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Chapter names

W

Wabbit

New Member
Hi all :) Hope your Mondays are not too bad. Mine is ok... so far :D

The book that I am reading right now has chapter names. Personally, I like this. I wish all books would give names to chapters. What are your feelings about this? Like or not? :)
 
I like intelligible Chapter names. If they don't make sense right off and I have to flip back after reading the chapter and say "Oooooooohhhhhhhhh," then that annoys me. It helps if you lose your place, definitely.
 
Oh, I kinda like cryptic chapter names! Those draw me into the chapter. They becon me in, intriuged and in wonder.
 
I like them, but they can be a bit distracting, as Ashlea said. What I really like are the little pictorials like Jordon uses in WoT. They tell me which character we're switching to in each chapter, and it helps me make the mental change in gears a bit easier.
 
I hate it when authors destroy the mystery of a chapter with complete give-away chapter titles, especially if it's at a major event or twist, but otherwise I like them, especially the little cryptic clues that are sometimes given, which rather than spoiling the suspense, as an unsubtle heading would, enhance it.

What do people think of some authors putting relevant quotations as chapter headings, such as in the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy and the graphic novel 'Watchmen.' Personally I find these little snippets very interesting, and its enjoyable to compare them to the actual content of the chapter. The ones in Watchmen in particular are very good, as they at first seem to bear little relevance but upon thinking a bit more about the characters and their actions they fit very well, and I also like the way Moore uses a few words from the full quotation as the chapter title, before revealing it in its entirety at the end-creates strong starting and finishing points.
 
I think it really depends on the book.

Particularly complex books need additional sign posting in the form of chapter headings, however I agree that sometimes they destroy the mystery of the book if used badly.

I too like the little cryptic quotations at the beginning of chapters - I have particularly noticed this in horror novels eg a snippet of a relevant Poe quote which doesn't give it away but makes you anticipate what is coming....

What I really hate is books with too many chapters that break up the story - I think of James Patterson here.

On some occasions however a break in the story to switch scene / character etc helps even if the chapter has no title.

I also quite like books without chapters - eg Terry Pratchett who doesn't use chapters - it keeps the story flowing.

So, as I say, all methods if well used have their merits depending on the novel. :)
 
I don't really mind either way, though I have noticed that chapter titles seem to be getting rarer. Then again, I read a lot of Pratchett, and he doesn't even bother with chapters! :D
 
I like the kinda titles which Ash hates - the ones that are kinda cryptic, but when you've finished the chapter you go Oooowwwwwww.

That's cool.

Cheers, Martin
 
I also prefer the crypic type chapter headings as I hate it when the heading gives away what will happen. If the author is going to do that I'd rather they just numbered them instead :rolleyes:
 
I liked how james joyce never gave names to the episodes in ulysses, but referred to them, for example, as 'telemachus', 'nestor', 'proteus', 'calypso', &c. outside of the novel, so the titles never became official, but ended up sticking anyway.
 
I don't know about titles, but chapterless books are so annoying. When do you decide to have a rest? It's like some evil ploy by the author to make you read it all at once. Evil!

My Monday was RUBBISH!
 
Themistocles said:
What do people think of some authors putting relevant quotations as chapter headings, such as in the 'His Dark Materials' trilogy and the graphic novel 'Watchmen.' Personally I find these little snippets very interesting, and its enjoyable to compare them to the actual content of the chapter. The ones in Watchmen in particular are very good, as they at first seem to bear little relevance but upon thinking a bit more about the characters and their actions they fit very well, and I also like the way Moore uses a few words from the full quotation as the chapter title, before revealing it in its entirety at the end-creates strong starting and finishing points.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I really like it when they use relevant quotations as chapter headings, just as long as they are a bit cryptic.

BTW, The Watchman RULED!!!! Damn fine work :)


Freya said:
I don't know about titles, but chapterless books are so annoying. When do you decide to have a rest? It's like some evil ploy by the author to make you read it all at once. Evil!

My Monday was RUBBISH!
Click to expand...

How can a Monday as a beer taster suck??? :-O Sorry your Monday was pants! Hope Tuesday rocks your socks :D
 
I prefer chapters without names - just a basic 1, 2, 3, etc. I don't like chapters that are 87 pages long either. I somehow have the compulsive need to stop at the end of a chapter and that makes it kind of difficult. ;)
 
I don't like chapter names, don't really care if there are chapters. When I have to stop reading, I do. I find chapter breaks to be a bit disconcerting if I've just read a book without them. I don't want to be distracted from the storyline, because someone felt the need to stick in a heading. I usually ignore chapter titles, but I will read quotes at the beginning of chapters.
 
I don't really care for chapter titles. Most of the time I forget to read them alltogether, cause I just want to get on with it. Quotes I usually read immediately, but sometimes they're so out of the blue it breaks my stride a bit.
 
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