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How to Find Good Story Names

The first thing readers notice about a novel or short story is the title. An interesting, well-written title can draw readers to your story. A poorly written title can turn them away. What constitutes a good title can be subjective, but there are a few characteristics you can consider when finding story titles that might help you create more appealing titles. Titles can come from anywhere. Learning how to recognize a good title when you see one, hear one or come up with one is a talent in itself, and one any writer should get practice.

Things You'll Need

  • Notebook
  • Pen
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Instructions

    • 1

      Keep a list of possible titles in a notebook. Any time you hear something that might make a good title, write it down. Take a few moments a day to try and create one word titles that may inspire a story. Think of two- or three-word phrases that sound like good story titles. Try and create titles with a double meaning. You'd be surprised how many ideas you might come up with with just a half hour of brainstorming each day, and even more surprised by how one of those random titles might spark a story idea when you're hitting a roadblock.

    • 2

      Turn on the TV and watch the news. Good story title ideas can come from anywhere. Keep your notebook handy as you listen to the news stories and jot down any title ideas that sound promising.

    • 3

      Pay attention to titles of books on the shelf when you visit the bookstore. Titles cannot be copyrighted, only the expression of ideas relating to a title. It's perfectly acceptable to use the same title as another book if it strikes you as something you can build a story around. The story you write will be different than the original. Just to avoid reader confusion, you may want to consider avoiding titles that are highly unusual.

    • 4

      Write a story with a working title (one that fills the void until you come up with a title). Very often, a story title may not come to you until you begin writing. Some of the best titles are suggested by the story itself.

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