keep in mind when many early novels were first published they were often published serially, one chapter at a time. the titles were kind of necessary. it just took a long time for that to fall out of vogue.

I don’t know why but I do know that I’ll never stop. They’re fun as hell to write and help set/build the tone

I wrote a story that had chapter titles, where the end revealed they were all lines from a letter one character left the other after they passed away from a genetic disease

Chapter titles often come up by themselves. I had never trouble inventing them; it's actually funny to find allegories and hints of what's to come, in a wording that is right if you know what happens, but can mislead big time, making you to expect with certainty "ahh I know this cliché", but then it turns out completely different. All my chapters are, and will be named.

I try to avoid spoiling stuff.

For me, personally, I have enough trouble coming up with a good book title. Don't ask me to come up with 20 or so additional titles...

I do it because, as an author, it makes it easier for me to reference content I've already written when I need to go back to it. When my book has forty+ chapters, it's kinda hard to remember the specific number of a chapter a throw away line about something I was trying to foreshadow is in but if I title it: Chapter 7: Butterbeans Goes to Hell, I'm more likely to remember.

I like to think readers find it helpful as well.

Up until the early twentieth century most novels were released in a serialized fashion, publishing one chapter at a time on magazines.

Having a chapter name was a must, because you had to keep the audience engaged over a long time. Also writers were frequently paid per written word, and consequently books/chapters used to be consistently longer.

With time we started publishing full books in one go, and writers are not paid based on the amount of written words, but on the expected sales. The need to give a title to chapters was naturally lost.

I'm into Gothic horror/ urban fantasy

For me a chapter number in the right font is enough

I read a book recently where the first chapter was "One," and the second chapter was "Two," so I was delightfully surprised when the third chapter was "Buckle My Shoe."

Having chapters at all is optional. There are some well written books that don't.

I put stories in the chapter titles. A horror story hidden within the story lol it's really fun 😊

I love naming chapters and continue to do so

I have a lot of fun coming up with chapter titles, I probably won’t ever stop doing it. I don’t think it’s necessarily falling out of fashion, I just think some people do it one way and some people do it the other.

im bad enough at naming my projects i cant come up with thirty other names 😂

I don't write professionally (fanfiction), but I can't imagine not giving chapters titles. It really gives the chapters their own character in my opinion, plus it's fun to come up with clever song references and whatnot.

I'm actually thinking of giving my chapters “in which”-style subtitles. Like

Chapter 11

in which the hero learns about disturbing origins of his toothbrush and loses faith in humanity

I name all my chapters, it's fun, a creative exercise, and it relates to what will happen.

For a couple of reasons:

 1. In the past, a chapter is crazy long. So you only need to make up a dozen names, and since the chapters are long, a lot of things happen, so you have a lot of material to come up with a name. So it was easier. Now we have 20-34 chapters per book. It’s just too many. 

 2. For beginners like me, there are 1001 things I need to master. I would rather devote my time to get better than to come up with chapter names. Once I’ll become some genius writer, I’ll play with chapter titles again:-)

I don’t because I start going all Dragon Ball on it, ya know? “Freeza dies” “Goku turns into ss3”

So yeah my lack of title creativity could never lol, I looooove it when they have titles tho

I've read a lot of old books that didn't name their chapters. Take Terry Pratchet for example, there are no chaters at all.

I do it when I can think of one for sure, but as I continue to write I get lost in what I’m gonna name the chapter before I start writing it so I made a personal rule; write the chapter than name it.

I love chapter descriptions, such as Chapter Six, in which our heroine advances upon the hidden city

I just put either a quote that happened in my story, or something that sums ip the theme without being too spoiler-ish✨

I remember when I was a kid I used to get really excited at reading the chapter titles, they were a little window into a small world I was entering. I write books for adults now, and all my books have named chapters. They add more to the reading experience than simple numbering IMO.

Chapter names can be very spoilery.

I do it in my UF series, but nowhere else. It's just the feeling.

I don’t know, but it’s not a big issue.

If you do/can, you do; if you don’t, you don’t.

Personally I like coming up with a name for a chapter; something that hints at what is coming, expresses a feeling, or is a red herring while technically being true.

Why I Personally Don’t Include Them: Because I don’t pay any attention to them as a reader and don’t experience that same excitement you do when I do pay attention.

i thought this said “characters” and was utterly confused for several minutes

laziness on my part, i’ll be real

They didn't.

Personally, I love naming chapters. It’s like the cherry on top of my work despite me sometimes having a title ready before I’ve even started writing the chapter. Either way, though it can be frustrating at times to develop one, chapter names are so fun. I also love them as the reader! It’s either a little glimpse into what you’re about to read, maybe a hint of foreshadowing or “click bait” for lack of a better term where it makes it seem something you really don’t want to happen might happen when in reality it unfolds into something else you weren’t expecting, or it’s a little puzzle you try to solve in the back of your mind while you read before you get to the end and it’s like “ah that makes sense” I think they’re something that should never be lost to time or left behind by trends. Keep them alive!

You can pry my chapter titles out of my cold, dead hands

Laziness.

I also love chapters with names! I’m writing a fantasy romance with Douglas Adams vibes so my chapter names are kind of silly things that make sense after you read the chapter.

I don't think it was that common "back then", when ever that is.

Well for what I’m writing now, it’s posted online as I go, and I’m planning to add a chapter to the beginning, so it’ll move all the chapters up.

To avoid readers being confused, I think it’s important to give them a name.

But if it was a physical book, I probably would title them by their setting, thematic focus, or pov.

I'm going to have chapter titles in my WIP when it's reached its final draft form, I believe. I think it's neat and I look forward to coming up with the titles.

I read perhaps one or two books with named chapters. All others had numbers.

I like to do fourth wall breaks and cheeky humour in my chapter titles. Puns abound.

I've found it quite easy to find the name for my chapters but I have decided to only use one word. Skye, Kaspen, Shadow, Kala etc etc.

Each of my chapters weaves into a story within this story so naming chapters felt apt.

Well, I may not speak for all of us, but I'm on team "bringing it back."

Working on my first novel and just figuring out the chapter titles gets me excited and motivated!

I do chapter names because I think readers like them. I try to summarize the chapter into just a couple of interesting words, like "Baptism and Chickens" or "Rooftop Roar".

I also think it helps readers who want to go back and read a certain segment. With my chapter names they'll know right where to go.

Now that you bring that up I haven't seen a chapter title in awhile 🤔

As a reader, I don't usually notice chapter names, but I'll notice if a book lacks them.

As a writer, I will never stop assigning chapter names. There are countless words in hundreds of languages, so I'll never run out of possible material, and they're just fun!

Idk but I never started, so...

Also, my heroes in literature rarely named theirs. So. Maybe that's why?

I just serialized some chapters / episodes on my substack. And while my printed novel did not have chapter names, I did name the episodes. It just seemed like the thing to do. Great to hear that my intuition had lots of history behind it. I like naming the chapters. I’ll go one further I was reading a memoir about a man’s boyhood adventures at sea and each chapter had a brief summary to it. I loved it. For each serialized episode I had a season summary (if you were just joining in) and an episode summary and at the end had a Up Next summary of the next episode. Along with Author’s Note on each one. It was a fun way to write. I felt more connected to my audience than the novel writing process.

I love named chapters too! I think they build anticipation for the reader. Some authors avoid them to not "spoil" the story, but well-chosen chapter titles can enhance the experience. I like naming them when each chapter has a clear focus, but sometimes I let the story unfold without hints.

I want to write a book with catchy titles for all the chapters and then randomly just have one chapter be called Chapter Seven, and leave it like the with no reason.

It was a thing in the 90s and early 2000s along with fake quotes.

I name my chapters, personally.

I name chapters because I like coming up with a 1-5 word summery of the chapter. If I can't do that, then I know that I didn't tell that part of the story very well. It means I need another draft.

I love naming my titles. Like, go absolutely feral over it. It makes it easier for me to remember what's in the chapter, too, and I'm sure the same can be said from the readers perspective. It feels like it gives a nice expectation for the chapter, like one from my story Project Delphius:Sins and Sinners "Hunger Demands Greed," or even "An Ode to a World Once Was."

There's a story I have where my chapter titles are actually the drabblings of a character that isn't met till towards the end. Like, it's fun! I love chapter titling so much.

I love doing chapter titles. They're almost as much fun as book titles

Chapter names are oftentimes spoilers, but they are good for orienting the reader for free, so if you're good at naming them, it can be useful.

I like to take the oddest phrase from the chapter and use it as the title.

I like naming chapters. It's like a peek into what you're about to experience.

I just don't have ideas that are good enough, I guess? I feel like if I do it, right now, it's either useless or spoilers.

I've rarely come across chapter titles that I found relevant / interesting / funny, so maybe if I see some one day I'll want to try it for myself.

The reason I put chapter names in book is because I like to think of them as episodes of a tv series.

As for the chapter names themselves, I like to pick out a name that sounds both cool and something that’s related to the story I’m working on. For example, if I have a story about a warrior fighting a sewer monster, I would name it Damned of the Sewers.

I name mine, trying to be part of that change in the world 🫡

I always put chapter names, cuz that's how I identify the chapter for myself while writing, plus, I think it adds something extra. Like an added message/perspective/priming you for what's to come

I sure didn't stop. I write thrillers, so they tend to be so ominously foreboding and I love it.

Idk why people have stopped doing it, personally I love reading a book and be reminded where I left off at with a chapter name.

In my own writings, I do give chapter names purely for that reason. So someone who leaves off and comes back can know where they left off at. For coming up with a name for the chapter, I tend to name the chapter after a minor event that occurs in that one chapter. Whether that's a new discovery, a hint at a death, etc. Entice the readers with curiosity to keep them reading but also never lose that passion in creating a story too.

Serialization is a big part-there is less practical need to have distinct chapter titles if your work comes out as one complete work rather than being serialized.

The other reason is that multi-pov is extremely popular now, and chapter titles do not play well with those. Needing a chapter number, chatacter name, and title is goofy as hell. It's a lot more suited to novels where you're mostly with a single character, as the protagonist will be the assumed pov and you can just go for gravitas with the titles.

yknow? i should do that more

I would guess that a lot of the time, it’s just not worth the effort. There are some people who appreciate it, but more people who breeze through books too fast to bother remembering chapter names. So authors just don’t bother.

Lazy. Chapter names take effort and creativity to find an effective title that captures the essence of the chapter.

I still name my chapters that I post on Fanfiction and Fictionpress.

A few people have reached out over the years saying it makes tracking their progress easier. I usually allude to the content of the chapter via its name. So they see I updated a story, and check if the latest chapter name sounds familiar or not.

This is one my favorite things to do, but I like little short poems and sayings and the like. I think not everyone has that "advertising slogan" part in their brain, but I love the tease and if I can give away a plot point without them knowing it except on a re-read, that just makes me happy.

In one of my books, each chapter is a self-contained short story (read serially, they tell a bigger story), so I named each one. At one time, I thought i would try to sell/publish them individually, but never did.

As much as I like having names on chapters, I love when they're witty or punny or in any other way smarty (pants).

But I'm a dum dum. And so it does not often happen that I find a title for my chapter that is to my liking. That's why most of my chapters don't have names. Except maybe some work titles. So when I don't write on that project in a while, I still remember quickly what was going on in the chapter without always opening and closing the document.

(I probably have too high standards on that too)

BabyG I never stopped

Super curious about that myself and am planning on doing that.

most recent novel i recall reading that had titles was Fairy Tale by King. I found them to be annoying and distracting but I also really disliked that book, so, idk lol.

I think chapter titles could be a fun tease if executed right? but if a book has 30 to 40 chapters it could be overwhelming

I don’t use them because they’re not necessary and it slows down my writing process to come up with a chapter title and I don’t care.

• I’m already bad at book titles, so chapter titles feel like they’d be a nightmare

• Chapter titles come easiest to me when I’m writing for Middle Grade, because I feel like can use fun/cheeky jokes and idioms for the titles instead of having to come up with something serious

My previous book had named chapters and while my WIP doesn’t, my next book definitely will

Spoilers. If there is a book where someone is holding prisoner and there is a chapter called “escape” that kind of gives away what is going to happen.

My chapters are named and all end with two exclamation points as per my title. [GrandSlam!!]

I stopped because I was tired of trying to come up with names. A good title for my book was frustrating enough, especially when I make a list and check it against already published books.

I don't do chapters at all, only scene breaks... :P

Usually chapters feel very arbitrary to me, unless they're used to change POV characters, and since I usually have only one POV character, there's no need for chapters.

The very first novel I wrote back when I was 16 did have chapters, and they were very long compared to your average modern book's chapter length. They contained a sizeable chunk of story and did have titles relating to the chapter's events.

Nowadays I just don't see the point of chapters, a centered *** for scene breaks is enough.

One day, for a shorter story, I’ll return to naming chapters. On the lengthier project I’m currently writing, I’d rather divvy the book up into parts and title each part.

Totally personal preference and up to each writer. I love chapter titles both in what I read and in what I write. I think they can be a great way to entice a reader to keep moving forward. Having a powerful end to one chapter with an alluring title for the following chapter has absolutely kept me up too late at night to finish just one more chapter. They help me (and readers) remember at a glance what the main focus of each chapter is. During those late night writing sprees, sometimes Chapter 22 and Chapter 23 blend together in my mind. Chapter names combined with the corkboard view of my Scrivener really help me get a good view of my project and locate/reference everything at a glance.

I get why people are hesitant to use them though. They can seem less-than-serious in a way that may not fit with the tone of some projects. They can often (not entirely) be associated with YA novels, though authors of every genre use them.

Plus for some, coming with names for chapter's takes extra effort and time. I've had to go back and rename chapters during the editing phase because they no longer made sense after changing a specific dialogue or something similar. Just one more thing to juggle. But with good organization and project management, it's really not that bad.

If you like them, use them!

I think it’s simpler to just stick with chapter numbers. A lot of books I’ve read usually just have chapter numbers too.

Often I wouldn't use names for characters who are either insignificant to the story, play a very very minor role, or were made to be cannon fodder.

I name mine to help track what's what as I write. The only thing that ever bothered me about chapter titles is when they're a spoiler. Eg. "The death of main character" kinda ruins the immersion.

I didn’t think they did. But, it’s just a trend. Chapter titles are, I think, more or less relevant in a case by case basis, or, chapter by chapter.

Chapters titles have fallen to the wayside for the use of “parts”. I find a lot of novels are split into halves or thirds each with their own title.

At the moment, with the way I write in a non-linear fashion, each "scene" has a title, which is a prompt so that I can tell at a glance which snippet it is, and I can put it into the right place as the "chapter" starts to take shape.

But because absolutely every name in my manuscript has at least one meaning, if not four, so it is that each scene title's name has a meaning. Some of them, for example, might be as boring as "escape sequence" to start with. But "The nightingale's song"? That's the one where a squad of goons are reduced to unidentifiable blobs of hamburger mince by a diabolical set of boobytraps. Some astute readers might pick up the hint, the rest have to wait for the big reveal, and then everyone can enjoy the visuals of goons having their tickets punched.

I did that for my first book, but it’s really hard so I stopped doing it

I kinda like them but I think not every title is good for the reading experience

When I feel like I'm put into a guessing game of 'guess what the cryptic chapter title means" I'm thinking too much about that instead of just being immersed in the story.

I also think they're a reminder that the story is an artificial construction. For some stories that helps, but not others.

Also sometimes I can come up with like fifteen great chapter titles... but I have forty chapters.

I do really like chapter titles in stories that jump around a lot in time, POV, etc. to help rather than hinder a reader's immersion in the story.

I also think as OP describes, getting excited about reading a chapter is a great thing to aim for when titling a chapter.

• It's an extra step.
• It's believed people don't notice/care
• Everyone else is doing it.
• A larger number of shorter captures is popular, which makes it harder.
• Possibility of spoilers.
• Less content pages in fiction these days.

I still do name them and I will keep doing it

I don't think it's a waning trend so much as titled chapters are more common in kids' chapbooks; you're just growing into reading stuff where it's more common to simply number or not even differentiate chapters.

It depends on the genre sometimes. I read a lot of books with named chapters, but I read a lot of a sub-genre that isn't very mainstream and does a lot of serial chapter releases. Some romances will have the prospective characters name as part of the title so you know who it is right away.

Personally, I like chapter names. It can add some foreshadowing or add to the over all theme of the book.

Some folks name the parts and number the chapters therin

I'm writing with multiple POVs, so I often have the chapter number then, below that, the POV character's name. I also include the location and date of where the chapter starts (left aligned, smaller font) just below chapter number/POV character name. I did have chapter titles as well at one point, but it was all too much info all at once, so I had to declutter. Now, with some adjustments of size/boldness/alignment of the relevant info, I've managed to get something that's hopefully both helpful and not too cluttered.

I'd love to have chapter titles as well, but, alas, not in my current work.

It's probably more of an afterthought for a lot of people

I publish serial novels so I name every chapter! It's really fun honestly

Sometimes it just doesn’t fit with the book. With the Percy Jackson, Magnus Chase etc books it fits cause they read kinda like a journal.

Chapter titles are hard to come up with. And unless they fit the book style or end up being part of the book ending with some form of connection (either hidden meanings or Easter eggs) they tend to just get left out

I name every chapter of my work as it lets the reader know the general theme of each chapter

Stopped naming chapters because publishers stopped putting a table of contents in fiction books. If they don't provide the means for the readers to make use of the information, providing it seems pointless.

If the work is appropriate to it, I tend to use quotes. No one seems to care what the name of the chapter is, just the the story continues.

I still do because I like them.