[stylist] why do chapters?

Wed Apr 8 05:40:53 UTC 2009

Aziza,
just my limited observation,
I think more often you get numbered chapters without titles in 
nonfiction, but I have seen fiction with simple numbering too.
I agree, I'd rather see a phrase, a title rather than just "chapter 3."
jc

Jim Canaday M.A.
Lawrence, KS

At 04:36 PM 4/7/2009, you wrote:
>I wouldnt' say chapters are not useful for nonvisual readers, it does
>seem to trigger something that says something new is coming up. Also,
>I like the titled chapters more then a random number at the top/middle
>of my page, or "chapter... number.." But I suppose titling all
>chapters can get a little difficult.
>Does anyone think there is a difference in purpose for numbered
>chapters and titled chapters?
>
>On 4/7/09, Tamara Smith-Kinney <tamara.8024 at comcast.net> wrote:
> > Jim,
> >
> > Hm...  I did a lot of thought about this about a zillion years ago and
> > started analyzing my favorite authors in the genre (fantasy).  And now I'm
> > wracking my brain to remember what all I observed.  /smile/  I've 
> set my own
> > fantasy work aside for a number of years, for various reasons, but always
> > with the "I'll get back to it and get it published even if I'm 90!" caveat
> > firmly in mind. /smile/
> >
> > As I recall, I started out by making my chapters an even 30 
> manuscript pages
> > and shooting for a specific number of words for the whole.  I was really
> > digging in to the project to practice novel writing, then ended up really
> > getting enthused about the story and characters I came up with.  So I had a
> > big, rambling mess to somehow wrestle into some sort of structure with the
> > notion that I wanted someone else to be able to enjoy reading it as much as
> > I was enjoying writing it.
> >
> > The 30 chapters of 30 pages notion worked surprisingly well, and 
> I learned a
> > lot in the process of fitting my story and its pacing into that format.  I
> > did use section breaks at places within some of the chapters to help with
> > flow.  When I get back to "really" working on it again, though, I will
> > probably take a less structured approach, using chapter breaks as part of
> > the flow and pacing as well as to switch from main plot and characters to
> > this or that subplot and the characters involved in that story line.  Make
> > sense?
> >
> > Ultimately, how you use chapters is up to you, depending on your personal
> > style of organization and how you structure your story overall, 
> how you want
> > to tell it.
> >
> > Thinking about it more, it suddenly occurs to me that chapter breaks and
> > headings are a visual tool, much like heading levels in a structured
> > technical document or the like.  The let the reader see at a glance that
> > something has changed, that we're starting another section of importance
> > here, etc.  In most novels there will be some sort of fancy initial
> > character, or even a picture of what the chapter is 
> about.  Paragraph breaks
> > and indentation serve the same purpose.
> >
> > So for us nonvisual readers, a lot of the usefulness is lost.  We just have
> > to have our reading interrupted by hearing JAWS say "Chapter 29" or to key
> > through a line of all caps on our Braille displays (or whatever; I'm new to
> > nonvisual reading and am startled by many things about it, while being
> > delighted to learn I enjoy it quite a lot).  So those breaks and fancy caps
> > or even the line of asterisks between sections don't have the same meaning
> > they do for the visual reader.  They just get in the way.
> >
> > So for a blind writer, you might make chaptering (is that word?) decisions
> > based on your target audience?  If you're writing for the general print
> > audience, you would want to give them the familiar trappings of the book
> > reading experience, unless you're wanting your book to make some sort of
> > stylistic statement...  If you're writing for a primarily audo book or
> > Braille audience, then you might just decide to do what you suggested and
> > skip breaking things into chapters....
> >
> > They do help those of us who forget to bookmark our stopping points on our
> > electronic Braille displays search through the book for where we left off,
> > though.  /smile/
> >
> > Tami Smith-Kinney
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> > Behalf Of James Canaday M.A. N6YR
> > Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 2:22 PM
> > To: Writer's Division Mailing List
> > Subject: Re: [stylist] why do chapters?
> >
> > why do the chaptering?
> >
> > I'm assuming that most authors set out the chapter organization
> > before they write?
> >
> > I realized on reflection that I was asking this question about
> > fiction book writing.  nonfiction  topics often just fit right into a
> > chapter organization.
> >
> > what's the shortest work appropriate for chapters?  a
> > 5,000-word  "short" story?  and in that case you don't necessarily
> > have a table of contents and title each but you write the text with
> > an extra blank line  between the end paragraph of one chapter and the
> > beginning of the next chapter.
> > is that correct?
> >
> > so far on this there've been four responses: Lori just doesn't and I
> > would love to know more about that; Aziza  says it is to
> > organize  what's important in the story; Justin points out you can
> > use chapters to change perspective or time; and Helene says chapters
> > make the reading easier to digest (I hope that's a good choice of words).
> >
> > I hope we can continue this, as I want to learn   more on making chapters.
> > jc
> >
> > Jim Canaday M.A.
> > Lawrence, KS
> >
> > At 04:18 PM 4/4/2009, you wrote:
> >>Chapters make it easier for the reader. Personally I find books that
> >>don't have chapters or have very long chapters, hard to get into.
> >>
> >>Helene.
> >>
> >>On 04/04/2009, Justin Williams <justin.williams2 at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> > It is a good way to segway into something else.  Chapter two can be
> >> > completely different than chapter one.  It allows you to switch
> > characters.
> >> > Also, it helps with the setting up of different plot lines in a book.
> >> >
> >> > -----Original Message-----
> >> > From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> >> > Behalf Of James Canaday M.A. N6YR
> >> > Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2009 1:06 AM
> >> > To: NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List
> >> > Subject: [stylist] why do chapters?
> >> >
> >> > Alan and others,
> >> > I think we should discuss this.  do we set chapters because everybody
> >> > seems to do it?  because it gives the reader to catch his or her
> >> > breath?  because it makes changes of perspective easier?  to help
> >> > readers recollection of what they read?
> >> >
> >> > why do we designate chapters?
> >> >
> >> > jc
> >> >
> >> > Jim Canaday M.A.
> >> > Lawrence, KS
> >> >
> >> >
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