Titles grab readers

Titles grab readers.

Take care when choosing a title for your book, story, poem, etc. The title is the first point of contact with the reader. It grabs his attention or tells him to look elsewhere. So what makes a good a title? There is no simple answer to this question because we are all different and have different interests. So a title that catches my eye may not catch yours. If you write a piece on fishing, only those who like fishing are likely to be attracted by it. You have to accept that.

I have written many news stories for local papers and magazines and sometimes I start with a title before I write the story. If it's for my own magazine I may know the amount of space I have for a title, so that will influence my choice of heading. But I always ask myself: Is this title going to make people want to read what follows? Sometimes I write the story, then the title. Other times I start with the title, then write the story, then change the title! That's OK - always allow yourself the freedom to change your mind.

Good titles connect with the reader. They make him think: What's this all about? Is this like an experience I've had? Is the protagonist like someone I know? Is this going to keep me interested? Good titles should be short and simple. They should not say too much - just enough give a flavour of what follows. Never use a long word in a title when you can use a shorter one. Never choose a title that is hard to say. Never use the same word twice in a title (apart from 'the'). These are some of my personal rules.

Here are some titles that I like: THE ACCIDENT THAT SHOOK FAIRVIEW, I DID IT MY WAY, A JUDGE TOO FAR, DEATH ON THE DERWENT, LOST LOVE, LETTER FROM SATAN, WHAT'S SO AMAZING ABOUT GRACE? A friend of mine was very good at clever titles. Her story about a cruel, scheming headmaster with an interest in photography was called HEAD SHOT. That was how he died in the end.

I hope these few paragraphs are of help to you. I'm not pretending I'm an expert and there are exceptions to every rule. Use your imagination to come up with a title that would appeal to you if you were looking for something to read. I would just stress one thing though, don't be so obsessed with getting the title right that you don't actually get round to writing the story/poem/news item or whatever. Happy writing!