[stylist] why do chapters?

Wed Apr 8 06:07:12 UTC 2009

Aziza,

I was thinking of the numbered chapter thing because I am just too lazy to
come up with chapter titles!  /smile/  I do like chapter titles, though,
when the author I'm reading is good enough to provide them.

Tami Smith-Kinney

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Aziza C
Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2009 2:36 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] why do chapters?

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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> om
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