Three Ways to Create Engaging Titles
By: Josie Elbiry
Tags: Writing Tips, Creative Writing, Creative Process, Creativity, Writing

Three Ways to Create Engaging Titles

GIF created by Josie ElBiry in Canva

F. Scott Fitzgerald once titled a book The Greatest King in West Egg. Given the content of the story, it would not have been the worst title in the world — except that he chose the Greek-Semitic word ‘trimalchio’ to replace the simple English phrase ‘the greatest king.’ Trimalchio in West Egg was a disastrous title. Thankfully, Fitzgerald’s wife, Zelda, convinced him of the fact, and thus today we discuss The Great Gatsby instead of an obscure character from an even more obsure first-century story.

So, how should you title a story or even a work of visual art? Many point to digging out gems from literary greats like Faulkner or Shakespeare. This is fine, but I don’t have time to mine through tomes of poetry and prose to find the right crowning sparkle to a finished piece. Just like any other form of writing or art, we create our best titles with the right scaffolding and measure. I encourage you to use the following three ways to title a work of nonfiction, fiction, poetry or even paintings and sculpture.

What do you want your title to reflect? Once this simple question is answered, the most effective title will come to you quite easily.

Subject

Subject titling is the go-to for nonfiction work, but this strategy has been used across fiction as well. Michener’s Hawaii, Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and Attwood’s A Handmaid’s Tale are a few literary examples. There is, nonetheless, a great selection of visual art also titled by subject. Michaelangelo’s David, Renoir’s Le Dejeuner des Canotiers and DaVinci’s Mona Lisa are but a small sample which serves to begin a great unearthing of all works titled by subject.

Here is a poem by James G Brennan I found today on Medium. It is titled based on subject:

Theme

In the fiction and poetry world, theme is king, so it’s not surprising that examples of theme-titling are deep and wide. In Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, heavy themes are explored within the context of the Lost Generation after World War I. In one aspect, the sun will rise on new generations as the old ones fade away, but I also got the sense that within the story of Jake Barnes himself there are moments of despair which then give way to realizations of acceptance.

Alice Walker’s The Color Purple weaves in and out of the lives of different black women during the Great Depression. Each has her own hardships, but through pain and struggle, truth to self is ultimately born. Purple seems to permeate topics of beauty, stoicism and power in a world of racism, mysogyny and classism.

Here’s a poem by Valerie MacEwan. It’s titled with the theme in mind:

Climax

The more I’ve studied the books on my shelf, I’ve often come to notice titles which directly reflect the climax of the story. Titling with the climax in mind gives the reader a sense of closure, an ‘a-ha!’ moment which links the story’s highest impact with the author’s turn of phrase right there on the cover. It’s difficult to discuss this at the risk of spouting spoilers to stories you have yet to read, so I’ll choose a couple of major standouts you aren’t lacking. Edgar Allen Poe’s A Tell-Tale Heart is a title which reveals quite literally what the climax and/or falling action of the story shall be. The beating heart in the story reveals the mental madness of the protagonist.

In visual art, Salvador Dali’s The Hallucinogenic Toreador can also stand as a climactic title. Yes, the subject of the painting is indeed the bullfighter, which makes this a bit of a crossover, but as the viewer begins to trace the negative space of the painting, it becomes clear that the bullfighters reveal the stark imagery of repetetive Venus images fading out along the canvas, and vice-versa. This realization of the hallucination is the climax of the work. In this sense, Dali’s art conveys the experience of plot structure for the viewer.

Here’s an example of a climax-based title from a poem I read by J.D. Harms:

Combinations and Crossovers

Titling gains new force when subject, theme and climax are combined. Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray displays the subject, which of course is the old painting hidden away in the house, but it also points to the theme of vanity prevalent throughout the book. Finally, the climax of the story occurs between Dorian, the protagonist, and Basil Hallward, the artist of the loathed painting. Basil recognizes that the deterioration of the painting is a reflection of Dorian’s soul, a revelation which Dorian cannot abide, so he kills Basil.

In popular fiction, Stephen King’s The Stand is a title which also represents subject, theme and climax. The literal subject of the book is a battle between good and evil. The theme running throughout points to taking a stand to make decisions for the greater good. The climax plays out as the final stand featuring a David-like gaggle of survivors including Stu Redman and Frannie Goldsmith against the evil Goliath of Randall Flagg.

On of my short story favorites is Ambrose Bierce’s An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. It’s a surreal account of what happens to a condemned criminal in the moment of execution. The title represents the subject of the tale while also reflecting the theme of escape within the confines of the mind. The climax reveals the ultimate connection to the title, which I won’t describe because this is a short story I recommend for you to read.

Cormoran Lee writes prose and poetry using titles which cross all three categories:

Feeling entitled?

Go ahead and look at the titles of your favorite books and poems. Go further and peruse the titles of works you’ve created. They all fall under one of these three categories - subject, theme, climax - or they represent combinations. What I love about this strategy is that I can title my stories and paintings without the guess work. It’s as easy as deciding which of the three you’d like your focal point to be. So, what do you want your title to reflect? Once this simple question is answered, the most effective title will come to you quite easily.