How to Come Up with Great Story Titles: A workshop

by Diane Kovalcin

Titles.

Titles.

Titles.

The title of your story is the first thing your reader will see. It's pretty obvious when you think about it.

But a title is more than that. It can invite the reader into the universe you've created or else send them skittering away to read someone else's story. One shot and it's likely all you'll get as the reader decides to spend his/her time with you – or not.

Hopefully, this workshop will get you to think about titles, to help you choose titles that are appropriate to your story and perhaps make you more aware of how title choices can affect the reader's perception of your story.  

What this workshop will be covering:

1. A series of definitions or other things pertinent to the specific title topic

2. A series of questions to make you think about title choices

3. Examples of title problems and how to solve them.

4. Exercises using summaries or other things to come up with titles appropriate to the story.

And now onto the workshop.

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When it comes to books, did you know the average reader, publisher or editor only spends about 6 seconds looking at the front cover of any book and only about 15 seconds on the back cover?  And fanfics don't even have a back cover! So that gives you an idea of how fast your title needs to catch the eye of a reader.

There are a few things that you need to be aware of when choosing titles. I found this advice from If You Write Book Titles Like This, You'll Have a Bestseller, found on   http://www.highertrustmarketing.com/articles/book-titles.html, to be amusing and useful. I've paraphrased the advice below and added one of my own.

#1: Know your audience

         That one is pretty obvious. If you are aiming for Luke/Mara fans, then you certainly wouldn't want to have a title like "Revan's little secret" or "Boba Fett meets Jango for lunch".

 

#2: Grab Their Attention

There may be certain words or phrases that will capture the interest of your readers. However, if you don't really know your target audience or if you are writing without a specific audience in mind, then strong words, action words, or even controversial titles (within reason) might work to capture a reader's attention.

 

#3: Tap Into Their Interest

Anticipate interests that may already exist in the minds of your readers. Be sure to communicate it in your title. For example, if your story is about Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, there are certain keywords that will evoke memories/emotions/knowledge of past or future events for the characters (Bandomeer comes to mind). An Anakin/Padmé story might have a title that would paint an image of their tragic romance.

#4: Create Anticipation

You have to give them a reason to read beyond the title. Keywords can bring up a world of emotions or the title could be intriguing, or thought-provoking or scary.  Since you and your readers are well-acquainted with the Star Wars universe, the right words will have meaning beyond the ordinary. But anticipation of the story's journey will give them the energy to dive in.

 #5: Overcome Objections

Yes, people have objections. The excuses for not reading your story or anyone else's story are myriad.

Time is a big issue. They don't have enough time or real life is haunting them or maybe the kids want attention. Every time a reader comments on your story, they are taking time out to do so. So they have to want to read it, if they are going to invest the time necessary to do so.

Maybe they don't care for the length of the story or the characters or the location or the timeframe. I could go on and on but overcoming those objections will be necessary for you to capture the reader's attention. Hopefully, the right title will help.

Now for a few questions and your first exercise.

1. What do you expect to get from this workshop?

2. What problems have you had with titles in the past and how did you overcome them?

3. What sources of inspiration do you use for titles?

4. Do you think of the title first or last or somewhere in between when working on your story?

5. Have you ever had a title that sounded good at first but then lost all meaning later?

Character exercise – part one:

List ten nouns or adjectives or verbs that describe your favorite character, place or thing or what they might do in terms of action. There can be more than ten but at least that many. They can be phrases but it might be better as single words. Make them as strong or intense as you can.

Example:

            Millennium Falcon

crush

jettison

ram

sleek

struts

fast

sensual

hunk-of-junk

antique

corroded

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Character exercise – part two:

Be sure and do part one before you tackle part two!

Go back and look at the words in your list. Try and use at least ten of them to make up titles. The words can be modified and combined as much as you want in the titles. Don't be afraid to get silly!

Remember - this is supposed to be fun.
 

Example:

            Millennium Falcon

Crushed

Jettisoned

Ramming Speed

Sleek and sensual and I'm not talking about Han Solo!

I am not an Antique

Fastest hunk-of-junk in the galaxy

Corroded struts and spice – all in a day's work

Titles should reflect the heart of a story – be it a character, a plot line or even a feeling. By having you list some of the descriptions of your favorite character, you can more easily pinpoint what calls to you emotionally with that individual. Since it's likely that he/she/it will show up in some of your stories, it is nice to have a few key words to kick-start the title process.

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Now, I'd like to discuss a bit about different types of titles.

Titles will likely fit into several of the categories below:

#1 Short versus long

#2 Straightforward versus enigmatic (mysterious, tantalizing, non-obvious)

#3 Non-English (Latin, Gaelic, etc)

#4 Quotes – Literary, Movie titles or Movie Quotes, Song lyrics

#5 Inside Jokes

#6 Pop culture

#7 Clichés

#8 Genre type

#9 Active vs. passive word choices

#10 Series titles

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#1 Short versus long

This seems pretty obvious. A title can be a single word or it can be quite long.

Of course, words have their own length – Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (from the musical Mary Poppins) comes to mind as a longer word – but in general, to the eye, a word or two might stand out better than a string of words. Short also tends to have punch.

On the other hand, a long title gives the reader more information as to the plotline, timeframe and potential characterization (among other things).

A lot of Star Wars books use single word titles – Shatterpoint, Traitor, Allegiance, Bloodlines, Tempest, Exile, Sacrifice, Inferno - to name a few. 

Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor by Matt Stover is an example of a longer title that gives you a clear indication of what the story will be about and who the main character is going to be.

Questions:

1. As an author, do you tend to use short titles or long ones?

2. As a reader, do you tend to read short titles or long ones and why?

Short versus Long Exercise:

This is the last character exercise so don't worry. We'll be doing more things with summaries and specific story lines after this.

This is an exercise to get you to try and force yourself to go against your normal inclination for length.

Choose a character (that includes droids/ships/etc) that you don't usually write. Come up with at least three titles for a story about him/her/it.

The hard part of this exercise is to write titles that are the opposite length of what you would normally do. If you use short titles a lot like I do, you have to use long ones – at least 5 words or longer. If you tend to do longer titles, you have to use one or two word titles. If you do both, then use longer titles. 

Example 1 - short

Busted

Strutting stuff

Scrap-yard Blues

Spiced out

Example 2 – Long

He promised me the moon and all I got was the Kessel run

Oil and smoke and three quarts of Correllian aftershave – is this any way to treat a lady?

Sabaac cards, lady luck and a guy named Solo

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#2 Straightforward versus enigmatic

Straightforward titles pretty much tell the reader what to expect. This can be a powerful draw, especially if the reader doesn't have a lot of time to invest and has to determine what they want to read ahead of time (in terms of genre or characters or timeframe).

Straightforward titles might be easier to make up, too, since you can usually use key words drawn directly from the storyline.

Enigmatic or non-obvious titles may carry a bit of risk since readers won't be able to tell what the story is about just by reading the title (those pesky objections that we talked about in an earlier post). But the titles can be mysterious, tantalizing, or intriguing and pique a reader's curiosity.

The enigmatic title may also have layers of meaning to both the author and the reader if they share similar experiences/cultures but can fall flat if they don't.

Genre can have an effect on the choice of either straightforward or enigmatic titles. Action or adventure stories tend to have straightforward titles but not always. A humor piece sometimes uses word play to increase the humor value but if the title is too obscure, the reader may not catch that the story is humorous (although this is a fine balance). On the other hand, romance, angst, mystery, poetry and even horror can benefit from an enigmatic title since you are clueing in the reader that it's supposed to be a more tantalizing and mysterious story.

For example, when the first Star Wars Prequel, The Phantom Menace title was announced, there was a big uproar. People were scratching their heads and going "Huh? What does that mean?" After all, the original trilogy titles are very straightforward or were when they showed up initially – Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Even when Lucas added A New Hope to the original Star Wars title, although it was slightly enigmatic, it also gave the audience a large clue as to the upbeat nature of the story and, besides, the audience already knew the storyline. But The Phantom Menace title did not meet the expectations for a straightforward title. And the fans objected.

Expectations can be a powerful thing but so can the beauty of an enigmatic title. It just depends on what you want to achieve.

Some examples of straightforward titles:

Sacrifice by Karen Traviss  

King Richard III - by Shakespeare

Lethal Weapon – Action movie

The Terminator – Action movie

The Adventures of Robin Hood – Action movie with some romance

Some examples of enigmatic Non-Star Wars titles:

 Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip Dick – This book spawned the movie  Bladerunner.

The Cold Equations by Tom Godwin – short story

Slow Glass by Bob Shaw – book

While You were Sleeping – romance Movie

Close Encounters of the Third Kind – adventure/mystery movie

Questions:

1. What type of title do you usually use for your stories?

2. Does the title depend on genre for the choice of straightforward or enigmatic or do you go with what feels right?

3. As a reader, what type of title will draw you into reading a fanfic? Why?

Straightforward versus enigmatic exercise:

Choose a movie or a book (it does not have to be Star Wars related). Try to make it either a romance or an action story because they tend to be the strongest contenders for either straightforward or enigmatic titles but you don't have to do that – it's just a suggestion.

Then I want you to write at least three titles that are straightforward and three titles that are enigmatic for that movie or book. Good luck!

Example: Pride and Prejudice – a romance novel from the 1800s

Example: Enigmatic

Fine Eyes and Discovery

Hidden in the soft hills of Surrey

Pilloried heart

The Paisley shawl

Treasure in a single glance

Example: Straightforward

False Impressions

For want of a wife

Love is not paid in cash

Love conquers the wayward heart

Mistakes in love

Now ask yourself, which one was easier to do? Which was more fun?

However, if you want to try something harder….

We all know how the Star Wars movies go and what Lucas called them. It's your job to retitle them. Come up with 5 titles of one of the movies or, if you are feeling lucky, come up with one title for each movie. Do the opposite type of title that you normally do. If you use straightforward titles a lot like I do, you have to use enigmatic ones and vice versa.  If you do both, then use a mixture of both titles.

You can't use Star Wars in the title.

Good luck!

Example: Enigmatic

#1 The Fading Light

#2 Holding back the night

#3 Love brings only destruction

#4 From the ashes, a hero awakes

#5 The spoils of war, the truth of lies

#6 The universe turns on a single choice

Example: Straightforward

#1 The Last Days of the Republic

#2 Choices in destruction

#3 Apocalypse

#4 A single hope remains

#5 The Terrible truth

#6 Redemption

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#3 Non-English (Latin, Gaelic, etc)

Although most of the stories on theforce.net's fan fiction boards and all of the Archive stories are in English and so are most of their titles, I thought non-English titles deserved their own category. 

For authors whose first language is not English or for those who understand other languages, it would be fairly easy to use that knowledge in titles. However, if the author doesn't know the language they want to use, they'd need help from those who do or else find some way to figure it out.

Keep in mind, though, that if the reader isn't fluent in the language you've chosen, they might get confused about what the title really is about. Or they might be intrigued by it. But it will take an investment in time on the reader's part. So use non-English titles wisely.

Examples:

            Vi Et Armis (By force of arms) – Cicero

            Appetitus Rationi Pareat (Let your desires be ruled by reason). – Cicero

            Exitus acta probat (The result justifies the deed) – Ovid

Questions:

            1. Do you use non-English titles?

            2. If you use non-English titles, how much research do you do to know it's the right translation for what you want?

            3. As a reader, do you read non-English titles? Why or why not?

Non-English exercise:

This may be harder to do for those who have no Non-English experience. But most of us have had at least some foreign language classes.

Take one of your stories (either past, present or future), and create 5 new titles for it. If you haven't written any stories yet, then use one of your favorite movies to create the titles. You don't have to do both.

Then take those titles and translate them into a foreign language (it doesn't have to be the same language for each title). If you need to, consult friends, etc to get the title correct. List both the original and the translation. If necessary, use Babel Fish online or some other translation website. Also, try and think of titles that aren't the same in both languages such as Apocalypse (which I tried and then realized it was the same in both languages – oops).

Ask yourself which one works best for you. Do the sound and the look give you what you want?

This exercise should be pretty easy.

Story Example – The Dragon's Lair

            1. Eye of the Draigon

            2. Hidden Agenda

            3. Be careful what you wish for

            4. Blood Price

            5. Outrunning Fate

Story Example – Das Lager des Drachen German

            1. Auge des Drachen

            2. Versteckte Tagesordnung

            3. Für geben Sie acht, was Sie wünschen

            4. Blut-Preis

            5. Überholendes Schicksal

Story Example –  La Tanière Du Dragon French

            1. Oeil du dragon

            2. Ordre du jour Caché

            3. Faites attention ce que vous souhaitez

            4. Prix De Sang

            5. Destin Dépassant

Movie Example – Revenge of the Sith

            1. Destruction

            2. Hell's gateway

            3. Destiny

            4. Fate is a cruel mistress

            5. The end of Innocence

Example – Rache des Sith – German

            1. Zerstörung

            2. Einfahrt der Hölle  

            3. Schicksal

            4. Schicksal ist eine grausame Geliebte

            5. Das Ende von Unschuld  

Example – Sith Ultionis – Latin

            1. Perditio

            2. Abyssus porta

            3. Fatum

            4. Fortuna est inhumanus era

            5. Insons insontis Terminus

And I think these examples may also show that you should probably use a real translator as opposed to an online one since some of them mean quite funny things in the original language. For example, "Einfahrt der Hölle" means something like "Hell's Parking Entrance" and that wasn't what I had intended!

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#4 Quotes – Literary, Movie titles or Movie Quotes, Song lyrics

Quotes carry their own baggage, both good and bad. Literary quotes will evoke memories of the book from which it is taken. This can work well if the reader has read the book but if they haven't, some of the emotional vibrancy that comes from the book will be lost. Just make sure that the title works on its own.

Movie titles or movie quotes have the same pluses and minuses that Literary quotes do but they are more likely to have entered into the mainstream consciousness so they might be more accessible to readers.

Song lyrics have probably the best chance of being recognized since they are wide-spread in the public domain. Plus if you are writing a songfic, it might make sense to use one of the lines in the title. Please note that song titles might be a problem  due to copyright issues.

Examples of Book quotes

            It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be

                in want of a wife. - Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice

            The play's the thing Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king. – Shakespeare, Hamlet

            Now is the winter of our discontent  - Shakespeare, King Richard III

            Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. – Shakespeare, MacBeth

            Slow and steady wins the race. – Aesop

Examples of Poetry quotes

            "Traveler in the dark" - Nursery rhyme

            "Diamond in the sky" - Nursery rhyme

            "Sounds of a whispering sea" - Hope

            "On this wondrous sea" – Emily Dickinson

            "Storm-wind of the equinox" – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

            "Limits and imaginary lines" – Walt Whitman

Examples of Non-Star Wars Movie quotes

            "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."  - Casablanca

            "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!" – Gone with the Wind

            "I could've been a contender." – Rocky

            "Then close your eyes and tap your heels together three times. And think to yourself, 'There's no place

                 like home'." – Wizard of Oz

            "Well, a boy's best friend is his mother." – Pyscho

            "I see dead people." – Sixth Sense

Examples of Star Wars Movie Quotes

            "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought."

            "No blasters! No blasters!"

            "Sorry about the mess."

            "I can't get involved."

Examples of Song quotes

            "All you need is love, love. Love is all you need." - The Beatles, The End

            "I don't need no money, fortune, or fame. I got all the riches baby, one man can claim." -

                  The Temptations, My Girl

            "And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance I hope you dance" – Lee Ann Womack

I'm sure you could come up with many more.

Questions:

            1. If you use quotes, where do you get them from?

            2. Do you change the quotes sometimes? If so, how do you keep them recognizable?

            3. Do you use song titles in your songfics? Do you think it helps or hinders the story?

            4. As a reader, how do quotes influence whether you will read the story or not?

Quotes Exercise:

I hope this will be an easy one! Take five of your favorite Non-Star Wars quotes or parts of quotes and turn them into Star Wars titles. Be sure to list the original quote and where it is from.

Example:

            Die Harder 2B or how I killed a droid and lived to tell the tale – Die Hard movie title

            For the want of a Jedi Master - It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession

                of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife – Pride and Prejudice - book

            Blaster XK-42: A boy's best friend - "Well, a boy's best friend is his mother." – Psycho movie

            Surely there is a better way. – "Don't call me Shirley" – Airplane movie

            The Adventures of Han Solo or Never tell me the odds!  – The Adventures of Robin Hood movie title

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#5 Inside Jokes

Get two or more friends together and there will be mayhem and fun, usually not in that order. Seriously, though, when you get a group of individuals that hang out on the boards or in real life, part of their language will begin to include inside jokes. These might include changes in word meaning or phrases that can send the participants into gales of laughter or spawn stories.

A word of caution, though. Inside jokes will work with the original group but anyone else might not get it. Sometimes the extra meaning is lost. So it might be well to make sure that the title works with or without the joke.

Questions:

            1. If you use inside jokes, do you get readers who may not understand the 'inside' part?  Do you explain it?

            2. As a reader, do you feel that the title loses some of its punch when you find out it's an  

                  inside joke? Do you care that it's an inside joke?

Inside Jokes Exercise:

Take one of the inside jokes that your group had and then write at least three titles based on the joke.

Or – if you don't have an inside joke or don't want to use any of the inside jokes for the titles, there was a whole day set aside for pirate stories. That was sort of an inside joke. You can use that. Write at least three titles. 

Inside joke Example:

After much silliness, Jello became my friends' inside joke.

            Bacta, Jello -  they're both red, right?

            Saving the galaxy or romancing a Princess – there's always time for Jello

            Flying buckets of Jello or how I saved the day using fishing line, a jiggling dessert and Gungans

            Today on Cooking with a Sith Lord – Hutt guts, Jello and a lightsaber – essential

                 ingredients for your next great party

Pirates Example:

            Arrgh, I'm makin' this 'ere Gungan walk the plank. Me good deed for the day!

            Understand this pirate talk, I do not.

            Dance of the Pirate King

            The Princess and the Pirate – A tale of Romance and Betrayal and a really great Sword-fight

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#6 Pop culture

From Wikipedia

"Popular culture, sometimes abbreviated to pop culture, consists of widespread cultural elements in any given society. Such elements are perpetuated through that society's vernacular language or an established lingua franca. It comprises the daily interactions, needs and desires and cultural 'moments' that make up the everyday lives of the mainstream. Pop culture finds its expression in the mass circulation of items from areas such as fashion, music, sport and film."

Pretty much all language goes through changes, sometimes quickly. New phrases and ways of saying things will incorporate cultures, trends in technology, fashion, and a thousand other things that can't even be predicted. But the words creep into our everyday vocabulary.

Of course, titles will reflect that. Something humorous in pop culture will have an additional punch of humor in the title that might not otherwise be there. However, aware should you be. A turn of phrase that is hot right now might seem old-fashioned or out-of-date in a year or two. Just keep that in mind.

Questions:

            1. Do you incorporate pop culture into your titles?

            2. Do you worry about whether the story will stand up to the test of time or is it just fun to write now

                and you don't worry about it lasting?

            3. As a reader, do you like pop culture titles or not? Why?

Examples of cultural moments:

            "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." – 1933 – President FDR's speech

            "A day that will live in infamy." 1941 - President FDR's speech

            "Live long and prosper." 1960s – Star Trek tv show

            "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the

                streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender," Churchill speech 1940

            "I am not a crook." 1973 – President Nixon speech

            "Hello, Newman" 1998 – Seinfeld tv show

            "Never give up. Never surrender." 1999 Galaxy Quest movie

            "Truthiness" 2007 – Stephen Colbert tv show

Examples of words used to mean other things depending on timeperiod:

            bread – food; money

            man – person; derogatory title for authority figure

            gay – carefree or happy; homosexuality

            pig- animal; policeman

Examples of Iconic personalities of their time:

            Paris Hilton

            OJ Simpson

            Britney Spears

            Jackie O

            Tony Soprano

            Mr. Rogers

            The Three Stooges

            The Beatles

            Jackie Gleason

            Mohammed Ali

            Mae West

            Jesse James

            Beau Brummel

Pop Culture Exercise:

Choose a decade from history up through 21^st century (yes, even this past decade). Using cultural icons from the period, come up with at least three Star Wars titles that reflect that moment in time. You can't choose Star Wars as the cultural icon, though!

Example: 1940s

            Betty Grable may have had the legs but, Princess, you've got the class. (Betty Grable was a movie star.)

            Thirty Seconds over Coruscant (Thirty Seconds over Tokyo – movie)
            A tree grows in Kashyyyk. (A tree grows in Brooklyn –movie)

            Blitzkrieg Seranade or how I bombed Jabiim into oblivion (Blitzkrieg is a type of  warfare)

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#7 Clichés

From Wikipedia

"A cliché (from French, klɪ'ʃe) is a phrase, expression, or idea that has been overused to the point of losing its intended force or novelty, especially when at some time it was considered distinctively forceful or novel."

Overuse is key here in terms of whether a phrase becomes cliché. Sometimes it's so overused that we no longer pay any attention to it; it becomes part of our vernacular. It loses some or all of its original meaning and we don't even know where it came from or why we accept it at face value.

Examples:

            seven-year itch – 3 act play 1952

            when pigs fly - centuries-old Scottish proverb

            when the fat lady sings – originated with Dan Cook at a basketball game but it may have been said in reference

                 to Kat Smith, a very overweight Opera singer who sang at hockey games on occasion

            pot of gold at the end of the rainbow – Irish myth

            action speaks louder than words – Mark Twain

            all that glitters is not gold – paraphrased from 12th century French theologian Alain de Lille and later Shakespeare

Questions:

            1. Do you realize when you are using a cliché or is it just something that is ingrained in your vocabulary

                and you don't even notice? Do you care?

            2. As a reader, do you care if it's a cliché?

Clichés Exercise:

Take at least five clichés and describe how they could be turned into Star Wars stories with a few words or a single sentence summary.

Or conversely, use clichés to inspire titles. If you can combine clichés, that would be extra points! I went to a random cliché generator for mine.

Example 1:

               More power to you – the rise of Darth Caedus (Jacen Solo)

               Parting shot – Han and Greedo's final argument

               The bigger they come, the harder they fall – Death Star meets X-Wing – a love story told from the X-Wing's POV

               Young enough to be his daughter – A Kyp/ Jaina romance

               Bright and early – Luke and Mara's wedding day

               No good deed goes unpunished – Chancellor Valorum befriends Palpatine

Example 2:

               Jedi Cloak --- the whole nine yards 

               A boy, an old wizard and 17000 credits – What could possibly go wrong?  don't worry, be happy

               Betting on the Blob races  dollars to doughnuts

               The Curse of the Falcon – Millennium Style when my ship comes in

               The Dance of the Seven Veils or how I paid my passage to the Alderaan System 

                          by Luke Skywalker  throw modesty to the winds

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#8 Genre

"The definition of genre is a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, marked by a distinctive style, form or content." – From the Free Dictionary – www.thefreedictionary.com.

But I think we are more likely to think of genre in the literary sense. According to wikipedia, "literary genre is loose set of criteria for a category of literary composition such as epic, tragedy, comedy, etc."

What we think of as genre, at least in this context, is more what MSN-Encarta described "as the category of artistic works: one of the categories, based on form, style, or subject matter, into which artistic works of all kinds can be divided. For example, the detective novel is a genre of fiction."

We use genre all the time in order to categorize our stories, to niche them into specific subgroups so that we can more easily describe what our story is about. It also makes it easier for the reader to find what they are looking for in terms of fiction types.

There were many genre types listed in the sites I visited. Here is a fairly lengthy list from fanfiction.net and various other sources.

Action                          Adventure                    Angst

Biography                     Crime                           Diaries/journals

Drama                          Erotic                           Epic

Family                          Fantasy                        Friendship

Historical                      Horror                          Humor

Hurt/comfort                 Medical                        Mystery

Parody                         Poetry                          Romance

Satire                           Spiritual                        Supernatural

Suspense                      Thriller                         Tragedy

Are we out of breath yet just reading that list?

But each genre has a specific style of writing that will evoke a response appropriate to the genre. We discussed this earlier when we talked about straightforward versus enigmatic styles. A romance may have a lush style in the body of the story and the title should reflect that. Action might have a clipped cadence to it with shorter sentences and harder-sounding words to give the reader a push into breathlessness; the title should also give the reader the hint that they might be in for a wild ride.

Of course, that doesn't mean that a romance couldn't have a short, punchy title or that action has to have one word titles. The title is often the summary's summary for the story. Use it wisely.

Genre Exercise:

Movies and books and stories aren't just one thing, though. A book could include scenes of different genre types that might be categorized as romantic or horror or comedy and yet still be an action/adventure novel.

If you've ever noticed in any of the Star Wars DVDs, there are chapter titles for each of the major events in the movie.

Decide on three of the genre types above.

Choose one of your favorite Star Wars movies. Taking scenes from the movie, write at least three titles for each of the genres you've chosen for a minimum of nine titles. The three titles in the specific genre should all be for the same scene. So there will be 3 titles of one genre for the first scene and 3 titles for another genre for the second scene and 3 titles for another genre for the third scene.

Example:

Romance – Revenge of the Sith balcony scene

            Breathless in the brush of chocolate curls and alabaster skin

            Rounded by desire, blinded by beauty

            The kiss of stars in her hair

Comedy – Revenge of the Sith elevator scene

            Loose wires are never a reason for laughter

            Up and down and all around

            Riding, riding, riding in a gravity well

            Are you sure this is up?

Horror – Revenge of the Sith Darth Vader rises scene

            Melted

            Endless Screams

            A coffin is for the dead, isn't it?

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#9 Series titles

Okay, you've just finished the first of a series of stories and suddenly you realize that you're going to need/want to title the series as well as each story. Or you realize that you have a series in the making and need to title your stories to let your readers know. What to do?!

Book series have been around for a long time. Legacy of the Force, X-Wing, Jedi Apprentice, to name just a few. Then there is the Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, Anne of Green Gables and her sequels. Heck, even the Oedipus plays were all part of a series.

The problem is that you might already have difficulties just naming one story. Now you have to name more and tie them all together somehow.

Obviously, the series titles have to deal with the overall arc of the storyline so it needs to get to the very heart of it. It should to be mysterious enough that it doesn't give away the ending in the last story of the series but also clear enough that the reader has some idea of what to expect. It also needs to engage the reader in a way that will last since series usually take a longer time to complete than a stand-alone story.

Book titles range all over the place in terms of series titles. Frankly, you don't have to title your series. Your readers will follow a series to the next story and you can always link the last one in your summary but it's nice to have.

I would caution you that your series titles should have the same tone and style as your story titles so that they appear as a cohesive set.

Examples of series titles:

These have the overall arc right up front and that the main thrust of each series is in the series title.

            Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice

            Last of the Jedi: Against the Empire

            XWing: The Bacta Wars

These titles tell you that they might be in a series but they could also be stand-alone.

            Han Solo at Star's End (although the first edition was called Han Solo at Star’s End: From the Adventures

                 of Luke Skywalker – further printings left out the longer title)

            Han Solo's Revenge

            Han Solo and the Lost Legacy

These titles don't tell you that they are a series and it's up to the reader to find out.

            Heir to the Empire

            Dark Force Rising

            The Last Command

Questions:

            1. Have you written a series or are about to write one? Do you have a series title or only the titles for each story?

                    Does it matter to you?

            2. If you have a series, how did you go about figuring out what the series title should be? Was there anything

                   that could help the others here?

            3. As a reader, do you look for titles that indicate there is a series going on? Does it make you want to read it

                   or move along to the next story?

Series Exercise:

We all know Star Wars was the series title for the set of movies we all know and love. Come up with 5 alternate series titles for the movie set, keeping the original chapter titles the same.

Or if you have a favorite book series (it doesn't have to be Star Wars), come up with at least 5 alternate series titles or titles that look like they are a series.

Examples:

Movie series title instead of Star Wars

            Deathwatch

            Fallen Star

            Heroes

            Deadly choices

            Hell's road

Play series – Oedipus Rex

            Oedipus Rex: The Curse of the Sphinx

            Oedipus Rex: Revelations at the Sybil's Cave

            Oedipus Rex: Blind Revenge

            Oedipus Rex: Destruction in a Mother's Kiss

            Oedipus Rex: Antigone's Choices

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#10 Active vs. passive word choices

 I found a wonderful example of active versus passive verb usage online. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_actpass.html

To quote them, "In sentences written in active voice, the subject performs the action expressed in the verb; the subject acts. In sentences written in passive voice, the subject receives the action expressed in the verb; the subject is acted upon."

Active voice is less wordy than passive and because of that, it may seem to be more... well active for titles. The active voice is usually clear and direct, more immediate.

Passive voice is often called wordy and dull. However, it can also make things mysterious or hold off on information to give tension to the title. Passive voice is used when the person/thing performing the action is obvious or unknown – in this case, it highlights the action and what is being acted upon rather than the person doing the action.

Active voice – We made mistakes

Passive voice – Mistakes were made.

Questions:

            1. Do you use active voice in your titles or don't you notice?

            2. If you use passive voice, do you do it for specific genres?

            3. As a reader, do you tend to click on active voice titles more than passive? Or aren't there enough passive

                 voice titles to make a comparision?

Active vs. Passive Exercise:

Come up with three titles for active and three titles for passive voice. You can use one of your stories or the movies.

Examples:

Active

            When Escaping Destiny, never use a Sabaac deck

            Burn, Vader, Burn

            When banthas fly, can I? – Tall Tales for Kids and Other Scary Beings

Passive

            Rules were made to be broken but never hearts freely given…

            The past was written in shards of glass

            It is believed that banthas can fly – wanna bet? 

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And last but not least….

Brainstorming!

In all the articles I read about creating titles, one idea kept coming up again and again - brainstorming.

Although the authors were talking about book titles, some of the same ideas would work for stories. For a book, it was suggested that you come up with 10-100 titles to begin with - yes, that many! The articles all said to write down every single title from dramatic to silly and ridiculous. Then it was time to take the list to friends, coworkers, strangers – a lot of people, not just those you knew well but more objective people and ask them to choose the best title based on what sounds good to them.

But I don't think that's practical for this venue. What is a good idea is to write down as many titles as possible, not thinking about how silly or stupid they are, and then look over the list. Think about it, not just for a moment or two but a bit longer and only then choose.

Final Exercise:

Take one of the stories you are working on now and write a small 2-sentence or less summary of the story. Be sure to include the genre type. The summary and genre type should help you to focus on the important parts of your story. Then come up with at least 5 titles, based on what you've been practicing here.

Example:

Women seem to like Qui-Gon Jinn and his young Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, is completely embarrassed by the whole thing. Humor.

            Kisses and Chases and Cake – oh, my!

            The line forms to the right.

            A hundred women can't be all wrong.

            Speeder bikes and fast women – just a typical day in the life of a Jedi Padawan

            Food fight – Jedi style

            Fighting females, flying fast and foolishness

            Escape was not his plan but did he have to enjoy it so much?

            Antidote

            Living in the moment isn't all it's cracked up to be.

            Locked doors and silences are never a good thing

            Sliding on cake and kisses

            Will you stop that!

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That's it – we're done.

Did you count how many titles you made up? I bet it was more than you could possibly imagine.

So next time you need a title, I hope you use what you've learned and put it into practice. Write a small summary, think about the genre, choose the main characters and determine what they are like. Decide if you want the title to be straightforward or enigmatic, long or short, English or non-English. And then brainstorm until you come up with the perfect title!

I hope you had fun and learned a few things along the way. Good luck and let's see some cool new titles.