Titles

     Titles are great things. Except when they're not. They are always important. A title is the ultimate hook. Which means they should be good.
     I have a problem with titles. Mine and other writers'. I don't like long titles, but I prefer them to uninspired short titles.   One- or two-word titles can be fun or useless, especially if you don't know what kind of story or book the title is telling about.
     My favorite author of all time, Dick Francis, has great short titles: Proof, Slay Ride, Comeback, High Stakes. Stephen King has some great one word titles: Desperation, Insomnia, It. However, SK also has uninspired titles. His first big hit was called Carrie. And he's had a few more titled with the name of the main character.
     The problem with titles, as with many things, is that different readers are intrigued by different things. "The Blue Room" doesn't interest me at all. For someone for whom the color blue is significant, that might be a title that draws their attention. "The Scarecrow" should make anyone wonder what the story was about, simply because scarecrows are just creepy. "Sunset" to a horror or dark fiction fan, would mean the coming of scary darkness. To someone of a more inspirational mindset, it might suggest peacefulness, relaxing at the end of the day, the promise of tomorrow.
     The title, "Me and Bobby" doesn't interest me. "Me and Bobby Under The Ground" might get my attention. "Taxi". So what? "Invisible Taxi". Hmmm. "The Baby". Boring. "The-Thousand-Year-Old Baby", Not boring. "Our Cab Driver" vs. "Our Cab Driver Is Dead"  And so on.
     I read somewhere that a good title should come from the story; should tell something about the story. Therefore, an interesting story should inspire a good title, something that would draw potential readers. That sounds a lot easier than it is, but if I - and other writers - can remember that one bit of advice, the chance of choosing a nondescript title will be much smaller.

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