McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

Getting Started and Chapter Titles

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Thaumaturge02:
Well, I think I finally have a working plot down for my story, but I'm having trouble getting motivated to start it.  Should I just turn off tv and whatnot and type till my fingers fall off, or have an alloted time for it?


Also, regarding chapter names (by which I mean something more endearing than "Chapter 1", "Chapter 2", yatta yatta).  I would like to hear opinions on whether you elaborte more with chapter names.

Haru:
Yep, that part, sadly, is mostly just hard work. I have great troubles with that myself, and in the end it is all about just getting started. I always have the feeling, that it is like reading a story for the 1000th time, because I know every little detail about it.

I have always liked titles like "chapter 8 - where the hero meets the girl and the talking dog disappears". Basically a very short summary of the chapter that is to come. Even if it is not going to be a chapter name for a final draft, it is a good way to get started and maybe a starting point for an even more condensed version.

Gruud:
I've been using chapter names. They're usually short and a bit cryptic, but once you start reading the chapter they begin to make sense.

Hmm ... that sounds more involved than it is.

I guess I'm using two and three word phrases that describe the coming action in some way. And sometimes, their meanings can be taken in more than one way.

Here's couple of examples:

An Unsettled Sleep
Chasing the Chasers
Catching Up with the Caught
Showing Steel

Part of the intent is that as I scan downm the list of chapters, the names help me recall what takes place in each one.


Unfortunately, I get the feeling that publishers are no longer really interested in chapter names, or tables of contents, etc, and would just as soon we left them out.

Enjorous:
To me it depends on how many chapters you have, and what you're going through. If your chapters are pretty short, like a lot of Dresden's are then I typically go with numbers, if there are fewer and longer I'll name them.

Nickeris86:
I have started working on mine but can never work up enough energy to get much done and then don't look at it for like six months.

As for chapter names i never really thought about using them. they don't appeal to me.

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