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Saturday, October 3, 2015

Insert Cool Title Here

This is something I've been thinking about recently, as I try to get back into reading real books rather than watching TV or goofing off on the internet. Do you know what makes me pick a book up off the shelf? Yes, the cover art is part of it. But mostly, it's the title. That's the most important element of the story, if you're writing for an audience (and frankly, everyone is writing for an audience, even if you don't know it yet). If the title isn't interesting or catchy enough to make you curious, then no matter how hard you worked on the story, it was basically a waste because no one will read it. I mean, just titling these blog posts is hard work!

Isn't that sad? I think that's every writer's worst nightmare (it's certainly mine). But the most difficult thing for me when I write is summing up that story, that work that I've poured my heart and soul into, in a word or a short phrase—a title. Have you ever tried to summarize a 200-page novel with one word other than "great" or "awesome" or some variation thereof? It's incredibly hard! I always feel like my title is inadequate, that it doesn't communicate the awesomeness that is my baby (aka the story).

So what I always try to do when titling my stories (usually after they're mostly done) is think of the main idea of the story. The main conflict, the name of the main character (though that feels like cheating), or a prominent theme across it all. It's hard, too, because I like to have titles at the beginning so it looks good on my desktop. But that's a problem because I really haven't figured out where the story is going, so it typically ends up being something lame like "Jayden's Story" (yes, that was the legitimate name of one of my stories for a while) and then it sticks because I'm too lazy to change it or I just can't see the story with any other title. So when it's finished I have my work cut out for me to figure out a decent title that will catch a reader's attention and make them want to at least read the summary. And the best titles always make a reader ask questions.

Here are a few titles that I feel like I did well with. I put extra thought into what I wanted to communicate with the title. Plus, with FanFiction (which is what these two stories are), I have quite the extensive audience, so I had to come up with something to catch people's attention. I like to think I succeeded, since the first one has over 60,000 views after only six months!

Taking Control is a Harry Potter FanFiction (I know, I'm a geek) where Harry leaves the Dursleys after the fiasco at the Ministry of Magic at the end of fifth year and literally takes control of his own life.
(Check it out here!)

A Mishap and an Opportunity is a sort-of sequel to Taking Control. Through a mishap at the Ministry, Harry is transported 20 years back in time and gets the opportunity to meet and befriend his parents and the rest of the Marauders.
(Check it out here!)

Here are some of my titles that aren't so great. Mostly it was just a placeholder that sounded better than "So-and-So's Story" (and I have a few with names like that, too). Just FYI, though, don't get too excited by the number. All of them, while perhaps finished, are incredibly unpolished and one is going through a severe rewrite because I wrote it when I was fourteen. None of them are anywhere near ready for publishing.

Making it Home is a title I'm still iffy about. It's the story of a 17-year-old boy whose father dies in a tragic car accident where he is injured as well. Because his mother can't handle staying in the same place after her husband's death, she moves him and his twin sister several hundred miles away, and the boy is left dangling, trying to figure out who he is and how to turn his new life in the middle of a Nevada desert into a proper home.

Called is a somewhat Medieval story about a young prince whose father, the King, dies in battle, and as the eldest (and only) son and heir, the burden of the kingdom is thrust upon him while he still struggles to come to terms with his father's death. I thought the title was appropriate, but its connotation doesn't really communicate what I wish it did, nor does it really capture the essence of the story.

Do you see the dilemma I'm faced with? Please help me!