BONUS: To Title or Not to Title a Chapter

282 69 25

by amayzed

by amayzed

BONUS: To Title or Not to Title a Chapter

Requested by livin_in_the_moment

To title or not to title, that is the question.

First, let me say that it's based on personal preference. But there are pros and cons and reasons for each, so that's what I'll be going through in this chapter.

But first, fill out the poll based on your personal preference in the external link!

All right, let's begin with...

| TITLED CHAPTERS |

Pro - Titled chapters give the reader a glimpse at the chapter's content and draws them into the story.

Pro - It gives your book another level of creativity and meaning.

Pro - It helps the readers navigate your book much easier and makes the story more memorable.

Con - If you don't do it correctly, you could be spoiling the chapter or causing confusion/a disconnection between the chapter title and the content itself.

| UNTITLED CHAPTERS |

Pro - Untitled chapters can give the reader a sense of a continuous story flow without the distraction of a chapter title.

Pro - It can help the reader focus on the content of your story rather than the title.

Con - It's harder for a reader to navigate the book and makes it less memorable.

Con - It can take away from the creativity and meaning of the story for the writer.

So, back to our original question: to title or not to title chapters. As you can see, it's completely based on personal preference. Here are some tips if you are choosing to title your chapters:

-Don't make them too long; keep them short, catchy, and memorable.

-Include enough of the story content where it intrigues the reader, but doesn't spoil it.

-Make sure the title relates to the story in some way and doesn't leave the reader confused.

-Be creative! Try different ways of titling chapters. Examples include: using a quote from the chapter, keywords, adjectives relating to the theme of the story, lyrics to a song, dates (July 25, 2020; good for historical fiction books), or a quick summary of the chapter (When Another Problem Arises).

And that's it! Don't forget to vote on the poll so we can see which readers prefer: titled or untitled chapters.

If you have a request for a bonus chapter, feel free to let me know in the comments or PM me.

God bless!