Spice Up Your Chapter Titles
In my last two blogs, I discussed ways to make our writing more exciting and compelling, to draw readers in and keep them reading. Back in May, I advised writers to use opening hooks in The Room Was Filled with Naked Blondes, and in June I talked about the end of chapters in Falling for Cliffhangers. Grab ’em early with the first few sentences or beginning paragraph, and at the end of each chapter, consider including a cliffhanger of some kind—ranging from subtle to over-the top—to make readers turn those pages late into the night, even if they have to go to work early in the morning.
This time around, I’d like to explore one more hook or way to hold readers’ interest. No, it’s not fine writing, brilliant characterization, or plot construction. All those are crucial, of course, but what I’m talking about now is what you put at the top of each chapter. It’s important, too, because when readers move on to the next chapter, that chapter title is the first thing they see. Chapter titles are also hooks, and like cliffhangers, they can be subtle teases or sledgehammer-like blows.
I’m not saying all novels must have chapter titles. Many masterpieces and best sellers don’t use them, and I wager most writers on this site have published novels without them, too. But if you have relied exclusively on strictly utilitarian titles like “Chapter One” or simply “1, 2, 3” in the past, consider trying to do more with the space at the top of each chapter. Make it work for you as much as you can.
In my science-fiction adventure novel, Speaker of the Shakk (available from Mundania Press both as a trade paperback and as an e-book), the hero and his girlfriend venture into a mysterious and sinister alien ship. I call Chapter Sixteen, “In The Belly of The Beast” to increase fear and concern for Theophilus Merlan and his future lover, Ann Benson. After they visit (and survive) the Xantean ship, they enter an even more deadly vessel, that of the shape-shifting Merotox, who are so hideously ugly that one look at them can kill you. I call Chapter Seventeen, “The Beauty of the Medusa” to create dread and suspense regarding the protagonists’ safety. A later chapter, number twenty-six, is hot with action and violence. Accordingly, I call it “Jaw to Jaw, Hand to Claw.” If readers have gotten that far, they should (hopefully) want to read on.
To offer a few more examples, one of the novels I’m working on now is inspired by The Wizard of Oz. Virtually every chapter has a title drawn from the movie and is intended to lure the reader deeper into the action. Chapter Nine, for instance, is titled “Poisoned Poppies.” We all know what happens to Dorothy and her friends when they romp through the Poppy field in The Wizard of Oz, but what befalls Jean-Pierre and Ariel might be even worse. Chapter Eleven’s titled, “ . . . and your little dog, too!” The Wicked Witch wants not only to get Dorothy, but cute little Toto, too. Question is, does another evil witch have murderous designs on lovely Ariel, even to the extent of destroying her soul? If I’ve chosen the title well, readers will ask themselves that, and continue reading. Other titles, e.g., “Surrender, Dorothy!”, “You Have No Power Here!”, The Witch’s Palace,” and “Off to Meet the Wizard,” also are derived from the movie/book and are intended to appeal to the reader’s interest both in the novel and in the original story that inspired it.
So, writers, don’t forget the Creative Trinity. Use opening hooks, clever cliffhangers, and intriguing chapter titles, and your audience may not only buy and finish your current novel, but future ones as well.
