As both an avid reader and fledgling writer, I often consider the naming of chapters.  By no means do I consider the practice necessary, nor do I see many authors doing so these days.

There are, however, times when I haven’t been able to help myself.  For example, I once wrote a short story with food items as chapter titles.  Within each chapter I worked that word into the storytelling.  They ultimately tied together as ingredients in a recipe.

The reason I chose to expound on the issue here, however, is because of an e-book I recently downloaded.  This particular author, who composed a decent tale, took an odd stance on titling.  She actually used the location, month, and year in which the ensuing interval occurs.

Because the storyline sometimes visited the distant past, that might not have seemed a bad choice.  However, I found that her habit merely pulled me out of the story without purpose.  After all, the flashbacks were just that – flashes – and always appeared in italics.  I can’t think of one instance where the title came from the past, either, while the timeline progressed naturally from the end of the previous chapter.

I’ll definitely consider this experience for my future writings.  What is your opinion?  Do you like chapter titles?  Do you use them?  Or perhaps I’m odd for even considering the point.  Please let me know what you think!