Think about the major theme of your story–is it revenge? grief? alienation?–and think of titles that evoke that theme. If, for example, the theme is redemption, you might title your story something like “Falling into Grace. ”[2] X Research source
For example, if the crux of your story is something that happened in a town called Washington Depot, you might simply title the story “Washington Depot. ” Or you might draw inspiration from events that happen there title the story something like “The Wraiths of Washington Depot” or “Washington Depot in Flames. ”
For example, you might devise something like, “What Happened in the Morning” or “A Death Among Thieves. ”
A number of venerated authors have gone this route: Charles Dickens with David Copperfield and Oliver Twist, Charlotte Bronte with Jane Eyre, and Miguel de Cervantes with Don Quixote.
For example, novels like To Kill a Mockingbird, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, and Sleepless in Seattle are all based on lines from the stories themselves.
For example, if your story centers on an emerald passed down through generations of the same family, you might research emeralds and find that they’ve traditionally been associated with faith and hope. So you might title your story something like “The Rock of Hope. ”
Write down both the titles that jump out to you now and the books whose titles alone drew you in. [5] X Research source Review your list and try to determine what the successful titles have in common. For example, do they appeal to the senses, appeal to the reader’s imagination, etc?
Many authors have taken inspiration from classic works, including William Faulkner, whose Sound and the Fury is inspired by a line in Macbeth, and John Steinbeck, whose Grapes of Wrath is an allusion to a line in “The Battle Hymn of the Republic. ”[6] X Research source Other authors have drawn inspiration from local vernacular sayings, like the London Cockney saying “queer as a clockwork orange” that inspired Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange. Still others have used allusions to popular culture, like Kurt Vonnegut, who used the Wheaties slogan for his book Breakfast of Champions.
For example, if your title sounds distinctly fantasy-esque, like “The Dragon of the Old Tower,” but the story is in fact about modern-day brokers on Wall Street, you’ll alienate those who pick up your story looking for fantasy and you’ll miss entirely those looking for a story about something modern or about the world of elite finance, etc.
For example, “A Man Discovers the Perils of a Solo Trek Through the Yukon” is likely less compelling to potential readers than “To Build a Fire,” which is shorter and more imaginative. [7] X Research source
Poetic language in a title, like “A Rose for Emily” or Gone with the Wind, draws readers with an elegant turn of phrase that promises an equally poetic story or writing style. Titles that evoke vivid imagery appeal to readers because they conjure something tangible and meaningful. A title like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, though long, creates an immediate and vivid image that conjures an idea of a battle between good and evil. [8] X Research source Imbuing your title with a bit of mystery can also draw readers in. A title like Something Wicked This Way Comes (also an allusion from Macbeth) or “The Black Cat” give just enough information to raise questions that will pull the reader into the story.
Subtle alliteration, like I Capture the Castle or The Count of Monte Cristo, can add appeal to a title. Obvious or forced alliteration, on the other hand–like “The Guileless Guide of Gullible Gus” or “The Especially Exciting Endeavors of Elanor Ellis”–can easily dissuade a potential reader from picking up your story.
