What Are Some Story Titles

What are some good story titles?

First of all, you need to work out what a good title actually is. Generally, a good title makes people want to read on, so it needs a little bit of mystery. Secondly, you need to use language that'll grab the reader's attention. This doesn't mean being offensive (although this tactic is one newspapers tend to love) but it means you need to use interesting language. These are usually called Power Words. Here's some examples:AmazingBlissfulBreathtakingSensationalSpectacularSurprisingTriumphUpliftingVictoryWondrousThe trick is to combine these two and create something that'll make readers want to read more, just like The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More by Roald Dahl.Let's say I'm writing a short children's book about a cow who buys some new shoes. Of course, I could just create a title called The Cow Who Bought Some New Shoes. But that's boring, right? Instead, I could make the title so exciting, anyone would take a second look if it was sitting on the self. Here we go. The Marvelous Cow Who Bought Some Breathtaking Shoes. Better, right?So you see, there aren't any good storytelling titles out there to be taken. You just need to be inventing and get people interested. Make something boring into something amazing.

What should be the title of my short story?

What, or who is your story about?Every book in the Harry Potter series is 'Harry Potter and...' Personally I think that Rowling's titles are too long, but she's sold a lot of books!I wrote a story about a Grandmother who was a monster in disguise. She ate her grandchildren, and great-grandchildren at the end of the story. I called it 'Grandma' Short, and to the point.Dashiel Hammett was great at story titles. Who can forget:The Thin ManRed HarvestTom, Dick, or HarryThe Gutting of CouffignalDashiell HammettHow about Keith Laumer's Jame Retief short stories?Dam NuisanceTruce or ConsequencesBallot and BanditsPime Doesn't CrayTrick or TreatyJame RetiefHow about Robert A. Heinlein:Magic Inc.The Moon is a Harsh MistressThe Puppet MastersThe Roads Must RollRobert A. Heinlein bibliographyFritz Leiber?The Big TimeBazaar of the BizarreA Spectre Is Haunting TexasFritz Leiber bibliographyRobert E. Howard?Red NailsRogues in the HouseThe Hills of the DeadRobert E. Howard bibliographyIn my opinion, the best titles are short, and to the point. Too many words can ruin a title. The shorter, the better. But your title should make sense to someone who reads the story. If they don't 'get' the title after reading your story, the title is a failure.Also you want to get the reader's interest. With a short story your title is the first hook, then the first 2-3 paragraphs are your next hook. If the title doesn't get the reader, than the story doesn't matter. You have to hook them.But...Sometimes long works. Samuel R. Delany wrote a story titled, 'We, in Some Strange Power’s Employ, Move on a Rigorous Line' and because it was written by him, I read it. It's a good story. So is 'Time Considered as a Helix of Semi-Precious Stones'.Roger Zelazny wrote 'A Night in the Lonesome October' and it was a Nebula Award nominee.But both Delaney and Zelazny were well know writers. They could get away with odd titles. Can you?

What are some good titles for a Harry Potter story?

If you are writing a story about Harry Potter you need a title that well fits the story, for example, if I was writing about Fred and George and how they put together the firework display I would call it something like ‘The big W’ or ‘Firework kick out’

What song titles would make a good book or story title, and what would be the plot?

This is an interesting question because people often have a story attached to a song. Some songs are story based (e.g.: Fancy (Bobbie Gentry song) - most people attribute this one to Reba McEntire) and others have lyrics that speak to the life experience of a specific listener. So, Yellow Haired Girl by The Dixie Bee-Liners could illustrate a story that is very different for me than it is for you.The question is - can a person separate the story already associated with the song from the song title? For example: The song Ode to Billie Joe was recorded in 1967 and the movie based on the song (Ode to Billy Joe (1976)) was made in 1976. The movie simply takes that song-story and turns it into film-fiction. If you were to provide this title to a writer (or a student) and ask them to write a story inspired by this title, would they be able to separate themselves from the story already associated with the song?Another extremely well-known story-based song is this one: Me and Bobby McGeeIf you were to stick to traditional music, lullabies and cultural/religious songs, then the song could become part of the story. For example:Didn't leave nobody but the baby (bluegrass lullaby)Amazing Grace (gospel)Blow the Man Down (sea shanty) The Crafty Farmer (child ballad)Actually, any song could become part of the story. The older ones might be easier for some writers to build off of because they aren't being played on the radio (over and over again). Looking over my own music list on YouTube (my Pandora 'like/love' list is not helpful because it is several thousand songs long - weird to think about, isn't it?) those songs with titles that seem to be good candidates for text-fiction-story titles are the following:Cover of Night by Steve Reynolds (singer-songwriter)Hopeless Wanderer by Mumford & SonsPrayer in C by Lilly Wood & The PrickPeople of the Land by Lincoln DurhamThunder and Lightening by BROWN BIRDYou Can't Treat Me That Way by Kate EarlWalk Beside Me by Tim and DarrellWhen I Go by Dave Carter and Tracy GrammerGoing Home by UlaliI hope this helps.Thanks for the A2A :-)