Thoughts on Having Chapter Titles · 6:35pm May 20th, 2015
Does the name of a chapter dictate whether or not you will read it? For me, it makes no difference if a story has chapter titles or not.
I would like to think that others would feel the same. However, the realm of fanfiction is something else entirely. For the most part, stories are updated in a semi-regular schedule. You can predict that whatever you're following could update every week, or every month. There are even some that update daily.
But do the chapters matter? With regular updates, we could think of new chapters and being the equivalent of a new episode. Within MLP:FIM, each episode has a name, so each chapter in a story based on the show should also be named. The issue I have with this is that fanfics are not always written like the episodes.
Sure, they take the themes, characters, worlds, ect... presented, but those ideas are then turned and flipped around into new ideas and philosophies to create new stories and atmospheres that might not be seen within the show because they are too dark, or might be seen as too mature for the marketed audience.
I once tried to do chapter titles, and it got to the point that I felt like I was forcing them. Granted, at that point I felt like I was "forcing" the story to just end as well. It got to the point where I was no longer interested in the story and just wanted to be done with it.
With my recent story I decided to take a different route: not name the chapters at all. I didn't want to have to worry about making puns, or coming up with something clever. I just write what I want to write, without having to worry about sticking to a single setting or theme. Although, it appears the setting currently dictates where I put the chapter breaks. meh.
But to get views and some response from readers, does having chapter names matter? It's a personal preference, but overall and from what I can tell: chapter names are a good way to bring in new readers. It makes them curious and want to find out what is happening. They are another story title and description. They are the bait and the content is the hook.
