Do you have difficulty coming up with a title for your article or story? This is sure to be a daunting task for any author and plays almost as crucial of a role as the beginning of your story, otherwise known as your hook. When a reader sees a title, they either buy it because they think it will be interesting, or they decide to pass. In other words, a well-chosen title can make or break your story.
A good title should give a hint of what the plot of your story is without giving too much detail or alluding to the ending. In a way, the title is like your summary shortened into a very few words. You may have to experiment in order to get it down to a concise phrase.
To compose a title intriguing enough to make the reader curious and want to read more, here are some strategies you may want to consider:
Theme
- Use phrases that hint at your theme. For instance, if your theme is fear, you may want to include words that invoke a sense of fear. Examples might be words such as eerie, alarm, dreadful, or harrowing. For a family-themed book, appropriate words could be together, heritage, Nonna, or wife.
Setting/Atmosphere
- Describe the setting or the atmosphere of your book. This could be vague or explicit. Imagine that your book takes place in a plantation on the edge of a bayou in New Orleans, Louisiana. In this case, you could use any of the following in your title: plantation, bayou, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Genre
- Keep the genre of your book in mind. Just like you would use certain jargon in a work on a specific subject, you may want to use that jargon in your title. For instance, if your work is science fiction, you might consider words such as wormhole, clone, terrestrial, or psychic. For mysteries, you may use culprit, dark, cryptic, detective, or clue.
Character
- You can use your main character in the title in several different ways. One such way might be to describe your character in such a way as to add an air of mystery. This makes a reader want to know more about the character or what happens to her or him. Examples of books that do this are Anne of Green Gables, The Lady of the Lake, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, The Lord of the Rings, and The Invisible Man.
- Many authors have simply used the main character’s name as the title, but this can be tricky. The name needs to be intriguing, or most readers will likely not show an interest. You should also be prepared to have a plan for sequels (if you’re lucky). Examples of this are Don Quixote, Junie B. Jones, Stellaluna, and Dracula.
Imagery
- Appeal to the reader’s senses by using imagery in your title. If your title has an emotional impact of some sort, it will be distinct and memorable to the reader. Use words that appeal to the reader’s sense of sight, smell, taste, hearing, or touch. Examples of existing books are Wuthering Heights, The Scarlet Letter, In Cold Blood, and Wandering Stars.
- Consider using literary devices such as metaphors, similes, alliteration or personification. Some great examples are The Great Gatsby, Lord of the Flies, and The Giving Tree.
Think of creating your title as a marketing strategy. You want to pique the reader’s interest, draw them in, and keep them reading. Your work stand out among limitless other options. Take your time coming up with your perfect title. Do some brainstorming, narrow it down, and ask the opinion of others before you decide.
After all, first impressions are everything!
Heather Malone writes children’s books that focus mainly on Montessori education, special education, and nonfiction. She also dabbles in fiction. Her nonfiction book, Montessori from A to Z, was published in 2023, and her blog on homeschooling students with disabilities using the Montessori method can be viewed at spedmontessorisolutions.com. Her passion is education, which is evidenced by spending over twenty-five years in the field before leaving the classroom to now provide technical assistance to school districts. She lives with her husband and son in Ohio and enjoys traveling to new places in her free time.
No Comments