The Importance of Titles

What Shall I Call It?

Over and over, I hear writers say something like 'This is a working title. I can't think of anything better.' In my online critique group, I see multiple comments along the line of 'I don't like the title. Can you help find a better one?'  I also note those who critique sometimes saying they didn't think the title fit well, and perhaps suggesting a few others for the writer to consider.

It seems that most writers have trouble when it comes to selecting a title for an article, story, essay, poem or book they've spent hours working on. The title should be easy. Right? Not really. Everything you've put into the body of what you've written has to come through in your title in a mere smattering of words.

It's a no- brainer that a good title hooks the reader. It also suggests a mood or tone. It can startle a browser into looking farther. The title sometimes asks a question that can only be answered by reading farther. Curiosity might be aroused by those few words that top the whole piece of writing. Some titles depend on attention-getting words. Right now, the word terrorist is probably going to make you stop and take a second look.

Some writers like to use alliteration for the name of their story. It works especially well with stories for kids. Maybe something like Bumpy Bear's Beautiful Bridge would make a child giggle and want to look into the book. It works with adult titles, too. Maybe Bill Brown's Bummer Beach Babe. Every word doesn't have to begin with the same letter, but several should.

A title can also inform the browser that there is specific information to be gained here. Climate Change: Pros and Cons lets you know exactly what the topic is.

If all else fails, a writer can lift a significant line of dialogue or a phrase from the text to top the story. Readers enjoy seeing that bit of dialogue or phrase when they reach it within the text. It's an Aha! moment.

You can also promise the reader something via your title. Jane, The Time Traveler does that. The reader knows that the story is about a girl or woman who travels back in time (or ahead to the future).

Is there any set rule to when you write the title? Definitely not. Write it when you think of it! It might be the very first words you put on the blank screen, or it could come to you halfway through the story. And even more likely is that the title is the very last thing you write, and it could be long after the story itself is finished if you wrestle with finding the best one.

So, why do we struggle with titles? Mostly because we know how important they are. It's your one chance to hook that browser that you want to draw in as a reader.

Some writers come up with a title quickly and go with it. Others make lists of titles and eliminate them one by one. Of the two, I prefer the second method. If you hit on one and go with it right away, you might be missing out on a better title. It's also possible that the first one ends up being the best one.

As an exercise on selecting titles, go to your local library or bookstore and spend some time browsing through titles of books. Note the ones that speak to you. Consider why those titles caught your eye more than others. What appeals most--longer or shorter titles?

For something that entails only a few words, titles are of great importance. Pick a good one!

Selecting Titles For Your Writing

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.

Grab Your Reader At The Beginning

The importance of first things that a reader sees cannot be emphasized too much. The title and the first paragraph are two major parts of any story, essay, article or poem. This is where the reader is drawn in. The writer's aim here is to capture the reader's interest and push them to want go farther. 

When I was in high school, back in the '50's, English teachers all taught that you needed an introductory paragraph when writing an essay. Your topic sentence must be in that first paragraph so that your reader knows what will come within the body of the essay. Someof those introductory paragraphs were just plain boring! All dry facts, no sensory details, nothing to create a sense of looking forward to what came next.

Today, we teach new writers that ya gotta hook 'em fast! We live in a speeded up world with all our techie gadgets that get us to where we need to go as quickly as possible. Time is the enemy. Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! It's a fact but it also gets a bit wearing at times. Even so, I believe in diving right into the story in that all-important opening. 

Let's look at titles. The title is the first thing a reader sees. The other day, I was at the library scanning titles in the New Book section. I didn't have time that day to pull umpteen books from the shelf to see which ones appealed to me. Instead, I scanned the titles and the ones that grabbed me were the books I pulled out and read the frontispiece. When you are selecting a title, don't wait til one pops into your head and go with it. Play around with titles. Make lists. Decide what is in the story/essay that you want to bring out through your title. 

Time and again, when members of my online writing group sub a new story, they ask for help with a title. They might use a working title and then ask others to help formulate one that works better. It's difficult for the writer because they know what the full story is about so how are they going to choose one that appeals to myriad readers? What do you like best in a title? Short and sweet or a question or a hidden meaning? Author's choice!

The other place to hook your reader is in the opening lines of a poem or the first paragraph in prose. Some use dialogue to pique interest. Others use an action scene making the reader wonder how the character got there in the first place. Including sensory details in that opening paragraph brings the reader right into the scene. The most important thing for me is to make itvisual and make it interesting. 

How often do you edit and re-edit your opening paragraph? Maybe not as many times as you should. Make that opening bit count bigtime. In my juvenile novel, chapter 1 begins with the following:

Will flicked a blue and white marble with his thumb and followed its path with one eye closed. Before the marble found the target, a loud voice interrupted his concentration

Only two sentences. The reader knows that a boy is shooting marbles, that a loud voice interrupts him. I hope the reader wants to know A. who that voice belongs to and B. what it says.

Remember the opening of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens? 

It was the best of times. It was the worst of time,

That paragraph continues with more comparisons. What it does is make the reader want to find out why it was both the best and the worst of times. It also hints at tension or conflict to come within the novel. It is not an action opening which we see more of today but it did its job in hooking the reader.

Put first things first and concentrate on your title and opening when you write your next story/essay/article/poem.

Titles

I used an Amazon gift card to purchase three new books for my writers library;  The books arrived yesterday, and I'm eager to read them. Not sure which one to start on, but I'm going with the one whose title called out to me. Unleash The Writer Within by Cecil Murphy. 

I don't know what Mr. Murphy will have to tell me, but he scored with the title. He got my attention as I browsed through the section on books about writing. Enough to make me click on the title and read the summary and editorial review. 

Recently my critique group had a short discussion on titles. Why can we write a 2000 word personal essay and then be stumped when choosing a title? Why can a novel writer ruin a perfectly good story with a wimpy title? I think too many writers don't consider the importance of a title. 

I wrote an article a few years ago about titles and quotes. It was published at Absolute Write--a newsletter for writers. I'm going to put the section on titles below. They are important, so don't just grab one from the sky and plop it on top of your carefully written story. 

Gourmet Touches-- Titles and Quotes By Nancy Julien Kopp If you invite someone to dinner, you're apt to add some special touches to the food and table decor. As a hostess, you try to make a dinner party special for your guests. Stories and articles deserve to be dressed up, too. Let's take a look at two items that add gourmet touches to a story-- titles and quotes. Titles The title of a story, article or book draws the reader's attention. It gives the reader a reason to read. Have you ever gone to the fiction section of the library or a bookstore and scanned titles? A few cause you to stop and pull the volume from the shelf. Something in the words on the books' spine called out to you. Ever wonder why? When you meet someone new, they make an impression of some kind. Sometimes it's positive, and other times not. The title of a book or story also makes a first impression, and it either creates further interest or moves us to pass on by. So, it's important to find a title that is creative or catchy in some respect. That doesn't necessarily mean it should be outlandish. Some writers think an outlandish title will catch an editor's eye, and it may. It might also make the editor pass it by in a hurry. When Margaret Mitchell finished her epic Civil War novel, she played around with several titles. Among them were Tote the Weary Load,Milestones, and Not in Our Stars. Her final selection, Gone with the Wind, turned out to be perfect. In four little words, Ms. Mitchell let you know that her story dealt with loss and starting over. The title can be taken from the meaning of the story, a comment made within the text, or a strong image the story projects. A proper name can serve as a title, too. If the book or story is a success, the name will live forever. Don't we all know and love a boy and a book named Huckleberry Finn? The unusual first name piques interest. A title should intrigue the reader, but it must also use the same tone as the story. After all, the title is an introduction or a preview of what is to come. If you write a story dealing with a tragic accident and death, you wouldn't use a title laced with humor. On the other hand, when you write a humorous story, you want to reflect that as well. Some writers add the title last, and others begin with a working title. After the story is complete, the writer plays around with titles until the most satisfying one emerges. It's the frosting on the cake, the dressing on the salad. It finishes the story.