The Importance of Titles

This is a post from a few years ago about titles. I think wirters are sometimes too flippant about tiles, don't give them enough consideration. I hope you'll do the exercise at the end of the posting. 

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? 

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. How about 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 very 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.

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!

Pick A Title For Your Writing

Running late today as my husband had a minor accident in his garden this morning. Tore his arm on a tomato cage, and since he is on blood thinners, it bled. A Lot!  So, off to an urgent care place to get the bleeding stopped, treated and tetanus shot and antibiotic prescription. That 2 1/2 hours was not in our Monday morning plan. 

I did have time to think about what today's post would be. A short word--titles. Yes, it's short but also of major importance. A title is what draws a reader to a story, a book, a poem or an article. How many times have you been in a bookstore or library and scanned the shelves until a title jumped out at you? What about the ones you passed up? Why did they not appeal to you?

Writers seem to fall into one of three categories when it's time to choose a title for your precious piece you've written, edited, revised and more. One group excels in picking good titles. The second group does a so-so job while the third group tries one after another until they find a workable title. 

Are you one of the lucky ones in the first group or do you struggle with titles? Those writers who are excellent with titles have probably the fewest in number. Then, there are the rest of us in one big, frustrated clan.

What should you consider when choosing a title:

• Length--short is fine if it says the right thing. Longer is alright, too, if it reaches out to the reader  
• Keywords--there should be some keywords that alerts the reader to what is to come within the text.
• Pull quote--use something that is in the story itself. Pull it out and make it your title. It could be a phrase or a short sentence
• Names--a character's name can serve as a title. Huckleberry Finn is one example. The reader is drawn to the title mostly because it is an unusual name, not a Tom, Dick or Harry.
• Impending disaster--is your story about a storm or some kind of disaster? Use it somehow in your title. 
• Question--you could ask a short question. Readers might want to find the answer within your text
• Alliteration--many writers use alliteration in a title. Readers like the way it trips off the tongue.
• One word--if you find the best 'one' word, you will be successful in drawing readers.
• Personal--use 'my' or 'I' in the title and the reader knows it is a first-person account.  Some readers are drawn to that type of story.

I do not recommend finding a title and going with it right away. Play around with several titles. Make lists. Try different variations of one title. Let it simmer a couple days before you make a final decision. 

Don't take choosing a title lightly. It's your first chance to 'sell' your full piece of writing to an editor or to your reader.