Choosing a title

Whatever you are writing, picking a catchy title that hints at the topic or emotion the reader might expect to find is important. When writing something longer like a novel or novella, deciding later once you have a feel for your plot and characters, a better understanding of your ending, or even a repetitive image can influence what you believe a suitable title would be. However, when writing something short and snappy, like a short story, poem, or even a blog post, spending too long on the title can leave your piece to waste away while attention on the topic disappears

So, how do you choose a title?

I have three methods:

1. What is the feeling you get? Is it reminiscent of the grand old love stories passed through generations - seek inspiration in the Greeks and Shakespeare, or go charmingly cliché. 'If You Were Romeo', 'Eros, My Saviour'.

2. Picking a colour - Nothing sets the tone better than a person's preconceptions of a colour; even better if paired with something unusual. 'A Purple Jealousy'. Why is it purple? Who is jealous?

3. Display your lead - In my first book, titled The Witch's Cursed Daughter, I am sharing that the Witch's cursed daughter is the lead character and central to the story. You don't need to share the name or gender; pick something you think makes your characters interesting and unique - then sell, sell, sell. 'Tall in Berlin', 'The Only Blue-Eyes', 'More Tattoos than Skin'.

I hope these tips help. Leave a comment below if you come up with anything inspired by these processes.