Chapter Titles

Wow... so I found this saved as a draft from almost a year ago.  I decided I'll finish it and post it now; hopefully it still makes sense.

Happy End of the World, everyone!

I always seem to have a lot of trouble coming up with chapter titles.  I've heard that you're supposed* to title books after you finish writing them and I know a lot of people have trouble with this -  but to be honest, I have a much harder time titling the individual chapters.

I feel like the chapter titles should all sort of fit together, or have a theme or something.  Sort of like those young adult novels where every book in the series is an adjective (Broken, Taken, Flowing, Smelly) and it would be weird to have one out of place.

The big issue I'm having with Quicksand at the moment is titling the chapters (/parts).  The narrative is so long and convoluted (and will eventually put into an even less linear order) that I think separating it into chapters is necessary - but then I'm not sure how, or if the chapter titles should somehow indicate which of the three plots that chapter is technically about.  I've even considered little icons to indicate this - suns and moons and stars or rabbits and foxes or... something.  I don't even know.

I had this same problem with Aigaion Girl, and I think I was only saved by the fact that I wrote it in first person, so I very lazily titled each section with the name of the narrator, then counted down the signs of the apocalypse and BAM!

Of course, there's a little part of me that wonders if titled chapters are things that belong in children's books and fantasy novels only.  I'm racking my brain and I can't think of where else I've seen them.  Of course, I'm in Slovakia at the moment and don't have any books I can run and check.



*whoever decided that...

A Random Question

A random question about your writing:

What are your thoughts on titling?

IE: Do you title your works before or after you write them?  Do you use working titles or refer to your pieces as that one where... until they're finished?

A Title...?

I'm thinking of calling my NaNoWriMo story "The Hollow Of White Hazel"

I'm not sure it fits, significance wise, but for some reason, my head's going 'Nope, that's it. No more ideas for you'.

What say you?

Whee

So I think I've got the synopsis of my NaNo story worked out. I think. It's going to require a hell of a lot of research and decision making on my part, but I'm not too worried. It's a subject I'm actually interested in, so it should be okay.

I just need a title.

King Arthur returns from Avalon to find nothing is how he left it. His beloved Camelot is barely a memory, and no one speaks his language except Merlin, who jockeys disks instead of casting spells. Instead of taking his rightful place as king, Arthur finds himself at the mercy of a constitutional monarchy and a population who think he's a myth.

If that wasn't enough, his knights have been reincarnated and scattered across the globe, no one can find the Grail (again), and he's only got a week before The Wild Hunt sweeps the world clean - and where the hell is Lancelot?

A (hopefully) hilarious, Modern-Fantasy, Historical FanFiction, complete with romance, magic, mayhem and gingers.

Suggestions welcome. >:D