FAQs on Title-Making

I don't know about you but I've always been fascinated with the title of a story as much as I devour the actual story itself. In most cases, the title is the make-or-break deal for me - I would assume that the rest of the story would be as boring as its title. On the other hand, I would be more than inclined to buy a book that has an interesting or eye-catching title.

Over the years, I've had people ask me how I come up with the header, subject, title, or whatever you wish to call it. Normally I just shrug my shoulders and give a mysterious smile. But people are more persistent nowadays, hence they won't accept a smile for an answer. Therefore I'm forced to come up with specific answers.

When do you come up with the title?
I loathe to give this answer, but in this case, it's true. It really depends. Sometimes, before I start writing, I already know what I want the title to be. Sometimes, it just pops out while I'm writing the middle paragraph. Other times, I have to rewrite the title at the end of my article because the story suddenly develops into a different plot by itself and the original title doesn't seem to fit that well.

But in my case, since I only write stuff that I am either passionate about or interested in, it is really not difficult for me to come up with one. In fact, i can safely say I have never finished an article without knowing what the title would be. That's actually the easiest part for me.

What are the different ways of naming the title?
If I were to categorize my titles, it falls into either of these 3 categories.
a) Alliterations
b) Puns - This is when I'm trying to be cute :)
c) Straightforward, matter-of-fact - like the title above

I find that using any of the 3 or a combination of them usually works for me.

How do you know that you have the right title?
It's instinctive. You just know. If you have doubts, maybe you can do better or maybe you just have too high standards.

Those answers should be more satisfactory more than a smile right?

Disclaimer: These are the author's personal views. You can agree with them, or agree to disagree. They work for me. Who knows, might work for you too. Feel free to email or add your thoughts.