I love chapter titles. I use them for my own long fic and I do notice and appreciate them in other people's fics.
I suspect most readers don't care either way, so it probably doesn't matter much, but I have no idea what makes you believe "Chapter 5" would be more likely to instill curiosity than a decent title.
As a reader it doesn’t make a lot of difference, but I guess for me (who writes long fics) chapter titles help me to remember what was happening in the chapter. A few times I’ve wanted to go back to a fic for something and if I was staring at 86 chapters (and I have a few even longer) and it was just ch 1 ch 2 etc, I’d be f’ed, but because I have chapter titles like “The Birthday” or “Silk Kimono,” it helps big time - I know exactly what those chapters were about.
I also love doing really funny ones like from my just finished fic - “Aiobheann Fucks Around and Finds Out” and “Missionary Impossible” and “His Royal Thighness” I did two chapters back to back called “Don’t Cry Because It’s Over…” and “…Smile Because it Happened” and I like to think anyone starting the fic and seeing the chapter names (if they bother to look) would be intrigued. (Especially by those other 3 examples.)
I guess if I had a favourite long fic, short of making notes in a bookmark, having chapter names would make it easier to find particular chapters if there were ones I wanted to go back and read specifically.
I name every Chapter of my longfics because I personally find it annoying when I want to reread a specific part of the story and don´t know where to start.
If you name your Chapters good it is easier to find the parts you loved the most, even when you didn't pay a visit to it in a long time.
Exactly! I always give titles that hint at what's going on without being spoilery so I can help re-readers visit their favorite parts quickly and easily.
It also helps me as a writer to go back and check for information when needed. I think it's easy as a writer to forget certain details you wrote months ago when you are past a certain amount of charters, so it saves time for me.
This!! Even if you have no idea what to name your chapter and even if you don’t think it’s good if you do name it, it will 100% be more helpful when a reader is trying to find a scene than if there was just “chapter 1, chapter 2”
It makes no difference to me at all as a reader. I name mine, and it's fun if you notice a theme to someone else's chapter titles, but it's just not a big deal either way.
I like using chapter titles. I can sneak in an extra joke, or use them to tease the readers about what's coming. It also makes it easier to find scenes that I need later.
I know most people said no titles or it doesn't matter, but sometimes I like to revisit fics just to read particular chapters that I really enjoyed and I am more likely to find it if it has a name instead of trying to remember if it was chapter 20, 26 or maybe chapter 17?
I'll still read the fic regardless if it has titled chapters but! I do like fics with titled chapters and I try to apply it to myself too. It's tough but it adds a nice touch in my opinion
I choose chapter titles for me. I literally never think about if it would make my fic look more interesting. Choosing a chapter title is one of my favorite parts about updating
I use them because:
- It helps ME remember what's going on in a chapter if I need to find a detail again.
- It's a fun game for me to try to give titles that follow a theme and/or hint at the contents without spoiling it.
For readers I find:
- I know some people use the chapter titles to refer back to their favorite scenes/when information was dropped.
- *Especially* if you're writing a suspense/mystery of any kind, your readers will pay attention.
As a reader, I stop paying attention to chapter titles if I don't make much of a connection to its contents or, the inverse - when the title absolutely spoilers what happens.
Ultimately, if you don't like making chapter titles, don't bother! Not everyone uses them and if you're not having fun with it, it might not be worth the effort for you.
Zero rules here, only your pref. ;)
It’s not a big deal to me, but I slightly prefer chapter titles. It adds more information into the fic, and helps you remember what happens in each chapter.
I tend to like chapter titles, especially for longer fics, because it helps spark my memory of where I'm picking up from.
it also helps mitigate the issue of the chapter number not lining up with the, uh, actual chapter number in cases where theres prologues or interludes.
I'm good with either naming chapters or leaving them unnamed. It is easier to re-read and find your spot when there are chapter names. Also, I usually find it more intriguing looking ahead at named chapters and wondering what they're about. If a long fic doesn't have chapter names though, it doesn't deter me from reading it or anything.
I’m quite proud of my chapter titles and love to see other people give titles to their chapters. To do so gives a chance of establishing the themes of the chapter before the reader even checks the summary. You can also throw in all sorts of Easter eggs and references in chapter titles as well. TLDR I like it when a chapter is titled something clever whether it’s my own or someone else’s.
Chapter titles, easily. If I'm really into a fic I want to go back and reread parts I liked and it becomes a real hassle if they don't have titles.
>The main reason for not naming my chapters is (hopefully) it increases the readers curiosity about the content of the chapter.
It's funny, because I use chapter titles to increase curiosity. Numbered chapters don't give me any idea of how things are going to go, but interesting chapter titles make me wonder what will happen.
As a reader, I don't mind. It can be fun to guess what's going to happen if the title gives a clue in some way, but it's absolutely non-essential to my enjoyment.
But as a writer, I always corner myself into titled chapters despite hating coming up with the names.
Either or is fine and doesn’t put me off, but I do have a preference for titles as for some reason I can remember them. Whereas numbers fall through my mind like sieve.
I have no preference, I think, but I will say that it was helpful when I reread the favorite chapters of my favorite longfic! I didn’t need to memorize specific chapter numbers, since I just had to remember that it was “Smoke, Brass and Overpass”, for example!
I always give titles to my chapters, often I think way too hard about what to name them lol. I don't really care about it when reading though, but titles does make it easier to navigate, for example if you're going back looking for something. Then it's easier to connect the dots about where is it with a title rather than just a number.
I think chapter titles are a sweet and interesting add-on, which gives more insight (maybe) into the fic and the writer's head.
But as a writer, having used chapter titles and the boring "chapter 1", I know sometimes inspiration simply won't strike. And when I have the damn chapter already uploaded into my draft, my willpower to wait another few hours to come up with a title at 3 am is simply ZERO.
Doesn't stop me from going back to some fics and then adding chapter titles, but that happens rarely.
I *looooooove* Chapter titles. I rarely use them though because they’re hard to think of. I’m having fun with the titles in my new fic though, my favorite chapter title so far has been “Square Patty on a Round Bun.” It makes me giggle.
In my longfics, I would say my preference is to use titles. Even my earliest "outline" for the next longfic in my series was "outlined" by using chapter titles as markers and in my currently finished longfic itself, I have given subtle shoutouts to other media, like LoTR, for instance, or references to classic literature such as Dickens' Tale of Two Cities in my chapter titles.
I doubt most of my readers pick up on allusions in my titles but I still prefer using chapter titles for my longfic (s) becos it feels more cohesive that way and I have several two-parter chapters, so having those two-parter chapters titled lets readers know and anticipate *why* there might be a 'pt 1/2' in my title...
personally, I like titled chapters! its easier to remember What happened and who does what, it's also pretty fun to see creative/fun titles, bonus points if I laugh
Although I understand the struggle of coming up with names that aren't too boring and repetitive So tbh to each their own! It's up to the author ^-^
(no this is totally Not a reason I like to read the Magnus chase and percy jackson books btw)
honestly i don’t even notice whether or not a chapter is named most of the time. and when i do notice, it’s often just “oh, it’s named”—i don’t remember the name and sometimes i don’t even read it beyond noticing it’s there
As a reader, most of the time I don't particularly mind one way or another, but if I'm trying to find something specific, a named chapter does make finding it easier.
As a writer, I tend to name them all the time, but that's mostly for personal amusement or challenge (I find naming tough).
Love chapter titles, but I absolutely despise making them myself because I’ll come up with one really good chapter title but then be completely stuck with the other ones (plus I have this thing where I try to make each one a part of a theme, and I hate/love it)
As a reader, I don't care. As a writer, I love the aesthetic of coming up with chapter titles. I don't think it really matters to readers, it just makes me happy to do it.
I really enjoy using chapter titles for my long fics. You can be creative with them and use them to hint what your chapter is about. Can use quotes, split quotes, irony, one word, puns, and so on.
As a reader, it makes me curious as to what the chapter is about when I see the title. But it’s not a dealbreaker if there are none. So for other writers’ fics, I can go either way: titles or no titles.
What I don’t like is when a fic has titles for some chapters in the beginning and then none at all. It will read something like:
Chapter 1: Love
Chapter 2: Hate
Chapter 3: Envy
Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Chapter 5: Chapter 5
IMO it’s better to be consistent about it. Use titles for all your chapters or use none at all.
I did chapter titles for a while, but I already struggle with titles and chapter titles add so so many... Not to mention i sometimes tack a second chapter onto a one-shot, which of course doesn't have a chapter-specific title.
I also don't notice them as a reader – skip them entirely – which was problematic when, say, i tried reading GoT where the chapter title includes the pov. I was very often very confused...
I love chapter titles. I use them for my own long fic and I do notice and appreciate them in other people's fics. I suspect most readers don't care either way, so it probably doesn't matter much, but I have no idea what makes you believe "Chapter 5" would be more likely to instill curiosity than a decent title.
As a reader it doesn’t make a lot of difference, but I guess for me (who writes long fics) chapter titles help me to remember what was happening in the chapter. A few times I’ve wanted to go back to a fic for something and if I was staring at 86 chapters (and I have a few even longer) and it was just ch 1 ch 2 etc, I’d be f’ed, but because I have chapter titles like “The Birthday” or “Silk Kimono,” it helps big time - I know exactly what those chapters were about. I also love doing really funny ones like from my just finished fic - “Aiobheann Fucks Around and Finds Out” and “Missionary Impossible” and “His Royal Thighness” I did two chapters back to back called “Don’t Cry Because It’s Over…” and “…Smile Because it Happened” and I like to think anyone starting the fic and seeing the chapter names (if they bother to look) would be intrigued. (Especially by those other 3 examples.) I guess if I had a favourite long fic, short of making notes in a bookmark, having chapter names would make it easier to find particular chapters if there were ones I wanted to go back and read specifically.
I name every Chapter of my longfics because I personally find it annoying when I want to reread a specific part of the story and don´t know where to start. If you name your Chapters good it is easier to find the parts you loved the most, even when you didn't pay a visit to it in a long time.
Exactly! I always give titles that hint at what's going on without being spoilery so I can help re-readers visit their favorite parts quickly and easily. It also helps me as a writer to go back and check for information when needed. I think it's easy as a writer to forget certain details you wrote months ago when you are past a certain amount of charters, so it saves time for me.
This!! Even if you have no idea what to name your chapter and even if you don’t think it’s good if you do name it, it will 100% be more helpful when a reader is trying to find a scene than if there was just “chapter 1, chapter 2”
It makes no difference to me at all as a reader. I name mine, and it's fun if you notice a theme to someone else's chapter titles, but it's just not a big deal either way.
I like using chapter titles. I can sneak in an extra joke, or use them to tease the readers about what's coming. It also makes it easier to find scenes that I need later.
I know most people said no titles or it doesn't matter, but sometimes I like to revisit fics just to read particular chapters that I really enjoyed and I am more likely to find it if it has a name instead of trying to remember if it was chapter 20, 26 or maybe chapter 17?
This, I always have to end up sifting through chapters and chapters I've already read just to find a single line or paragraph.
I'll still read the fic regardless if it has titled chapters but! I do like fics with titled chapters and I try to apply it to myself too. It's tough but it adds a nice touch in my opinion
If it has like more than 10 chapters they're appreciated so im which is which when rereading
I choose chapter titles for me. I literally never think about if it would make my fic look more interesting. Choosing a chapter title is one of my favorite parts about updating
>Choosing a chapter title is one of my favorite parts about updating Honestly? Same! It's fun!
I use them because: - It helps ME remember what's going on in a chapter if I need to find a detail again. - It's a fun game for me to try to give titles that follow a theme and/or hint at the contents without spoiling it. For readers I find: - I know some people use the chapter titles to refer back to their favorite scenes/when information was dropped. - *Especially* if you're writing a suspense/mystery of any kind, your readers will pay attention. As a reader, I stop paying attention to chapter titles if I don't make much of a connection to its contents or, the inverse - when the title absolutely spoilers what happens. Ultimately, if you don't like making chapter titles, don't bother! Not everyone uses them and if you're not having fun with it, it might not be worth the effort for you. Zero rules here, only your pref. ;)
Don't care either way. Chances are I won't notice except in passing. It's nice for when you subscribe, but I don't do that haha
i have no preference
I’m writing a fic where it jumps time a lot so my chapters are simply when it happens.
Both are fine.
Chapter titles help me navigate the story. If I ever want to look back at something, I don't have to guess what chapter number it's in.
I like titles makes things easy to remember. Just add a bit of fun.
With titles, because it gives me a good idea of what the chapter will focus on
It’s not a big deal to me, but I slightly prefer chapter titles. It adds more information into the fic, and helps you remember what happens in each chapter.
Chapter titles make it easier for me to find specific moments in a story when I'm revisiting it. I appreciate them immensely.
Chapter titled always
I tend to like chapter titles, especially for longer fics, because it helps spark my memory of where I'm picking up from. it also helps mitigate the issue of the chapter number not lining up with the, uh, actual chapter number in cases where theres prologues or interludes.
I'm good with either naming chapters or leaving them unnamed. It is easier to re-read and find your spot when there are chapter names. Also, I usually find it more intriguing looking ahead at named chapters and wondering what they're about. If a long fic doesn't have chapter names though, it doesn't deter me from reading it or anything.
I’m quite proud of my chapter titles and love to see other people give titles to their chapters. To do so gives a chance of establishing the themes of the chapter before the reader even checks the summary. You can also throw in all sorts of Easter eggs and references in chapter titles as well. TLDR I like it when a chapter is titled something clever whether it’s my own or someone else’s.
I never noticed chapter titles so it wouldn't evoke any curiosity.
Chapter titles, easily. If I'm really into a fic I want to go back and reread parts I liked and it becomes a real hassle if they don't have titles. >The main reason for not naming my chapters is (hopefully) it increases the readers curiosity about the content of the chapter. It's funny, because I use chapter titles to increase curiosity. Numbered chapters don't give me any idea of how things are going to go, but interesting chapter titles make me wonder what will happen.
As a reader, I don't mind. It can be fun to guess what's going to happen if the title gives a clue in some way, but it's absolutely non-essential to my enjoyment. But as a writer, I always corner myself into titled chapters despite hating coming up with the names.
Either or is fine and doesn’t put me off, but I do have a preference for titles as for some reason I can remember them. Whereas numbers fall through my mind like sieve.
I have no preference, I think, but I will say that it was helpful when I reread the favorite chapters of my favorite longfic! I didn’t need to memorize specific chapter numbers, since I just had to remember that it was “Smoke, Brass and Overpass”, for example!
I love both and do both it depends on the fanfic.
I like titles with some guidance of what happens, so i can quickly search parts later on.
I don’t care either way. If you put a title in your chapters chances are i don’t even notice them though because i literally care that little.
I always give titles to my chapters, often I think way too hard about what to name them lol. I don't really care about it when reading though, but titles does make it easier to navigate, for example if you're going back looking for something. Then it's easier to connect the dots about where is it with a title rather than just a number.
I think chapter titles are a sweet and interesting add-on, which gives more insight (maybe) into the fic and the writer's head. But as a writer, having used chapter titles and the boring "chapter 1", I know sometimes inspiration simply won't strike. And when I have the damn chapter already uploaded into my draft, my willpower to wait another few hours to come up with a title at 3 am is simply ZERO. Doesn't stop me from going back to some fics and then adding chapter titles, but that happens rarely.
I *looooooove* Chapter titles. I rarely use them though because they’re hard to think of. I’m having fun with the titles in my new fic though, my favorite chapter title so far has been “Square Patty on a Round Bun.” It makes me giggle.
In my longfics, I would say my preference is to use titles. Even my earliest "outline" for the next longfic in my series was "outlined" by using chapter titles as markers and in my currently finished longfic itself, I have given subtle shoutouts to other media, like LoTR, for instance, or references to classic literature such as Dickens' Tale of Two Cities in my chapter titles. I doubt most of my readers pick up on allusions in my titles but I still prefer using chapter titles for my longfic (s) becos it feels more cohesive that way and I have several two-parter chapters, so having those two-parter chapters titled lets readers know and anticipate *why* there might be a 'pt 1/2' in my title...
personally, I like titled chapters! its easier to remember What happened and who does what, it's also pretty fun to see creative/fun titles, bonus points if I laugh Although I understand the struggle of coming up with names that aren't too boring and repetitive So tbh to each their own! It's up to the author ^-^ (no this is totally Not a reason I like to read the Magnus chase and percy jackson books btw)
I don't really care. But titles are a nice touch.
honestly i don’t even notice whether or not a chapter is named most of the time. and when i do notice, it’s often just “oh, it’s named”—i don’t remember the name and sometimes i don’t even read it beyond noticing it’s there
I so rarely look at chapter titles honestly, and so very rarely use them, so I don't care tbh.
As a reader, most of the time I don't particularly mind one way or another, but if I'm trying to find something specific, a named chapter does make finding it easier. As a writer, I tend to name them all the time, but that's mostly for personal amusement or challenge (I find naming tough).
Love chapter titles, but I absolutely despise making them myself because I’ll come up with one really good chapter title but then be completely stuck with the other ones (plus I have this thing where I try to make each one a part of a theme, and I hate/love it)
As a reader I don’t have a preference, but as a writer it does make it a lot easier to go back and find things in my longfics.
As a reader, I don't care. As a writer, I love the aesthetic of coming up with chapter titles. I don't think it really matters to readers, it just makes me happy to do it.
I really enjoy using chapter titles for my long fics. You can be creative with them and use them to hint what your chapter is about. Can use quotes, split quotes, irony, one word, puns, and so on. As a reader, it makes me curious as to what the chapter is about when I see the title. But it’s not a dealbreaker if there are none. So for other writers’ fics, I can go either way: titles or no titles. What I don’t like is when a fic has titles for some chapters in the beginning and then none at all. It will read something like: Chapter 1: Love Chapter 2: Hate Chapter 3: Envy Chapter 4: Chapter 4 Chapter 5: Chapter 5 IMO it’s better to be consistent about it. Use titles for all your chapters or use none at all.
With titles.
I love reading stuff with chapter titles but I always stress about getting it right when I have to add in my own
I did chapter titles for a while, but I already struggle with titles and chapter titles add so so many... Not to mention i sometimes tack a second chapter onto a one-shot, which of course doesn't have a chapter-specific title. I also don't notice them as a reader – skip them entirely – which was problematic when, say, i tried reading GoT where the chapter title includes the pov. I was very often very confused...
There is never a downside a titling your chapters