Titulographobia—you heard it
here first! It’s a word I’ve coined from
Latin roots—titulo, meaning ‘title’; graph, meaning ‘write’; and phobia,
meaning ‘fear.’ “I leave it ‘til last.” “Why do I have to include one?” “I just don’t know how.”
The fear, according to reports I’ve
had, is that teachers too often tell their students that the title should “summarize”
what the writing piece is. That’s like
asking us to hold on to a thousand oranges at a time. There’s no way to eat and digest a thousand
oranges at once—and trying to hold on to them all at once is like managing a
tidal wave—overwhelming and fearsome.
In an early blog post, we entertained
a lively and generative way to title papers in response to literature and other
works. In this post, we will discover
other ways to enjoy the process of writing titles for a wide range of essays
and books.
Titles focus both you, as writer; and
your readers. If your title rivets and
delights you, so will it your readers. Two
main purposes for titles are to familiarize and to surprise. Effective titles do
both. In many instances, a subheading (following a colon) further elucidates
and inspires. Here are some strategies, with examples. As you read, note which you find most
effective.
FAMILIARIZE
Paint an image:
“Ducks on Corrigan’s Pond: An Effect
of Climate Change
“Jane Fonda in Handcuffs: Why She
Comes Back for More”
“Dusk in Fierce Pajamas”
Reference a Known Image:
“The Man Behind the Curtain: Campaign
Bluster”
“Burning Towers, Still: Reparations
to Victims of 9/11”
Use a Quote:
“Hatred is a
Failure of Imagination: Why the Arts Matter”
“Shout! Shout! Let it All Out: Asserting
your Rights”
State your point:
“College is a Waste of Time and Money”
“Congress Blames the Victims of Rape”
Address your reader:
“Go Ahead—Amuse Yourself to Death”
“Vote—Or Shut Up!”
SURPRISE
Say something strange:
“My Mother’s Kitchen is her Jeep: Women in
the Driver’s Seat”
“Adopt a Corpse: Robo Solicitations”
Ask a question:
“How
Long Must We Wait for Equal Rights?”
“Should
Women Go into Combat?”
Use an unusual word:
“A Fine Smirr of Rain: A History of
Precipitation.”
“Titulographobia:
The Fear of Writing Titles”
Play on Words:
The Right to Write (by Julia
Cameron)
“Grate Expectations: Parmesan Recipes”
Use humor:
How
to Raise Your I.Q. by Eating Gifted Children (by Lewis Burke Frumkes)
The
Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank (by Erma Bombeck)
Be Real:
“Not
Brushing My Teeth”
I
Hate You—Don’t Leave Me (by Jerold J. Kreisman and Hal Straus)
Be controversial:
“Let’s Starve Our Children:
Nutrition in a Fast Food Age”
Eff This:
Meditations (by Liza Kindred)
Surprise with statistics:
“40% of our Homeless are Children”
“1.1 Million are at Risk
for HIV”
Face down your titulographobia! Notice
that none of the above strategies are vague, general, or summarize. None of the attempt to manage a thousand
oranges all at once.
Write your working titles first, before you launch into the body
of your writing. Have fun with them! You can always revise them as you explore in
your writing process. Collect great titles and share them here. Tell us why you love them. With your newly revived confidence, share
your best titles with us here.
Join the ranks of titulographiliacs!
Join the ranks of titulographiliacs!
© Susanna Rich, 2020
Works
Cited
Looking back at all my titles from highschool, undergrad and even in graduate school...they sucked. I ALWAYS hated writing titles. I never put any thought into them. I just wrote something that made sense and went with it. I never took the time to think of a great title for any of my assignments, until now. I’m in the process of writing my book and I want this title to be the best title ever! When people tell you to ‘never judge a book by it’s cover’, they’re lying. You always judge a book by it’s cover. My husband is a sous chef and he has to make sure the dishes look presentable before they make it to the table. The first thing a customer does at restaurant is eat with their eyes. If it doesn’t look good, it’s probably not good and vice versa. You need to be able to attract your audience with first glance.
ReplyDeleteAWP 5000
Out of all the days to read this post… I wish I would have read this from the beginning of the semester! But then again, this is why you get paid the “Big Bucks” Dr. Rich because you always drop the gems at a perfect time. I can honestly say coming up with a title is harder than actually writing the poem. My titles usually come up to be really corny or cliche. I like the ideas you presented in this post, especially the Be Real: “Not Brushing My Teeth” orI Hate You—Don’t Leave Me (by Jerold J. Kreisman and Hal Straus). I consider myself a very blunt person, so I think I will head in this direction when continuing my writing process working with titles.
ReplyDeleteBy best titles so far are the following:
Creole
Damn Man: An Ode to Dr. King
Sweeping the Carpet
Buddha Tapestry
Patricia S. AWP 5000
FLASHBACK to high school years, in English classes, teacher would tell students start out by writing your title so you can know what to write and focus on. Also been told that “the title is the main part of your paper, summarizes your main focus”. Then with anxiety I am wasting time to come up with a title. The writing part wasn’t not difficult for me back then, f I have a topic of main focus I would write about it. But when it came to write a title I was always stuck. I would spend majority of the time thinking of a “catchy” title then the actual paper. Then, when it was time to the body of the paper, I would run out of time. That was also frustrating. Then I changed the strategy of writing my paper first then going back to write the title. That help a little but then I wouldn’t have time to come up with a “catchy” title like my teachers used to say. This blog post made me realize that I can title my paper in so many different ways I haven’t thought of. Enjoy reading this post Dr. Rich.
ReplyDeleteJessica M.
AWP 4000