Tip #3: TITLE

Hello everyone! This is the third of 12 writing tips to improve your writing coming your way. These 12 tips are from my experience of writing a book, writing poems and giving exams.

My third tip for you is to add a TITLE.

Though this tip may seem obvious at first, adding a title is something writers tend to give very little importance to. Adding a title is essential to captivate your reader, and fill them with wonder and intrigue for the passage to come.

For example, sticking with the example of an old man’s room from the previous tip (tip #2), if you were to title your description ‘An old man’s room’ or ‘The room of my grandfather’, it lets your reader know what the passage is about, but doesn’t hook them. Anyone could picture an old room, and reading about might not seem so interesting to the reader.

However, if you gave it a title like ‘A room of memories’ or ‘A trip down memory lane’ for example, it would make your reader wonder a bit more about what the memories of the room are and what the room is like. It allows your reader to let their own imagination begin the journey as they are drawn into the particular room that you, the writer, describes.

Additionally, you could title the piece ’Stuffed with soot’ where everything in the room is collecting dust, and settling in place. Not only, does it entice your reader with wonder, but it also involves alliteration (of the ‘s’ sound) that might stick in the reader's head.

No matter what type of title you choose, make sure it relates to the piece, without giving too much away. Make sure that it provokes a sense of curiosity in the reader, and make it catchy using wordplay.

Bonus digital art piece (using a tutorial by GenevieveDesignStudios)

A Nutcracker