Autobiography title names for chapters
#BLOGanuary (a month of blogging) question for January 30, 2023.
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What would you title the chapters of your autobiography?
At first, I thought, that is just TOO hard.
I don’t WANT to write an autobiography or even a memoir.
(Although a friend in my writer’s group has been encouraging us to do just that. “Everyone has a story!” she urges. And yes, she wrote her own life’s story, wonderfully illustrated, titled – A SCRAPBOOK LIFE.)
OK, I tell myself, I’ll write down just 10 chapter headings and be done.
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THIS is what I came up with….
Chapter — Title
- A Sister!
- Hanging By a Head
- The Bobby Pin
- The Long Trek
- Trailor Park Life
- Daddy’s Demise
- Rude Awakening
- An Auto Repair Shop
- The Lone Ranger
- Joe Boysen
- The Gunsmith
- Church Camp Decision
- Nancy’s House
- Locker Combinations
- The 3-Mile Walk
- Pimples and Fat
- Denny Murphy
- The Evil Out There
- Double Dating
- A 12-Grade Diamond
- Dr Dentist
- Hollywood Firsts
- No Valentine’s Day
- Miramar Reality
- Cats and Cooking Disasters
- Baby Mine
- Hot Rods First
- Adoption Debacle
- Terror and Escapes
- Wrong Way Turns
- Dancing With Devils
- Comedy and Tragedy
- Horsing Around
- Deadly Diagnosis
- The Southern Retreat
- Losing Family
- Faith
- Africa and Beyond
- Letters to Kids
- Pandemic Teaching
- See, Hear, Speak No Evil
- Cruising
- Grands and Greats
- Face the Future
Gosh, maybe I SHOULD write my autobiography!
IF YOU WERE ME, with which chapter would YOU begin. Tell me your answer in the Comments.
Nonfiction authors typically start writing chapter titles that are as vanilla as can be, but ultimately, you want to make chapter titles engaging for the reader. At the same time, you don’t want your chapter titles to be so creative that someone looking at the list of contents (also known as the table of contents or just “Contents”) to have no clue what’s in your book!
Here’s a solution: You can use a clever chapter title followed by a subtitle that explains the concept a little more clearly.
In Cinematherapy, my coauthor Bev West and I had a chapter called: “I Hate My Life and I’m Moving to Bora Bora: Seeking Greener Pastures Movies.” True, you might not know what Seeking Greener Pastures Movies are, but when you look at all the chapter titles, you can see that each is around a particular theme: Mother Issues Movies, Martyr Syndrome Movies, and so on.
You can use the same trick for headers within the book. In Raising a Sensory Smart Child, one of the headers in the chapter on improving speech skills and picky eating reads “You Say Potato and I Say Topahhhhhhuuuduh”: Problems with Motor Planning”
Use an intriguing quotation within a chapter title or a header. It’s a great way to be provocative and intriguing, but don’t sacrifice clarity.
Writing a memoir? Often, memoir chapters don’t have titles and sections within chapters don’t have headers, but here’s your chance to get creative. You never know what title or header might grab someone’s attention. Think about taking an interesting image from a story you tell, such as “The Purple Rabbit” or “Twelve Pretzels.” Set up a dilemma or intrigue: “The Purple Rabbit’s Whereabouts” or “Twelve Pretzels and a Warning.”
You might also use a quotation—I always loved the sound of “Bora Bora” and think that was the perfect word to use in our funny quote related to movies about seeking greener pastures and getting away from frustrating situations. Think about things you’ve said or a c As you write your novel, you will definitely break them into chapters. On top of the usual dilemma of where to break your chapters, there are also times when I face this problem of not knowing how to name the chapter title. But before I share some chapter title tips, let’s discuss the purposes of a chapter title. Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. I will earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you purchase through these links. Your support encourages me to continue blogging and help with the costs of hosting this site. Thank you! A book is broken into easy-to-digest chapters so readers are Therefore, your chapter titles will then And of course, the ultimate goal is to compel your readers to continue reading your story. Each chapter title then becomes encouraging words to push your readers to keep flipping the pages. Now that we know the purposes of chapter titles, let’s move on to some tips on how to name your chapter titles. Photo by Caio on Pexels You can always keep things simple by just naming your chapters as “Chapter 1”. Just a simple number is enough to signal to your readers that this is a new chapter. However, do remember to keep them consistent. If you use Hindu-Arabic numerals (eg. 1, 2, 3), stick to them throughout your story. You can also choose to switch this to Roman numerals (eg. III, V, X) or any other languages, especially if your novel is set in a certain country. In addition, you can remove the word “Chapter” and simply name the chapters as “3” or “VR You’ve written your life story. You’ve laid your heart bare before the world So, what’s the best title for your one-of-a-kind masterpiece? Nooo! Seriously, unless you’re a household name, using “autobiography” as part of your title might not work in your favor, but not to worry. You don’t have to be famous to write an autobiography, but you do need a title that will grab a buyer’s attention, so they know your book is worth a second look. The purpose of this article is to break down what makes a standout autobiography title and the process for creating your own. The process of creating an autobiography book title that gets noticed starts with a marketer’s mindset. Yes, it all boils down to strategic book positioning in the marketplace. Creativity is a big part of it, but that’s a small part of the bigger picture. After all, if your book doesn’t get in front of the people who would be most likely to read it, you can’t change lives with the content inside! Unlike fiction books or other types of nonfiction books (e.g. business books or textbooks) where there’s a specific category or genre expectation, autobiographies play by their own set of rules—the more creative the better. If you are self-publishing your book, then you’re probably already aware that marketing is a key component of your book’s success, but what is marketing exactly? The American Marketing Association defines marketing as Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. When marketing your book, knowing how to write a good book title matters, because, alo Purposes Of Chapter Titles
1. Chapters Don’t Need To Have A Title, They Can Be A Number
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