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How to Make Great Fantasy Chapter Titles That Spur Interest
Sunfire
CONTENTS
Overview
A great book doesn’t just have a storyline you can’t get enough of. It has an appealing cover on the front that attracts would-be readers with a title that piques their interest. Intrigued, they take a look and quickly flip over the pages just to see what, if anything jumps out. One surefire way to entice them to read you book is to have fantasy chapter titles that grab their eye!
Chapter titles are akin to book titles. That is, while the latter describes the overall book, the former does the same for the chapters within. You could even consider them mini-book titles.
There are a variety of avenues you can go for in regard to fantasy chapter titles. Some authors simply use numbers, not words. However, a great more choose to give their chapters words for them. There’s a lot of fun to be had in making memorable titles!
Should you choose to make your own, you might be wondering how do I go about it? The more chapters you have, the more titles you have to come up with which means there’s more work to do. Luckily, constructing chapter titles is considerably easier than book titles.
Wait a minute, you might think how can I create titles for the chapters if I’m still writing my book? You can opt for placeholder titles, which operate much like placeholder book titles. You can give a vague description of what happens in said chapters. This is just until you’ve written the chapter and you have a better idea of everything that takes place within.
When you’re done writing your chapters, you’ll have an easier time thinking of great titles for them. You already know what happens which means all you have to do is find the right words for them. Take this opportunity to craft titles that convey exactly what your chapters are about.
This is the tenth article in our deep-dive into the writing a fantasy book series. Want to check out some more of our other articles? They’re found on our blog page!
Fantasy Chapter Titles, Explained
Chapter titles are words that give a preview of coming attractions in said chapters. Readers can tell based on their description that something will happen that will affect the story going forward. Whether it’s a battle or an important summit between the majority of the characters to discuss the rising darkness, the titles of the chapters spur readers to want to find out what event(s) take place.
Think of fantasy chapter titles as an important part of your book’s roadmap. They shape the contours in which your story takes place in as well as serve as essential stopping points alongside the journey. You want them to be interesting enough to make your would-be readers to want to dive into the world you’ve created.
Chapter titles appear in two places: the table of contents and the part of the book they appear in. The table of contents is found in the very first few pages of the novel and it gives those reading the book for the very first time a glimpse into what will unfold throughout the pages.
Remember, they haven’t met any of the characters yet nor do they know much about the world which means the chapter titles, besides the book titles, is their first introduction into the world they’re about to enter. You only have one chance to make a good impression here so make it count. Therefore, it’s imperative that the titles captivate their attention and make them determined to find out what happens within them.
Moving into the book’s interior, the fantasy chapter titles are spread throughout it. They illustrate the point in the book your readers are currently at. You find them right at the beginning of new chapters as well as above the header in the pages that they cover.
Their purpose here is to show your readers what’s about to happen. At this point, your readers have acclimated themselves to your world and met some of your characters. Now is the time to give them a taste of what will very soon take place, whether it affects the story for good or ill.
Using Placeholder Fantasy Chapter Titles
It can be hard to think of fantastic titles for the chapters of your book if you haven’t written said book yet. That’s where placeholder titles come in. They enable you to give each one a name that will only be temporary until you have the perfect titles.
There’s nothing wrong with using numbers or numerals as placeholder fantasy chapter titles. You can use “Chapter 1”, “Chapter I”, or any other number in this vein as said placeholders. Heck, you can even put them in the outline for reference to help organize your novel.
But what if you don’t want to just use numbers? You want to give them actual titles in addition to the numbers? You have no choice but to start from scratch which is okay because it gives you an an opportunity for great ideas for titles to come forth.
At this point, you should already have an idea of what your book is about. By now, you’ve created an outline that separates the major beats of your story by chapters. All that’s left is to come up with words that showcase what event(s) will take place.
You can brainstorm potential fantasy chapter titles. Remember, they’re just for you, not for your readers. They’re just a starting point for you to create the perfect titles down the road so you don’t need to take too much time in thinking of great ones.
When brainstorming potential titles for chapters, jot down more than one idea per chapter. Having multiple ideas for each chapter title gives you more options to work with and you can even mix some together to make unique ones.
The best chapter placeholder titles convey what the chapters are about. You can use this to your advantage when writing your book to help remind you of what will happen in said chapters. For example, if one is dedicated to exploring a cave, you can go with “Spelunking the Dark Depths” or “The Mine Under the Mountain”. In some cases, said placeholder titles are so perfect that you wind up making them permanent titles.
You can even experiment with the ones you created by switching them out to see which ones you find more interesting and which fit the chapters best. This helps you get a feel for which ones work and which ones don’t. You can even use this as a basis for your final chapter titles!
Creating Great Fantasy Chapter Titles
Using placeholder titles for your chapters is part and parcel of writing a book. However, in the majority of cases, they’re not the be-all, end-all. Instead, they serve a temporary role, giving you the time you need to create bold titles that grab your readers’ attention.
The best time to work on the final fantasy chapter titles is when you’ve successfully written the first draft of your novel. You already know what scenes take place in your chapters so all you have to do is find the right words to describe them.
Finding the right words is a different beast though. Each chapter features a variety of scenes, making it difficult to think of great titles that cover them all. So what goes into making memorable fantasy chapter titles?
At their core, chapter titles explain what happens in said chapters. They give readers a preview of what’s about to transpire, so you want to have titles that pique their interest and make them eager to see what happens.
There’s a bit of leeway in how detailed you can get in regard to titles for chapters. You want to get specific enough to captivate people’s attention but you also want to give it a little ambiguity there to spur readers’ curiosity.
There’s several ways you can go about this:
- Double meanings: you can structure titles that mean one of two things but your readers aren’t sure what it is until they see what happens. Let’s use “The Betrayal” as an example. Your readers are led to assume that a betrayal will happen and that the protagonist will be double-crossed. Imagine their astonishment when it winds out to be a character that previously was deemed an enemy who defects to the protagonist’s side.
- Pivotal events: you can use events that profoundly shape the remainder of the book as chapter titles to highlight their importance in the story. “The Council of Elrond” in The Fellowship of The Ring is the perfect example of this.
- Important Milestones: many fantasy stories depict the hero’s journey throughout the world. He makes many stops alongside his journey and some of these stops impact the story in meaningful ways. You can give them a descriptive word to amp up the tension like “Trouble at the Crossings” or “Showdown at the Valley”.
- Plot twists: some authors like to include plot twists in the titles but they deliberately muddle the waters to fuel speculation and uncertainty for the readers. “Hermione’s Secret” in Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban is a great example of this. They also go hand-in-hand with double meanings.
You should have no problems coming up with riveting titles for your chapters now!
Tying it all Together
Chapter titles give readers a glimpse into the world they’re about to enter. For those reading a fantasy book for the first time, they’re one of the first things they see about the world they’re getting ready to explore. Therefore, it’s vital they compel them to want to dive into it with eager anticipation, not apprehension nor bewilderment.
Mundane fantasy chapter titles are a big no-no! Take this opportunity to unleash your imagination to create bold, enchanting titles that make your readers bursting with excitement to discover what happens within these pages.
Placeholder chapter titles are perfect for when you’re in the midst of the outlining process and writing your novel. At this point, you have a vague idea of what will transpire within said chapters which makes it hard to think of the ideal titles for them. Placeholder titles are a great workaround since you can just use general descriptive words until you’re ready to create the final titles.
Thinking of the right words for the titles of the chapters is a balancing act. On one hand, you want them to illustrate what will occur in said chapters. On the other hand, you don’t want to make them so blatantly obvious they leave nothing to the imagination. The goal here is to create compelling titles that encourage your readers to want to see what happens and you’ll have some finessing to do to make that happen.
Now that you’re armed with everything you need to construct stellar fantasy chapter titles, are you ready to come up with fantastic titles that make your readers want more of your world?
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Thanks for reading this and until the next time,
Sunfire
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