Title Me This: What Makes a Good Title?
Updated: Apr 7
Have you ever finished reading a novel, short story, fanfiction, and felt nothing but euphoria when the remnants of the piece are still buzzing around in your mind and then it all clicks–the title suddenly makes sense?
Yes, that is what makes a good title, for sure, but how does one choose a title? Here are some things to consider:
Generators are your best friend here, but don’t let it do all the work! Try mixing different phrases they come up with until something really resonates with you and your piece!
This can be a good starting point if you don’t know what you want to write about as well! Let your imagination run wild once you come across a title that seems especially interesting!
Try thinking about your piece in concepts rather than genre! Writing a friends-to-lovers, detective, soulmates kind of story? Great! Use those concepts to create a title with keywords that hint at those aspects of your work. Those who are familiar with fan-work will find this to be really useful, and if you haven’t read any fan works, hopefully this tip will help you!
Use some of your favorite reads for inspiration and ask yourself what made it work. What things did they allude to with the phrase? How did it make you feel when you first saw that title?
Titles are just as important as the content inside of the book. They allow your reader to get a sense of what world you’re trying to build before even cracking the spine. Feel free to beta test some titles for a bit! Sometimes titles make sense at the beginning of the piece, but by the end they don’t work as well anymore. That’s okay!
Have fun and think deeply!