They tease, they tantalize, they tempt the reader to read one more chapter before heading off to school, bed, or the mall. For writers, chapter titles can be challenging to craft, but they are also another tool that when used with skill can draw readers further into your story. Young readers roam through bookstores judging books by their covers every day. Once a book is in hand, they read the back cover or inside flap. From there it’s straight on to chapter titles.

Many authors recognize the opportunity to impress with chapter titles. Once such author is Tamora Pierce, author of more than twenty fantasy books for young adults.

“They are an art form,” says Pierce, “when I write them, I treat them with respect, because I know that readers and listeners depend on them. They should be brief and give some idea of what happens, without giving anything away. They should intrigue without being generic, or why bother? A title should add to the dynamics of the story, pull the reader in and along, or it should just be a number and get out of the way.” The process of capturing the essence of a chapter in so few words, Pierce admits, can be “acutely painful. It should be part of the storytelling, not just something you stick on like a decoration.”

A quick perusal of chapter titles can tell a potential reader a lot about the book as a whole. In Carolyn Meyer’s Young Royals Series, chapter titles are accompanied by dates. At first glance the reader knows if the story will cover a year or a decade in the life of the main character. Once the reader has begun the story, the headings help to make the journey through time a smooth one.

Chapter titles can set a book firmly in a particular style, suggests Pierce. “Titles such as 'I am born,' 'In which Abigail encounters a stranger with an interesting proposal' give that Dickensian flavor and pace to a book. They paint a picture and indicate the pace is going to be slower and more deliberate, the storytelling more measured and the voice more old-fashioned. I know it’s time to find a comfortable seat, a nice beverage, and put my feet up.”

Simple chapter tags can keep a reader oriented, such as when the story is told from multiple viewpoints. In Michael Dorris’ award winning Morning Girl, the story is told, in alternating chapters, by a brother and sister. The chapters are titled "Morning Girl" and "Star Boy" respectively.

In Lauren Barnholdt’s YA novel, Reality Chick, the story shifts between the main character’s time on a reality television show and her life once the program comes to an end. By simply adding Now and Then headings to each chapter, the reader is saved undue confusion.

For some readers, titles offer convenience when going back to re-read a favorite passage or find a quote. While for other readers or listeners it’s more about whetting the appetite. Pierce believes that “In reading aloud, chapter titles make a big difference. A chapter title will keep people from putting the player on pause or skipping out to the bathroom or refrigerator (or turning in the seat and punching a sibling). It promises an audience treasures to come if they’ll just wait patiently. Read by the right narrator, they can thunder, wheedle, whine, plead, whisper, and tease. And for those who pay attention to titles when they read on their own, they do the same thing.”

Naming chapters can prove beneficial to both reader and writer. For some authors, the choice to title individual chapters is more about usefulness than craft. Author Carolyn Meyer uses them as tools for her own convenience. “To locate material in one part of a book while I’m working on another. They’re like journalistic 'slugs.' If a 'slug' doesn’t come to me easily, it’s because the chapter is too broad, perhaps an indication that it needs to be broken up, so that a couple of words will signify the whole.”

Likewise, Justine Larbalestier, author of the Magic or Madness trilogy, admits, “Untitled chapters make for tricky navigation. I can’t remember what happened in 'Chapter Six,' but I can remember what happened in a chapter called 'Statistical Torpor.' They’re useful little signposts for us to navigate the unruly longness that is a novel. I will never neglect to name my chapters again.”

Six Tips Toward Effective Chapter Titles

1. Be Clever ­ Make it fun for the reader to discover the significance of chosen titles.
2. Be Informative ­ Think super short summary. Get to the point. Accurately label content. Use key words to provide allure.
3. Be Irresistible ­ Grab your reader. Compel them to read on. Use powerful words, an active voice.
4. Be Fair ­ Avoid spoilers. No one likes a blabbermouth.
5. Be Quotable - Reuse a significant or witty quote from one of your characters.
6. Be Consistent ­ Go with the tone of the book. Quirky titles are befitting a humorous novel. Not so much for an intense psychological thriller.