How do you go about choosing a title for your novel? Step 1: search Amazon, Google (or similar) for the title you want to use. If it’s already taken, cross off and go to next choice. Repeat. Once you have a title that doesn’t show up in your searches, you’re done, right? Not necessarily. What makes a good title (other than it isn’t out there yet)?
I’ll tell you what
makes a bad title: one that gives away the end of your book. Who would do that?
You’d be amazed. I just finished reading a middle grade book that does just
that. The title (changed to protect the guilty) is similar to: “Eddie’s Championship
Spring.” This fictional book is about a boy who enters a track competition to
determine the region’s champion. Can you guess who wins? When a writer gives
away the ending in the title, all tension and suspense has to come from
somewhere else. Subplots? Interpersonal dynamics? The stress of training? The
weather? It almost doesn’t matter. We already know the ending.
The best titles sum
up the book without giving anything away. To
Kill a Mockingbird is a great example. It’s intriguing, mysterious and we
don’t really understand why it’s such a good title until we finish the book and
learn what happens. I’m sure you have your own favorites. Titles are part and
parcel of why we love certain books. Make sure you don’t hamstring your novel
from the get-go because of the first words the reader encounters: the title.
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