Titles

Finding the right title for your story can be tricky sometimes.  Once in a while, you get lucky, and the perfect title just arrives in your brain.  Other times, you have to find them. 

One of the best ways to find a title is to brainstorm a lot of words and phrases related to your story, then try to combine them in different ways.  Today, we’ll look at how to do that. 

Assignment One: Pick some fictional story you have already written (it doesn't matter if you already have a title for it or not), and let’s do some brainstorming to help you learn to find titles.

• Who are the main characters?  Include not just names, but also titles, job descriptions, or other words that state who or what your main characters are.  (Not just ‘Anne Shirley,’ but ‘orphan’ and ‘girl’ and ‘redhead,’ for instance.)  List ten words/names.
  
  
• Where does it take place?  List not only the names of locations used in your story (such as towns, castles, cities, planets, countries), but also general words about its location (countryside, small town, mountain, forest, etc.) List ten words/names.
  
  
• What do people DO in the story?  (Put some action words here.) List ten words.
  
  
• What are some interesting words or phrases you used in your story?  Did you make up any words for it, such as place names or magical words? (This works best if you have a copy of your story on hand.) List ten words/phrases.
  
  
• Are there any special objects in your story?  Things that are important to the plot or that the characters are very attached to?  List ten words.
  
  
• If you wanted to sum up the theme or main point of your story in one or two words, what are some words you could use? List ten words/phrases.

Now you have seventy words/phrases to play with!  It’s time to try putting these together. 

For instance, you could take a character name and a place and make a title like Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets or Anne of Green Gables.

You could combine a color and an important object and make a title like The Green Ember or The Blue Castle.

You could combine a couple of different important objects, like Bed-Knob and Broomstick or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

You could combine a character word and an object, like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire or The Indian in the Cupboard.

You could combine an important place and an important theme, like Gone-Away Lake or The Secret Garden.

You could combine a theme word and a character, like Carry On, Mr. Bowditch or Much Ado About Anne. 

Come up with at least thirty possible titles, combining different names, words, and phrases you listed.  Be silly, be wacky, find unusual combinations.  Share at least five of your favorites here in the comments.