Yesterday, I made a trip to the library to find some new books to read. I spent a long time at the New Fiction section and then went on to the stacks, scanning titles as I passed by. When a title sounded interesting, I pulled out the book and read the frontispiece. Sometimes I was disappointed as the title didn't seem to fit the summary of the story. Three times I tucked the book into my book bag to bring home. The title and the book summary both interested me.
Titles are of great importance whether you write fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. The title is a preview of coming attractions, far more concise than the ones we see for movies in the theater. They can be gloriously short or wondrously long. A title can indicate humor or tragedy or leave you puzzled.
A book I reviewed a couple weeks ago had a title that made me curious enough to pull it off the library shelf to see what it was actually about. Wouldn't you wonder about a book titled The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry? It gives us an ordinary name of a man who does something out of the ordinary--namely a pilgrimage. My mind instantly wanted to know what kind of pilgrimage this ordinary named man would go on. The title drew me and the book did not disappoint.
We know that first impressions are important when we're dealing with other people. A book, or story, title is also a first impression. It's the authors first chance to draw a reader. so he/she had better not pull something out of the air and plunk it at the top of what he/she has spent weeks, months or more writing. Choosing a title should not be taken lightly.
What are some ways authors/writers select a title? Some use part of a quote that fits the writing project. Some use the name of the protagonist. Others will ask a question or state something that indicates the story inside the book covers is a mystery or a romance or science fiction.
When Margaret Mitchell finished her epic Civil War novel, she played around with several titles. Among them was Tote The Weary Load. Another was Milestones and still one more was Not in Our Stars. She settled on Gone With the Wind which indicates loss and turned out to be the perfect choice. She might have called it Scarlett but that only tells us who the main character is.
Some writers like to use alliteration in the title, or something sing-song catchy, or humor. There are titles that are truly far out, selected by the writer in hopes of catching the attention of an editor. It might or it might not.
One big thing you should not do when picking a title is to give it little thought, to paste on the first thing that comes to mind. You could be sorry if you do that. The poster quote by Albert Einstein above gives us some advice in how to pick our titles. Think about it, try several and then go away and do something else--whether swimming or filling the dishwasher--then come back and see if your thinking is better.
There are writers who choose a title first while more, I think, make it the final bit. You can choose a working title and change it later. One of the things asked quite often by those in my writing group that submit their work for critique is about the title. I don't like the title. Can you help me find another?
The main thing is to give the selection of a title the importance it deserves. It can make or break what you've written.
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