Writing How do you choose/find titles for your chapter?

[Feudyn]

I already have my way of doing it, but I'm always interested and intrigued on how others do it (it never hurts to get a fresh perspective of things from others).

ie. I like to skim through the chapter that I just wrote and find key words or themes and find words that relate to said theme or word. Sometimes thinking ahead on the upcoming chapters or what is happening in the arc.

But surely there are more efficient or different ways to do this, right?

 

[Nyctoria]

Carefully. Give @RepresentingCaution stories *1 ratings and she will choose them for you.

 

[foxes]

I try to find a generalizing word that is not in the text, or I choose a metaphor for what is happening in the chapter.

 

[Rachel_Leia_Cole]

Sometimes they come from parts of quotes in the chapter. Or I try to think thematically. Like ‘Embers Beneath Ash,’ ‘Carrying the Fire,’ etc. It depends on what the chapter conveys.

 

[OtherSlater]

I have a format and vibe and I stick to it. UV for example has the

"Theme of Chapter: Longer Subtitle"
or
"Long sentence explaining the theme of the chapter"

 

[TinaMigarlo]

I guess I've done similar to what others above me said. I do remember one person saying though, they hate it when the chapter name lets them know what's going to go on. So I would try to be artful, ambiguous, something like that. Then, with one recent work? I abandoned the whole chapter names thing. "Chapter 01"... "Chapter 02"... etc.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Whatever clicks into my mind after writing the chapter. As long as I haven't uploaded it, I'm fine changing it mid-way.

 

[Bald-san]

I already have my way of doing it, but I'm always interested and intrigued on how others do it (it never hurts to get a fresh perspective of things from others).

ie. I like to skim through the chapter that I just wrote and find key words or themes and find words that relate to said theme or word. Sometimes thinking ahead on the upcoming chapters or what is happening in the arc.

But surely there are more efficient or different ways to do this, right?

Sometimes it's 'FBI, Open Up!' and sometimes its 'Don't use atoms in front of a physicist', depends on my mood

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

I try to find a common theme between 2 or more scenes in the chapter, and then use either a pop culture reference or make something that ties the chapter and title together without necessarily giving it away. ie;

Chapter 18 – Space Aged Tractor Simulator 2000 W/Cat Herding DLC

My MC has to figure out how to use tractor beams to bring the Imperial Naval Police fighters onboard his ship so they can be ready to go hunt pirates. Except he has no idea what these tractors are.

Also, the unit's boss, who was coming with him, had scheduled everything to happen at the exact same time, so cargo, ground crew, and fighters were all requesting to dock simultaneously. He lost his shit on them and started herding the cats one at a time.

 

[Feudyn]

I guess I've done similar to what others above me said. I do remember one person saying though, they hate it when the chapter name lets them know what's going to go on. So I would try to be artful, ambiguous, something like that. Then, with one recent work? I abandoned the whole chapter names thing. "Chapter 01"... "Chapter 02"... etc.

omg this is something that I worry about so often too!
As great as it is to go and skim through key words in the chapter/arc that I could use for the chapter title, I always try to make sure that the word I use doesn't give anything away lolol

I try to find a common theme between 2 or more scenes in the chapter, and then use either a pop culture reference or make something that ties the chapter and title together without necessarily giving it away. ie;

Chapter 18 – Space Aged Tractor Simulator 2000 W/Cat Herding DLC

My MC has to figure out how to use tractor beams to bring the Imperial Naval Police fighters onboard his ship so they can be ready to go hunt pirates. Except he has no idea what these tractors are.

Also, the unit's boss, who was coming with him, had scheduled everything to happen at the exact same time, so cargo, ground crew, and fighters were all requesting to dock simultaneously. He lost his shit on them and started herding the cats one at a time.

ooh, referencing a pop-culture theme?

I have never referenced anything external between my story and something in pop culture. But then again, i try to avoid any references to anything irl or other pop culture in my fantasy novel.

How has it worked out for you? Is that part of your theme in your book?

Sometimes it's 'FBI, Open Up!' and sometimes its 'Don't use atoms in front of a physicist', depends on my mood

it looks like that this is part of your theme in your novel where you use quotes or parts of the book as your chapter title.

Mine is never that long and maybe a bit too abstract compared to yours.

But maybe I need to challenge myself and write a web-novel where the chapter titles are like yours one day!

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

omg this is something that I worry about so often too!
As great as it is to go and skim through key words in the chapter/arc that I could use for the chapter title, I always try to make sure that the word I use doesn't give anything away lolol

ooh, referencing a pop-culture theme?

I have never referenced anything external between my story and something in pop culture. But then again, i try to avoid any references to anything irl or other pop culture in my fantasy novel.

How has it worked out for you? Is that part of your theme in your book?

Kinda... My old man hops around to all these different anime and video game worlds that he has no clue about. I mean, there is an Alex Tribek knock-off as the gameshow host for the gods that he is entertaining while visiting these places, Elvis is the DJ.

I reach everywhere for a joke, though most would be from the 1940s through to the early 2000s.

Edit - It works great imo

 

[CinnaSloth]

whatever song title I'm listening to at the time i finish writing.
very boring, general chapter theme
vibe I get from the chapter -nothing intensely specific
name of: a new character, or character being delved into/ explored.
movie title/movie title pun/ movie quote
a sentence describing what I thought would be a good/ funny title

just depending on mood. Idrc about my titles.

 

[Nolff]

I already have my way of doing it, but I'm always interested and intrigued on how others do it (it never hurts to get a fresh perspective of things from others).

ie. I like to skim through the chapter that I just wrote and find key words or themes and find words that relate to said theme or word. Sometimes thinking ahead on the upcoming chapters or what is happening in the arc.

But surely there are more efficient or different ways to do this, right?

There's this way of making titles I like to do.

Find a word that best related with the story/MC/plot, and then translate it to another language. Then add some english words. Voila, done.

Or, the hard way. Cooking the greatest title I can come up with by deeply thinking about the meaning of the story and/or what's the message of it. Then, apply it but in a sentence that would connect to it after the readers read it. Or well, the simpler way, just use words that the readers can think of what to expect.

 

[Feudyn]

whatever song title I'm listening to at the time i finish writing.
very boring, general chapter theme
vibe I get from the chapter -nothing intensely specific
name of: a new character, or character being delved into/ explored.
movie title/movie title pun/ movie quote
a sentence describing what I thought would be a good/ funny title

just depending on mood. Idrc about my titles.

I wish i can write a web-novel like this and have chapter titles about my mood or the song im listening to! :o

There's this way of making titles I like to do.

Find a word that best related with the story/MC/plot, and then translate it to another language. Then add some english words. Voila, done.

Or, the hard way. Cooking the greatest title I can come up with by deeply thinking about the meaning of the story and/or what's the message of it. Then, apply it but in a sentence that would connect to it after the readers read it. Or well, the simpler way, just use words that the readers can think of what to expect.

oh wow, i need to do that next time!
Time to find a word in the chapter and translate it in another language

 

[CinnaSloth]

I wish i can write a web-novel like this and have chapter titles about my mood or the song im listening to! :o

oh wow, i need to do that next time!
Time to find a word in the chapter and translate it in another language

why not?

 

[writerwolf359]

I don't, and I would go crazy if I tried.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Usually I have a vague idea when I start the chapter - not always, but usually. If the idea still fits when I'm halfway through, it stays. If I didn't have an idea, or the idea no longer fits, I usually stop a little after the halfway point and go back and brainstorm for something.

 

[Dawnathon]

I do it differently for every book. I used to forego chapter titles altogether, but I found that isn't good for web novels. For my current one, I have every chapter be a new word that starts with "S" and ends with "ing". I plan to change it once a new arc starts, but it's been a fun way to get people to ask Google what these weird words mean. I don't think many people would already know what something like "Seroconverting" means. It always has something to do with the contents of the chapter, but hopefully the reader will chew on it for a bit.

In the above example's case, seroconverting means roughly "either to be infected by a pathogen or to recover from the infection", which in the context of the story is

Spoiler

the protagonist, being a nonhuman, reveals just how much of a threat she could grow into, which signals her as a "pathogen" in the community that a medical professional character starts preparing a "cure" for. Showcasing both the infection and the (upcoming) recovery the title refers to.

And if people don't think about it at all, well, hope they just think it's neat.

 

[autumnsugar]

I usually write the chapter first then pick a quote or write a little teaser about whats gonna go down in the chapter

 

[Rezcore]

I plug words related to the chapter in the spin de wheel...