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Title Your Short Story Right

No matter how fantastic the short story youAlthough titles are not copyrighted, you
have written may be, without a catchy titledon't want your story confused with another
the chances are good that an editor will notstory of the same name. They can be similar
read it. The title is the most important partwithout  being  exact.
of the story as this is what first captures
the  reader's  attention.So how do you spark your creativity to come
up with the perfect title for your story? The
A good title should grab the reader and makefollowing are a handful of ways to awaken
them wonder what the story is about. A badyour muse.a. A short line of dialogue or a
title will probably cause the reader to skipmemorable sentence from your story can
the story altogether. This holds true whensometimes be the right choice.b. A common
submitting your stories for publication.phrase or expression can often be found that
Editors are busy people and will pass on thesums up the theme of your story. Or use a
story, often without reading the firstplay on words, where only one element of the
sentence, if your title doesn't capture theirphrase is changed.c. Borrow a line from an
interest.established work. Look at Shakespeare, the
Bible or other well known book, song or
The title of your story will tell the editormovie.d. Use one your main characters' names.
a lot about your creativity. If your title isThink along the lines of 'Tom Sawyer' or
strong, an editor will be more likely to lookStephen King's 'Christine'.e. Likewise, your
at  your  story  with  a  positive  attitude.title can be your setting. Think of Brokeback
Mountain, Lost in Space, etc...f. A good
So how do you come up with a good title?title can convey the main idea of your story.
Below is a small list of tips to help you'Misery' or 'Legends of the Fall' are good
come  up  with  an  attention grabbing title.examples.g. Use word association to link
together elements of the story.h. Allow the
1. Keep it short, no more than four or fiveaction to determine the name. By adding an
words. Even two or three word titles are'ing' to the first word, you can come up with
generally more than enough. If you can comea catchy title. Some examples of this could
up with a single word that conveys somethingbe  Chasing  Rainbows  or Dreaming Life Away.
about  your  story,  even  better.
Often, you can spend hours coming up with a
2. Avoid boring titles. Don't name your storytitle only to have the editor change it after
something like 'The Monster' or 'The Sea' asaccepting the story for publication.
these are dull and boring, and tooSometimes the new title will make little
generalized. Instead, try for something thatsense to you. While you may think your title
evokes emotion. 'Under the Bed' would be ais perfect, the editor knows the
good title for a scary story and 'High Tides'publication's readers well and may think the
works  better for a story based on the ocean.alternative is a better choice. And while
this may irk your ego, knowing the story will
3. Make sure your title fits your genre.be  published  is  its  own  reward.
Don't name a whodunit with a title that could
be  confused  with  a  romance  story.However you come up with the title to your
short story, remember it is the first
4. Make your title easy to remember. This isimpression the editor will have about your
another reason to keep the title short. Usewriting abilities. Like the logline to a
your creativity to come up with somethingscreenplay or the first paragraph of a novel,
catchy that relates to the theme, the action,the title should represent the story they are
or the characters of the story. A memorableabout to read. At the end of the day, you
title allows your readers to recommend yourwant the editor to remember your story and
story  to  others.place it in the 'accepted for publication'
stack on their desk.
5. Research the title you come up with.



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