Sometimes I have some difficulty coming up with a title for things I write. I think and I think and I think, and then I kick a dog, and then I continue thinking, and nothing comes to mind.
The title is vital, and although what I just typed is fantastically clever, I've officially wasted it as a potential title. I mean, I can't have the title explicitly in the text, can I? No. That would be terribly cliché.
Not being able to come up with a title is cause for severe writer's block. The title is what whatever you're about to write is about; it's the starting point at which the magnificent prose (or poetry, if you're gay) will begin its journey of growth into a work of art. Take, for instance, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. When he came up with that title, he knew exactly what he was going to write: a tale involving two cities whose times were both best and worst. How much clearer can you get? I'll bet you anything Dickens had that piece of junk penned out and ready to go in a week, maybe two. Everything just came right out of that incredible title.
(Dickens was not always successful with this method. Great Expectations ended up being a boring load of crap. Far from great. This may have been because he was paid by the word, as evidenced by the following passage:
"Miss Havisham was was was was was was was was was was was was was rich.")
To circumvent this issue, sometimes I start writing so I can come up with a title. Once I wrote out forty chapters of a story in hopes of coming across a title for a new piece. After months of hard work, drafting and redrafting, and fielding offers from a few publishers, my epic story about an Allied soldier in the North African theatre of WWII who left his comfortable job as a dentist in London to save his son from the Nazis was a success. It finally inspired the title I was looking for:
"My Report on Root Canals."
An A+ was in the bag. I almost doubled the 500 word minimum on that one.
So as you can see, the title is essential to writing. It is the fount from which your creativity will flow. Next time you're writing, be sure to come up with a strong and gripping name for your piece. You'll have a masterpiece in no time.
No need to thank me.
3 comments:
In order to spice things up a bit, perhaps the title may be changed to:
Communique from the Suez Canal
Though "Report on Root Canals" does have merits on its own...
Second comment ^^. Heh, but anyway.
That was actually rather interesting. Heh, a tale of two cities. Doesn't get more descriptive than that.
Clever! However I do not think poetry is gay and kicking dogs could probably get you in some trouble. =] Anyway I stumbled upon your you tube program and then discovered your blog. You have a good voice, it's like I know you although I don't! Anyway please check out my writing, it's a new blog and I am curious to know what a writer of your caliber thinks about it.
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