Wednesday Writing Challenge: Book Titles
Typescript posts a new challenge each Wednesday to encourage creativity and inspire conversation. Feel free to talk about the challenge or share your writing results in the comments section below by leaving an excerpt and/or a link to your own site or blog.
The spark of inspiration can be found anywhere you choose to look. From a title of a song to a sketch found on a napkin, from an overheard conversation to a title of a book, these stories are waiting to be discovered and told.
It’s no secret that people tend to judge books by their covers. The titles and the cover art are what grab a reader’s attention, makes them reach for the book on the shelf and open up to the first page, entices them to discover the world and words within.
Book titles create that initial peak in curiosity as they hint to the reader the journey in which they’re about to take part. However, sometimes the story can be found within the title itself. The title often holds significant meaning for the book, but often can spark inspiration and get those wheels turning for your own story. It asks questions that keeps you wondering: who is the old man and what is his connection to the sea? Who is this survivor, what did they survive, and are they the only one? What’s being carried, for what reason, and who are “they?”
Pay close attention to the titles, judge those books by their cover, and let them spark ideas for setting, character, and plot in your own stories.
Challenge: Use one or more of the titles below as a prompt for a new short story or poem. Know the story already? Try putting your own twist on it.
Special thanks to Julie Rickards for her “To Kill A Mockingbird” recommendation! What titles and/or cover art intrigue and inspire you?
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Back when I was a bookseller at Barnes & Noble, obviously I came across way more books than I would have time to read–between customer inquiries, shelving, setting up displays, etc. Even with the books that enjoyed relative popularity, I didn’t necessarily have time to acquaint myself with the synopsis.
Think about what these titles–that the reader understands like a word from their native language (springs to mind instant understanding, no need to translate internally)–would sound like to someone who hasn’t read the book.
The Time Traveler’s Wife
Going After Cacciato
Me Talk Pretty One Day
Alias Grace
House of Leaves
Anna: These are great selections that bring up ideas and first impressions that spark so many questions and thoughts. When I first read the title “Me Talk Pretty One Day,” I questioned it, couldn’t possibly fathom what it could be about. There are so many different possible scenarios stemming from that simple line (and, I admit, my first impression was way, way off!).
You bring up some great points and offer great titles. Thanks for your thoughts, Anna!
Hey Susan!
Just wanted to tell you thanks for this great idea. I love your blog! It inspired me to write this, with the title “their eyes were watching God.”
http://allpoetry.com/poem/5367877
Akhila,
Thanks so much for sharing your poetry! I love how you took a title that always intrigued me and put such a beautiful spin on it; the idea itself of your poem makes you wonder.
I love the combination of words you choose, creating a flow and a sound that is also infused with so much meaning.
And the last line, “…I couldn’t catch his shadow” was absolutely stunning. A beautiful poem, thanks so much for sharing it!