans" or "Yogurt" in a novel set in a world where these things do not exist would be distracting and detrimental to the story. Whatever you name your chapters, keep it consistent with the tone and mood of your novel.
Well, it's fairly clear where the story starts and ends by the way its written, but from an organization standpoint, I want people to look at the table of contents and clearly see where the contents of the book start and end without having to read a single word, that's what I meant, because some people might completely skip some pages and go to "chapter 1" even if that's not the start of the book.
That's especially true on kindle books where you have links that literally skip to a certain part of the book, so I have to take care of that.
As for the way I named my chapters, it's something like this:
"Chapter 2: Deal with the Devil"
So, chapter number and the title of the chapter, which is a title based on the theme of the chapter. In this one for instance, two characters discuss and make a deal through the chapter, hence the title.
I'll look more into it to see what I can come up with, thanks for the help!
I think you are overthinking the issue. Most people will start a book from Page 1, not from what the Kindle says to start on. When I load up a book, I don't go straight to the TOC, I go to the very beginning of the book including the front matter. If the book doesn't have front matter, then I go to the first page of the first chapter.
I don't think you should worry about reader's skipping content. Anyone who skips content is in the minority.
Also, if the chapter in question is not a prologue and it's a part of your main story, then it is technically Chapter 1. It doesn't matter if it's short. If that's where the story begins then that is your first chapter.
You're probably right, I'll focus on the actual rewritting for now. Thanks!
Elusive Hellen is always the Final Chapter
Is it a good idea for chapter titles to be a single word? I've seen television episodes do this. For example, an episode can be named "Confusion" and the plot involves the characters trying to solve a different puzzle. Is this a good way to name a chapter, or is it too simple?
There is no rule for how long a chapter title should be. It can be a sentence or it can be a single word. And not all TV shows use one word to name their episodes. For example, Star Trek has an episode called, 'The trouble with tribbles." Use a title that fits with the overall theme of the book. The only reason you would want to keep it short is so that your Table of Contents doesn't go out of whack from a sentence long title. (Table of Contents must be created in e-books)
What if i put the number in the channel just because it helps me
It's true that chapter titles can help create foreshadowing and elicit anticipation, but tread carefully: you should avoid spoilers in your own titles.
I never consider chapter titles in my writing, I find them infuriating. In almost every book I've ever read which used them, they just seem to either be stating the obvious (the reader will discover the content & purpose of the chapter by reading it!) or they're a pretentious soundbite which is of no use to the reader whatsoever. If your writing is good enough, don't mess around with a weird chapter title; it'll just distract the reader from gliding through your book.
EDIT: The same goes for POV character names as titles (I don't care if G Martin does it). There is no need; the reader will know in the first paragraph or two which character is the subject, if properly written.
this is very interesting because I've never disagreed more. Yes the reader will discover the content and purpose of the chapter by reading it, but that's also true of books and every piece of media, which all need titles. And something I LOVE when authors or TV writers do, and I love doing in my stuff, is giving a title an obvious meaning that the reader will know since the beginning of the chapter, but then also one or more hidden meanings that only make sense at the end of the chapter, giving the reader an "Ohhhh" moment. The TV show Crazy Ex Girlfriend has probably my favorite episode titles ever, because each of them have so much meaning crammed into them, I could go on and on. That's not the same as chapter titles I know, but as small parts of a whole story, it shows the potential for what chapter titles can do instead of being obvious/pretentious. And as for POV, I don't think a reader should have to fight to figure out who's talking. Sure, they will likely decipher it within the first page, but why not save any confusion and just write whose perspective it is at the top so they can find out immediately? Curious what u think ab these
I just realized that I almost never read chapter title
i decided to quit titles because they are basically spoilers hahaha
Well, that's kind of the balance, isn't it? Making intriguing titles that don't give much away!
I title my chapters with locations or character names so the reader knows where or whose POV they’ll be following next because my novel jumps between several characters.