Many people think chapter titles are just for juvenile books, but that’s not true. Chapter titles are great for fantasy, science-fiction, and historical novels. If you want to use chapter titles in your book, you very well can! Remember: It’s your book; you can do what you want!
For the first and second books in my (unpublished)
supernatural-thriller series, I came up with one-word chapter titles by
reviewing what happened in each chapter and thinking of an adjective to match
it. Although adjectives are descriptive, words like icy, magical, and chaotic (actual
titles from my books) don’t reveal all that much. And even if one does hint at
what might happen, like “explosive”, it might intrigue a reader to keep reading.
Other chapter title ideas you can use:
· The name of a character (This works if you
use multiple-perspectives.)
· The name of places (If your characters are
traveling.)
· Dates (If you’re story hops from the past to
the present or future.)
· Names of mythical creatures, gods/goddesses,
monsters, etc. (This is perfect for a fantasy/supernatural story where the
presence of these beings is important to the plot.)
· Scientific terms (If your characters are
scientists, using a scientific term would be interesting –especially if that
term comes into play in that chapter.)
· Medical terms (This would work the same way
as scientific terms if you’re writing a story about doctors, nurses, or even a
patient.)
· Verbs to show action. (Verbs are great for
one-word titles and can spike a reader’s interest.)
SHARE: Your chapter title ideas. I’d love to add them to
my list!
QUESTIONS: Reader: Do you pay attention to chapter titles?
Writer: Have you ever used chapter titles?
