Exactly as the title says! For example, in my current project, the chapter I’m just starting to write is called ‘Trespassers Will Be Welcomed By The People’. I love this, and it’s not even the most creative thing out there.
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In a published book, I don’t think I’ll have chapter titles, but I write my drafts using Scrivener, and break up each document by chapter/scene. So since it’s likely no one will ever see these titles, I try to come up with the most random titles for each chapter that correspond to the scene somehow (usually in a personal association or inside joke kinda way). I can post a couple of my favorites but I guarantee no one will understand as much as I do.
The one I’m writing now is called “Avocado” because one character is trying to convince another to join his side, kinda like a lawyer, which is “avocat(e)” in French which sounds like avocado.
Another random one I like is called “Opal is Not a Warthog” because Opal is worried her sister’s position is helping her get better missions (nepotism). The name is a reference to Phineas and Ferb where one of Doofenshmirtz’s inventions is supposed to turn his brother into a warthog because, apparently, it’s against the law for the mayor of Danville to be a warthog because the last time a warthog was mayor, it filled the cabinet with its family members (nepotism).
Some of them are more obvious associations but all are equally as stupid and ridiculous.
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i don’t think i’d ever use chapter titles in a published work, so most of my chapter titles just help me remember what each chapter is about at a glance. (the writing program i use lists all the chapters off to the side, so you can just click on each one.)
usually, i’ll summarize what happens in the chapter in a few words (e.g., Rosie’s Dog), or i’ll pick the first or last line of the chapter–whichever one i like best.
so we have some like: [name_m]Hi[/name_m] Vera; Next up was English; and Okay!
then we have others like: You Always Lose; [name_f]Hope[/name_f] is Cruel; Into the [name_f]Stormy[/name_f] Grey; A Sign of Rebellion
(^^ those were all first or last lines)
but if i were doing it by summary, some just end up being:
Lunchy Lunch Lunch
First Aid
[name_u]Gary[/name_u] [name_m]Orson[/name_m], etc.
Two summers ago, when I replotted the project I was working on then, I tried to give all the chapters [name_u]Percy[/name_u] Jackson-esque names. I’ve definitely improved as a writer since then, but there are still some chapter titles I find fun, such as:
[name_f]My[/name_f] Old Best [name_u]Friend[/name_u], the [name_f]Barbie[/name_f] Whisperer
The Esteemed [name_m]Guardian[/name_m] of the Ancient Portal: a Rotting AC Unit
I Am Denied [name_f]My[/name_f] [name_f]Fantasy[/name_f] [name_u]Story[/name_u] Rights
As [name_m]Long[/name_m] as Death is Off-trend, Metal Hats are Totally In
Almost There, [name_m]Just[/name_m] Gotta Pass Through Oblivion First
Cigar Beards and Random Wings: I Pass Out Again
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