Developing Great Story Titles

My research into writing publishable picture book stories lead me to purchasing Ann Whitford Paul's Writing Picture Books. In particular, Chapter 16 of the book entitled Grabbing The Reader with a Great Title takes you on a journey on the different approaches to devising a great title for your book.

Here are the names of the sections that Ann strongly recommends you consider when titling your story:

1) Brief, 2) Catchy, 3) Unique, 4) Straightforward, 4) Expresses the Mood of the Book, 5) Hints at What the Book is About, 6) Doesn't give away the Ending, 7) Creates Suspense, 8) Gives the Artist an Idea for the Cover Illustration, 9) A Child Can Easily Say it Out Loud, 10) Includes the Main Character's Name, 11) Use a Catchy Line From Your Manuscript, 12) Free Association, and 13) Turn to Outsiders.

Even before I had purchased Ann's book, I had been using some of these same ideas while developing stories and titles based on my research. For instance, I often tried to come up with catchy titles using some of my poetic background. My poem, The Skunk That Never Stunk, which was published in the magazine,  Advocate, PKA's Publication, is an example of rhyme and alliteration, (e.g. skunk and stunk).

I particularly enjoy titles that create suspense. My poem, Odd Animal Friends, which was published in Ladybug magazine, begs the question, what's so odd about these animal friends?

I encourage picture book writers to check out Ann's book to help them come up with a great book or poem title.

Ken