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Brian Miller, farm animals, hooking the reader, i know i just offended someone, title-ing, Writing, you will get over it
‘You can not judge a book by its cover,’
How often have we heard that? Often it is true, I have found some wonderful reads hiding behind some poorly planned covers & some pretty terrible titles—but, the whole purpose of a cover or title is to grab the attention of the reader—to get them to give you a chance.
Last week at OpenLinkNight a conversation started in the comments about creative titling…or really a request to spend a little time talking about how to title a poem or story. So let’s talk…
A few things I know:
People will decide to read based on a title..if the title is boring, why should I read further.
The title can add much to a poem. The title can even be a line in the poem, as mine was for Poetics on Saturday.
When I write a title it is the last thing I do before publishing. I usually look over the story or poem and try to think of what the poem needs—a nudge to open it up or even share my own perspective on the piece.
Another thing I look at is what I want to accentuate in the piece. Sometimes I try to think of another metaphor, not related to the poem itself, but to the subject. If it is a poem about marriage and I used farm animals as the metaphor in the verse, I may either play off the animals (as I did for this article) or I may think of another way to view marriage and tie the two together:
Swine & Roses…ha, okay, that is pretty terrible…but i would probably write it in my notebook as it might help me come up with something better.
Maybe I use the title to bring out a secondary message in the poem.
Look at the title as if it were your elevator pitch…you have seconds to convince a publishing house to take your book….what would you say in 30 seconds to make the difference.
You have less time than that with a title…so in 3 or 4 words what can you say to get me to read further? …sum up the story? …give me something to look forward to finding in your words?
Don’t write a great piece and give it a terrible title because you don’t think it is important, your laziness or carelessness can cost you readers.
Ok, this is not all about me…tell me your thoughts on title-ing. What challenges do you have title-ing a piece? What are some of your more creative titles? How do you come up with a title?
See you back here tomorrow, 3 PM EST — for OpenLinkNight. ~Brian
dVerse 
smiles…titling can be much fun… love lipsticking the pig..ha
title-ing can be fun…there is an art to it…though it is oft overlooking in the writing…you title very well…what are your secrets claudia…?
hmmm… i do my title-ing more unconsciously… let me think…
does that mean you have gone to sleep and we will see you in the morning? smiles.
i hear you this was actually rather hard to write as i had to stop and actually think about something i usually just do…the key is just doing it creatively and giving it more than just a passing thought…smiles.
smiles… didn’t go to sleep yet… some of the answers below….will think on though…maybe in bed…smiles
Brian, hi. Many times I will have title before I have the poem. It may lie around for awhile but I’m always thinking ‘what can I write for this, what should tyhe poem be, say. Sometimes I will take my titles from paintings, mostly abstracts–they are usually the most absurd. Anyway, I walk around with these titles in my head always thinking of a way to unlock the poem that is in it. The last one I did this morning was ‘Delicate Migration’. I angst over how I could use it, without making birds the central theme then I hit on an opening line about stading like a boxer and the extended metaphor worked into a love poem. So I never know where it will lead.>KB
i def have taken ideas from paintings…or even music lines…billboards…adverts…
pretty cool on your newest poem…and i like not going for the obvious metaphors as well…
I make it a point to try and make how the title gets used–and I always use it in the piece somehow-as a surprise if I can, which causes the poem to reverberate on itself to the reader hopefully.>KB
most def…i think the title has to tie in somehow, subtlely or in a fresh way, all the better….
i too have taken titles from painting or quotes from movies sometimes.. or a play on one.. from indiana jones for example…smiles
Well you can never be at a loss for an idea, just a way into it.>KB
Mmm… Interesting you should raise this one, Brian – always been a contentious one in my writing career. Unless the piece is prettily exclusively about a specific individual or location, it has never been my practice to use titles – preferring instead to use the first two or three words from the opening line for reference purposes.
When challenged on this in interviews etc. I always am deliberately provocative by responding that, as my writing is essentially ALL about a studied and careful distillation down to the very essence of things – then, if we assume that I could come ever up with a title that encompassed the subject of any one poem, then that should replace the poem itself!
So there you go, just one crazy poet’s view on titling – maybe that will put the cat amongst the pigeons for you tonight? Now then: “Cat amongst the Pigeons” – there’s the title for something good, methinks…
Regards as ever Scott http://www.scotthastie.com
ha. cat among pigeons…i rather like that…leads me to wonder what comes next…ha…
hmmm def an interesting perspective on titles and i know you are not alone on that…for instance kerouac used numbers in several books just to dilineate…i have read quite a few that do without…and then quite a few that do it really well…
feel free to always offer dissenting opinions…its what conversation is all about…smiles.
I understand what you’re saying, Scott. You don’t want to detract from the poem itself in the title. I’m the same way… I don’t want to reveal too much, let the readers draw their own conclusions.
so in what ways do you think a title can take away from a poem?
A title like “The Day You Broke Your Nose” says what the poem’s going to be about, but if the title is something like “Smashed” and the poem doesn’t come out and say a nose is broken, then the reader can interpret it as a drunken fall. It really depends on the poet’s purpose… does that make any sense?
yes it does…you dont want to tell the one line story you spend several stanzas telling…because what is the point at that point…
The title of her book, Sum of Every Lost Ship, drew my attention first. Since diving in Lake Huron last summer with its remarkable collection of shipwrecks, anything to do with the sunken objects of this world fascinates me. Any mention of water will at least make me pause and look back. There’s a woman on the white cover, dressed in what seems to be Nineteenth Century fashion, and she’s speaking. But the speech balloon to the right of her body doesn’t contain words, rather whales, whale bones, and above the water, a vessel. Which makes sense once you read the poems in Sum of Every Lost Ship. Someone is speaking in the work, or—more accurately—someones. In this debut collection, Titus gathers a congregation.
sounds like an interesting cover..and it def works much like the title to catch the eye and bring elements into play that grab the attention…
Nice post, Brian. The title is like the bow on a package, the icing on the cake..ha! all my cliches are popping in. To me, the title is a bauble that catches my eye and makes me curious.
My quest for a title is kind of akin to yours. The words come first, then when they dry up, I have to find a nice topping. There. That same cliche. Maybe, I need some cake or ice cream with a lovely topping. 🙂
that is ok, cliche works here…it is packaging the poem…the bauble that catches the eyes…i agree…sometimes i will flip through a book of poems until something grabs me…
ok..some unordered thoughts…
i think a poem starts not with the first line but with the title already, so the title should be like the first tunes of a music piece maybe..
it should grab the readers attention, bring them in the mood and make them curious for what’s to come
i always title after i’ve written the poem – i often let the poem rest a bit before i decide on a title – the process is always similar – i re-read the poem and ask myself what is the main message or what is the feel for me or do i want to highlight a specific part or direct the reader into a specific direction – then i try to express this as creatively as possible
i think a different title can take the whole poem into a different direction….
ah i def agree with that last statement…a different title can give a different feel for a peace…there are a few that i have gone back and changed because it did not give the effect..and as you know the titles i intially send you oft change before publishing…ha…
Love this post Brian. I often have problems with titles. My biggest issue is titling a poem with a twist or surprise ending. How do you title with intrigue without giving away the punchline?!
oo great question…the easy answer is you dont…ha…
i wonder if you have an example you would be willing to post and let us play with here in the comments…
off hand i would say build on what is creating the tension before the reveal but possibly from a different perspective…
Titles are challenging for me. As I said in response to Scott’s comments, I don’t want to give too much away in a title and I also don’t want to sway the reader a certain way. I want the poem open for their own interpretation, which many times is completely different than mine. Many times I’ll take a phrase from the poem, or have the title be the beginning of the poem. Sometimes it’s just whatever comes to mind. Sigh. I think I’m lacking in the title dept, though. Appreciate this topic, Brian!
i asked above, but i think you answered it a bit here…and that is in the giving away too much…and there is a delicate line there you dance…the same as when we write — if you are going for the hook in the end…
I answered above. It is tricky.
Yes, I can see it is realy all about how you work as individual writer and what you are aiming to do… I appreciate for some writers a title can provide a focus or indeed a starting point or, as Claudia points out, often be an excellent way of seducing the reader’s attention – sometimes provocatively… I myself, like Laurie, favour leaving as much as possible open to interpretation and its often good, I think ,to aim to draw your reader as fluidly as possible through a thought process/internal dialogue, maybe then only revealing the key subject or central nuance of the poem as the piece draws to its conclusion…
But perhaps this is perverse of me! Dunno??
i think it is up to the writer…and in what you are trying to accomplish…for me i think part of it is my background in business as well…everything had a catchphrase or name…brand recognition…always looking for that hook to draw in people….
Really excellent post, Brian. I also wait till the poem is done before playing with the title, although sometimes the title comes first and the poem follows. Sometimes I think the subject calls for minimalism. I only have one untitled and still haven’t come up with anything. I often tend toward using a line from the poem or just a one word title. This is something to think about now, as I’m in the process of self-publishing my first collection. That’s where a huge amount of my time has been spent the last few weeks.
i went through a period a while back when i did one word titles…it was when i first started poeming….very cool on your collection as well….
my titles can happen, and even change, just about any time in the creative process –
but it is one of the fun things to try and nail something with the title; i have better luck some times than others 🙂
gotta say, a lot of yours, and your accompanying image, are usually pretty catchy 😉
ha. my imagines are often totally random…its funny i seldom used images up until about a year ago or so…again it was a reader that challenged me to do it…to see a bit of my world through my eyes beyond the poems…
i think pics and poems, esp how you’ve done it, really add a lot 😉
be back in a bit…owe some tractor rides to some boys…keep talking…smiles.
I found this interesting as I recently have been contemplating titles and the importance of the title. I guess the title is the hook to draw the reader into the poem. I sometimes like titles that mean something to me sort of symbolic to the force that helped me create the poem but, perhaps they are not that exciting. I am going to try and be more creative in this area . Thanks for the very interesting conversation and I enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts. I think this was helpful to me.
Thanks Brian…
hey, i am glad you stopped in …and thought you got something out of it…smiles…thats hopefully what we do in these pubtalks…stretch our minds and just kinda talk things out…
Great post Brian!
I usually title my piece way after I have written it so that sometimes I don’t even find a title for them 😀 … and example is the dark poem I wrote, which I called “An untitled dream work”.
However I have written a few piece in the past based on their titles such as “RED”
For me writing is all about fun, and so if I don’t have a title by the time I’m through with a poem or prose then there’s always later 😉
Cheers! 🙂
nice…i usually write my poems well in advance of posting in the notebook and often they will sit untitled unless inspiration hits…its often rereading and rewriting later that a title gets attached…
and there is def always later…smiles.
I find that most of my poems title themselves, but when they won’t, I try to use the title as a sign-post directed toward the underlying emotion or message I was striving to conjure. When this doesn’t work out, I look to the overall ambiance or tone for a clue!
great suggestions man, i agree…particularly on the sign post…
and sorry, just found you in the spam folder and set you free…smiles.
Am late to the party. With blogging, titles just seem to come to me. I don’t put a lot of thought into it. Much of my writing flows from subconscious which I rarely censor. But titling a book that might be published is different matter. I did write an unpublished romance novel years ago. I just knew the title would come to me at some point in the book, and it did. Perhaps letting the muse through and not agonizing is best. Sometimes I think the more we focus on something, the less creative we get. FWIW, my book was titled Cinderella, R.I.P. But getting a book to a publisher is whole different set of skills than writing it. *sigh*
ha yes it is…have several friends who have had novels published and it took them several years…an interesting perspective as well on not focusing on something…i need to think on that one a bit…smiles.
Brian, this is an interesting point you have brought up. Titles can be difficult for me, as I want to go “all abstract and weird”. But then I read an article by a fellow poet on the subject and she suggested using a title that is somehow associated with the contents of the poem. A word or two, some kind of association. Now, I find it much easier to title what I have written.
Pamela
i would agree it should associate to the poem as well…and i can go all abstract and weird at times as well…ha…
I have read everything so far. I am one for SHORT TITLES for my own poetry. I think about Leonard Cohen and his titles. I have a book of his poetry in front of me now. Here are a few of his titles: “Poem,” “What I’m Doing Here,” “Bird on a Wire,” “The Way Back,” “So Long, Marianne,” “Famous Blue Raincoat,” “A Singer Must Die,” If a short title works for Leonard…..well I am a fan. I also have a book of B.H. Fairchild in front of me. A few of his titles are “The Potato Eaters,” “Mrs. Hill,” “Brazil,” “On the Passing of Jesus Freaks from the College Classroom.” His titles are short to medium in length.
I usually aim for a short title, a word or a phrase from the poem. I prefer that my poem speaks louder than its title. Truthfully I never judge a person’s poem by the title. I never turn away from a poem because of a title. After I read someone’s poem, I do sometimes think about the title and wonder or reflect on how they came up with it
i would probably be closer to a phrase than a one word title looking back over the last month of my poems…ha, i am now going to look up that jesus freak poem on the net to see if i can find it too..
For me titles are among the most difficult pieces of writing. I usually find them last, too – except when prompts from some sources suggest them at the outset.
I used to leave some peces untitled if nothing suitable occurred to me, but then John Hewitt at Writers Resource Centre insisted poems should always be titled, to help oneself and more importantly the reader identify, recall and locate them. He said, if all else fails use the first line as title. So now I do, and agree it’s preferable to having numerous pieces called ‘Untitled’. Sometimes, using half the first line is effective.
I have found that very general titles don’t work well. It’s not much use calling something ‘Autumn’ or ‘Bird’; it doesn’t identify the particular poem sufficiently. Even Keats said ‘Ode to Autumn’. I was guilty of a lot of very general titles when younger. If you’re prolific like me, you can find yourself using the same general title several times over for different pieces; not a great idea. (Also, such vague titles are pretty boring, aren’t they?)
I agree with Laurie that you don’t want to give away the whole poem in the title.
i would agree on overly general titles as you might use them again and again if you are not creative…and i think the titles do give the reader something (a hook) to help them go back and identify as oft it is hard to go back and search for a particular phrase unless you are online…
..the cover of a poem is vital part & / or element in my poetry… i see to it that everytime i write my covers, each should / must be worthy of the top prize or at least for me / as to my taste… it can’t be dull… it must add value to your masterpiece… at the end of the day most of our readers are cynical…
..in writing titles i normally write 1 word titles to create focus, directness, intriguing quality that will attract readers to go beyond & know what lies behind the cover… i occasionally write in long / extended titles…. and if i did i see to it that it is as well intriguing & will make readers think why / how i came up with such long cover/s…
…i must admit, i am quite the perfectionist type when it comes to my crafts & / or interest but (still) very humble enough to admit any flaws or anything that has to be admitted then try to correct ’em if it feels right or simply if it is the right thing to do…
…when my muse are on the right mood & i have a clearer understanding of what to write… i create the title first… and from there i will birth the succeeding elements… however, in rare days when my thoughts / ideas are scattered i tend to write the title after i wrote the whole piece… i will gather first my thoughts in the air like birds i lured with either of my peanuts or corn seeds… & from the whole piece will derive my title…
…this is a brilliant topic Brian… glad you extended the whole thing here… when i read for i think are poor titles i get easily turned off & sometimes affects my interest to read further… but then who am i not to give a chance to a poem with unpretentious beauty… smiles… your titles in particular are very intringuing for me & always kept me thinking why it was written like that… ha… smiles…happy monday at my end…
Kelvin, I am going to have to try writing the title first, that sounds challenging. I think it might be a good experiment on seeing what develops thereafter.
..yes Pamela… i most of the time write the title first to gain me focus… in fact i have list of already birthed titles awaiting for their perfect verse/s… titles are like base of a muffin… you cannot or hardly shape a muffin without a perfect base… & a muffin is not a muffin without its clear shape regardless of its taste or aroma… smiles…
…and if i may just add, titles shouldn’t be general… we must avoid that… it must unique & fresh… it must not be exaggerated… and if it does & / or cannot be avoided to exaggerate it has to have purpose & / or significance to the whole concept of what you are trying to leave with your readers…. just the right word / s to justify your means & / or wits… smiles…
smiles…i appreciate your insights kelvin…we share similar thoughts on much of it…i dont know that i have ever written a title first….i may have to give that a try….the muffin without a base…smiles…i like that
I’m not clever at coming up with a good title for my poems; many times, I end up having something on the top of the page as if I’m in the middle of telling someone something, or it tends to be the question that the poem is trying to explore.
I often find the idea which give birth to a poem – like storyteller, light, rain – makes very insipid titles for me. I am really bad at titles, even for my books!
Onangkiu – The Warrior Princess of Gellangui – now that is a terrible title for an award winning manuscript! Anyone care to help out?
I often wonder how you do it Brian, and all of you who have great titles!
i just like being creative…smiles…
i say that, and my oln title i use to set the scene,
nothing too creative…smiles.
How about a poetry challenge where you pick from one of say five titles and have to write to that?
In looking back over my blog, my titles are all over the map. My favorite ones are a bit unwieldy/long, or if they’re one or two words it’s a common phrase used ironically. And boy do I have a lot of titles with “Dream of…” in there. I think it’s an influence from Reynolds Price.
We *do* just a book (or poem) by its cover (title). I know I do. I can just about tell if a poem is going to be trite from the title. Or I think I can.
I really really like that idea! All of us write on the same title!
I’m in. Sounds fun.
ha. while i would love to say i dont, i do believe you can tell a lot about a poem by the title…not a bad idea…what if we all wrote to the same title one day…would be very cool to see what we came up with that was alike or different….
alright poets….time to get some sleep…be back for more of the conversation in the morning…appreciate all your thoughts on titles…and i like that they have been diverse and not all on the same side…it makes one think and consider…
Titles for me happen at any point. I scan the lines and pick (usually one word, but now I realized that leads to confusion or double titling), and it can be mid or after writing the piece. Laughed aloud at the lipstick/pig description – good one, Brian.
i too like the idea – bri could think of a crazy title and we could do it for poetics maybe – that would be fun
will have to give that some thought….smiles.
really enjoyed reading through the conversation.. and i too like the different opinions and inputs… food for thought here for sure
Just logging in after spending an afternoon & night arranging/attending my youngest daughter Grade 8 graduation/ party ~
Am catching up on the conversation ~ Enjoyed reading the inputs and will try to be more creative in my titles (I’m trying, smiles) ~ Thanks for the tips Brian & everyone ~
title-ing can be fun…as fun as the writing when we let our selves go with it…
yay on the grad party…that is awesome…congrats to her…and to you…
so does that mean she will be in high school next year?
Yes, sigh ~ I have to keep an eye on her, smiles ~
my son is on that 9th grade cusp too. all of a sudden he’s interested in girls. jeepers. was I that sullen? LOL. – : ) ~ M
Also have to say, not only are your titles creative but so are your tags here, ha ~
smiles. tags matter too…
Titling is something I do after creating a piece because at the beginning, you do not know how the final things would look like.. how it would feel like to traverse through it, to experience the words and what meanings they would possess.
It is indeed really important to frame a title which would justify the written piece and also, it must have the capability to hypnotize the readers into reading that very piece. I am not very good in ascertaining a perfect title but I try my best.
And I would like to thank you for sharing this post. It is of great importance for all the writers around, whether they write prose or poetry.
zmiles…i def think it is important to consider for all writers…hypnotize the reader..ha i like that…and so true…
This is very very interesting. I am embarrassed to say I have never given it a lot of thought (except when I am doing it). Ha! I was going to look back at some of my poems but I am on the wrong computer and cannot do that. The replies here are wonderful and helpful.
OK … I just went to my blog. And yes I do pay attention to my titles. And I do attempt to drawn someone in with them. Some are clever and some are simply honest. I don’t like them too long.
For me, I always try to find a single phrase from the poem that encapsulates it and make that the title. If I just can’t do that, then I shoot for something eye-catching or incendiary. A title is like a headline, should make you want to read the writing.
I think titles are part of a poem not after thoughts. I believe Edward Hirsch discusses titles in his book, How to read a poem. After reading the discussion this morning, I reviewed my blog. No surprisess I have been lazy with titles. Even with effort my habit is short but love long, quirky ones. I am affected by titles. I DO read poems with good titles first. Numbers should be for haiku or reserved for Dickinson and like masters. I get why some poets number and there are other times when I think suspect a poet numbers to mimic or because they don’t see the value in titles. While I’m equally guilty of not putting enough effort into my titles at times, it’s purely laziness or feeling rushed because as a reader I see titles as an intergral part of a poem. I am more impressed with poems/poets where titles enhance a read. This discussion has reinforced the idea that titles are not afterthoughts. Your work has to be exceptional and warrant being title weak or numbered for me. I realize this might sound snobish and even foolish coming from a woman who just admitted to being lazy but again, I’m speaking as a reader first and for me, grab with those first few words. I read way too much and there’s never enough time to read all I want to and titles are one way I choose what I read.