This is kind of a spinoff of a discussion taking place on another thread about having chapters or not. I hadn't really given much thought to the name or numbers thing, and now I'm kind of split on how I feel about it. See I've been naming the chapters in the novel I'm writing. I have very long chapters that run from 30 to 50 pages so there aren't going to be a ton of chapters. And while I don't have an outline, I have jotted down a few potential chapter names to kind of think about where I could go with this story. Think of it this way: If my novel was titled something like The Wrong Footsteps and my chapters were like "Sneakers" and "Pumps," and tied into a what my MC had chosen for footwear during those given parts of the story, would it be stupid? It wouldn't really be a story about shoes but a sort of quirky theme throughout the novel. I feel like if I just number the chapters I'm losing something, but maybe this is just what I needed to do to have a tighter focus on my story. This example isn't my actual novel, but it's a similar concept and approach to what I'm working on. I'm wondering what you guys think of this. The last book I read had numbers. The one I'm reading now has names. Both are recent and big successes. How do you know when to use chapter names or chapter numbers?
I don't understand what's irrelevant. And I'm really unsure of which approach is better. I've learned the less an editor has to do the more they are going to be interested in your work. I want to color in the lines somewhat so to speak. If I put chapter names and the editor hates that, if most editors hate that, well, it's just another strike against me and reason to pass. Also, I though explaining my situation a little would help people know where I was coming from and weigh in with some advice. So, if you think my question of novel or whatever is irrelevant, that's fine, but I don't think it helps anyone to say something like that.
This is a discussion board. When you post, people will give their thoughts - particularly when you ask for them. There's no need to be so touchy.
I think she's saying it's irrelevant because it doesn't matter - your readers won't care on the whole, and an agent and publisher aren't going to reject a good book because "Oh how dare she use numbers for her chapters!" or "Ugh these chapters have names! To the bin!" In other words, it won't affect a thing with regards to the publishability or the enjoyability of the book. Most readers just won't notice. If your chapter titles add something to the richness of your book, to its theme, to its characters etc - you can see them as "Easter eggs" for the reader to find/figure out, by all means have them. But this is more of an artistic choice rather than a "this would render the book horrible/brilliant" choice. I think you're looking at it from a literary perspective as opposed to it being commercial viable. It has the potential of adding an extra layer of meaning, more depth to your book if done well. But your book should stand on its own with or without this added depth. From the commercial point of view, your concerns here are irrelevant. Because readers don't care and therefore neither would agents and publishers. And if for some reason your agent/editor/publisher hated the use of titles, they would tell you and probably make you remove them. There will unlikely be any objection to the use of numbers as that's the norm. But this concern might as well be someone asking, "If I use italics, does it mean my book will get rejected?" These are minor changes - no one's gonna let go of potentially a lot of money because they had to make on minor formatting change to the MS. From a literary/artistic point of view, it would depend on the book and what you want to achieve, what you want for your book - but now these are unique to you, and would very much depend exactly on which titles you pick and what your book is about etc. In other words, without knowing your book and all the chapter titles as they stand, we cannot answer your question.
Sorry for trying to start a discussion. I guess you could say anything is irrelevant if you wanted to.
For something like that, I would say that the chapter titles walk the line between clever and affected. If it's clever, it's not stupid. If it's affected, it might look stupid. Would it make much of a difference? Who knows. Clever is almost always good, but affectations are almost always bad. That's a different issue if numbers over names affects your ability as a writer to focus, as you say. That would be up to you.
I used chapter titles in my first novel that I wrote. They had titles like Blue Bibi and The Mermaid Postcard. One referencing death the other referencing a vital piece of evidence. My book was kinda of bizarre and quirky (I was hugely influenced by David Lynch at the time). I named them that way because 1. I liked to give them names - probably got the idea from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory, it was one of my favorites as a child. 2. It helped keep track of the scenes - it was such a huge novel that it was easier to view everything in snippets -- to this day some 24 years later if I needed to find a certain scene I'd use the chapter titles. 3. It helped break up the book. As a writer but also as a reader I actually like for certain books to have chapter titles as it helps for studying the work. I did a study once on Flowers in the Attic and V.C. Andrews use of Chapter titles really helped. I don't think they work for every novel, I think they're best used for ground breakers or off beat fiction but I do think they can work. I think it could work if it matches the tone. But I think you have to watch being too cute for the sake of being clever. I always found that with chapter titles they were more about clueing the reader on what's coming -- or teasing them to read on and/or allowing for a re-reader to quickly find their favorite spots - like in Charlie and the Chocolate factory -- The Oompa Loompas or The Great Gum Machine.
You know, I would have agreed with you about the fiction-nonfiction thing, but I'm reading nonfiction (Newtown) right now. This writer chose chapter names and it is a very serious story. The first chapter is called "Last Goodbyes." It's kind of a rundown of a bunch of typical mornings, but anyone who reads this knows we're getting an overview of how the morning went for these young and innocent victims before they were gunned down in their first grade classroom. It's the chapter title that makes this opening so hard to read. I think this writer made some really smart choices when it came to how to present this story in book form and in this case naming his chapters was one of them. The thing I'm struggling with is that I don't always think chapter titles are the best way to go. I hadn't given it too much thought when I started naming my chapters in my WIP. My finished-but-never-to-be-published novel also had chapter names, but looking back that was just one of the many problems my first novel attempt had. With my current novel, the title and chapter names are really tied together kind of like my example, but I don't want it to come across as a gimmick or just really stupid, and it's hard to tell. I think sometimes as writers a chapter name can give us focus for writing that chapter. The question is, is that a writing tool that should be replaced by numbers or does it add something to the story. I'm kind of going through my bookshelf as well, looking at who has done what and what I thought of it. I do see numbers more than names in my small and person sampling. @Carly Berg I know you've got a novel you're close to done with. Just curious if you went with chapter names or numbers and how you reached your decision. Also, sorry to @Tenderiser and others if I lost my cool or seemed bitchy. I think I misunderstood what you were saying. It's just that lately it seems like everything I do is irrelevant, and I think I just let that word get to me. I truly don't want to fight with or upset anyone here. I hope we're cool.
It's hard enough for me to come up for a title for my entire story - I can't even imagine how impossible it would be for me to come up with multiple chapter names.
I've decided to do chapter names in my new book but for a long time I just had numbers and maybe a name for the part of the book. depends on the story I imagine.
The first chapters of my novel have titles but halfway through the novel, I could not think of adequate chapter names so the later ones don't have any. Now I'm thinking whether to add chapter names later (when I can think of something appropriate) or abandon chapter names altogether. At this point, I'm leaning towards the latter, since it's easier that way. I don't think it's really that important but if someone likes to use chapter names and can think of something clever, they can help to tease the reader. When I was a kid I enjoyed books with chapter names though it's probably much less important with more 'serious' literature.
I used to use chapter titles, they were fun when I was young but... they seemed kind of cheesy or lead the reader to much in the expectations of that chapter. so I nixed them for just numbers instead. and let the reader discover what is within. (Though for me personally, chapter names are still useful as book markers for me, when i'm writing or going through one of my books)
If it's a comedy novel, or at least one with a regular amount of laughs, I think the chapter titles can help, or at least be entertaining and fun.
