"I Often Will Write A Scene From Three Different POVs To Find Out Which Has The Most Tension." - Dan

How to come up with a story title

By Writerthreads on Instagram

I’ve identified a few types of story titles, and I’ll briefly describe them below:

Common saying/phrase

Eg. When the Cows Come Home, Cruising for a Bruising

Usually, the saying might describe the events of the book or men’s something

Something with a character’s name

Eg. The Redemption of Fletcher Cheung (my old title), Harry Potter and the _______

Or literally the character’s name

Eg. Oliver Twist, Doctor Strange, Hansel and Gretel

A location

Eg. Schitt’s Creek, The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Secret Garden

Choose an location where a part of the plot takes place. It would help if that location has a unique name (eg. Earhart High School would be boring).

A memorable line

Eg. The Stars are Burning (my WIP lol), To Kill a Mockingbird

Use a memorable or important line, or a version of it. Bonus points if it’s in the first or last sentence of the book!

Use an allusion

Eg. These Violent Delights, The Grapes of Wrath

An allusion is a reference to or a phrase taken from an external source. The title usually alludes to something in the plot or a main theme.

If all else fails...

Use an unusual word

Warning: this makes the title less memorable, imo

Use a song title or lyric

Warning: copyright?? Also it might be cliche.

Now that we’ve covered the main types of titles, let me give you some advice on book titles;

Long titles

They’re hard to remember and hard to type/say, which reduced visibility. Try to shorten the title if you can :)

Make it interesting

Eg. Gone With the Wind

Titles that use poetic language, vivid imagery, or a bit of mystery tend to be alluring to potential readers.

Use alliteration

Eg. The Count of Monte Cristo

Alliteration is especially popular because it’s punchy and sounds good lol.

Anyways, this is all I can think of! Comment below your book title(s) and anything I’ve missed.

“Easy reading is damn hard writing.”

— Nathaniel Hawthorne

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”

— Ambrose Bierce (via quotemadness)

“Don’t listen to yourself; listen to the advice that you give others.”

— Michael Lottner 

“Sometimes the smallest things take the most room in your heart.”

— Winnie the Pooh 

HOW TO WRITE A STORY WHEN YOU'RE A PROCRASTINATOR AND/OR A PERFECTIONIST

*step 1. flesh out your characters.

imagine their personalities, roughly line out their backstory and figure out their role in the plot. same goes with the world if you're not writing a realistic story.

*step 2. have a rough idea of what you want your story to be.

do you want angst? fluff? smut? is it a fantasy world, a futuristic city? get an idea of what your theme and genres are.

*step 3. f u c k i t

just write the whole thing. don't care about plotholes,logic or anything. just get it done.

*step 4. rebuild.

leave your draft for some time and don't think of it too much for a week or two. then, take it back, and rebuild your story, correct spelling mistakes, etc. repeat this step as much as needed, until you feel like it's done.

and you're done!

note: this is only a personal thing. that's how i do it because i used to spend way too much time on perfecting the plot before writing. but find wgat fits you the best! everyone is different, this is just a tip.

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“Do what you have to do until you can do what you want to do.”

— Oprah Winfrey

Writing Tip #200

When writing short stories, imagine them as the last chapter of a novel. You want to feel like your characters have been in existence for a while. Your story is just the point of heightened emotion.