Titles--Tough, Tricky, and Troublesome

 

Note:  This is a repeat post

Wouldn't it be fun to have scads of bookshelves in your house, where you could remove one book at a time, read it, and replace? On to the next one! What we see on the bookshelf are titles.

Titles are a very important tool for the writer. I think that many writers give little thought to the title of the story, book, essay, or poem they spent eons of time writing. Finished. Need a title? Grab one and plunk it above the piece I labored over. A title is important enough to give it some thought before you bestow it on whatever you've written. 

A title is the first impression; it's what draws the reader to look further. A title takes some real thought on the writer's part. The title, or name, can be tough, tricky, and troublesome. Let's look at those three T words a little closer. 

Tough  It's not easy to lure a reader with a mere spattering of words, even one word, in a title. That's exactly what that title is supposed to accomplish. You want to give a hint as to what is in the body of the story, book, essay that you've written. Keep it merely a hint as you don't want to give too much away. Think of a title as the movies term Preview of Coming Attractions. As a child, teen, and young adult, I adored movies and spent part of every weekend in a theater. I loved the previews which told me just enough to make sure I'd be back the following week. The few movies I've seen recently tell way too much in the previews. You may notice that the books in the stairway in today's photo sometimes use a person's name as the title. It doesn't tell you much about the story itself, but you know you're going to learn something about Huckleberry Finn, Peter Pan, and Pippi Longstocking. And don't you want to pick up that last one to see what in the world someone with a name like Pippi Longstocking is like? 

Tricky  If you're writing a tragic story, you don't want to use a fluffy, humorous type of title. Match the mood of the title to what you've written. In reverse, if the story is filled with humor, then don't use a generic, somber kind of title. Put a bit of humor into the title, too. The length can be tricky, too. Those proper name titles are nice and short, but if you choose to use a very lengthy title, it won't be easy to choose the right words, the ones that make the reader pull your book off the shelf to look at. You might use some unnecessary words, ones that add nothing to the meaning of the title. Cut them.

Most poetry stays with shorter titles. The poet doesn't want the title to overwhelm the poem. 

Troublesome  Yes, titles can be troublesome because you have to play around with several before you settle on the best one. One of my Chicken Soup for the Soul stories was accepted, but the editors had completely changed the title. At first, I was a bit miffed, but then I read through the story and realized the title they had selected was preferable. The editor had used a line toward the end of the story to use. I understood then why she had changed it. At least, she didn't send it back and tell me to choose another title. An editor can do that, too. 

When choosing a title, ask yourself if it tells too much or does it not give a real inkling of what the whole thing is about. I have been reworking an old story for children, and the title is what is giving me the most trouble. I had one, but then decided it sounded like an adult story. I tried another and thought that no one would rush to read the story with this title. I'm spending almost as much time deciding on a title as I did writing my story. 

Titles may be tough, tricky, or troublesome, but they are also of major importance to whatever you have written. Don't snatch one out of the air and call it quits. Spend some time trying several, even when one comes to you quickly. That may be the one you use in the end, but try others to make sure the first one is the best. I wonder how long it took the author to come up with a title like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.