Disclaimer: Credits to writing-world.com

Don't get too caught up with trying to come up with the perfect title for your story. Keep in mind that you can always change your title in the middle of writing your story. However, you should still come up with a good title on your own. Why? Because the title is the first thing readers sees. A catchy title can give them a great impression whereas a dull title can be the equivalent of coming to a job interview wearing torn jeans.

Create Short, Catchy Titles

I know, it's easier said than done. But do keep in mind that titles should be interesting and as short as possible. Besides, long titles are hard to remember! When coming up with a title, don't be afraid to come up with a few. Pen down the titles you come up with and once you run out of ideas, look through the list and see which one stands out to you the most. Put yourself in the readers' shoes. You're scrolling through the list of stories and you come across two titles: Falling in Love with The Girl with A Stone Heart and Stone Heart.  Which one would you be more likely to click on?

Here's an exercise for you. Look at your bookshelves and glance at the titles there. Which ones leap out at you? Can you remember which books you bought/borrowed because of their titles? If so, pen down those titles. do you remember which books you bought/borrowed despite their titles? Then pen them down as well. What makes those titles you like stand apart from the rest? What makes the other titles less than successful?

You can apply this to exercise to AFF as well. Look at your list of subscriptions. Did you subscribe to them because of their titles? What about the ones that you subscribed to despite their titles? Compare those titles and see why some are successful and why some are not.

Look Into The Plot Of Your Story

The best titles usually come from the heart of your story. What is your story about? What's the theme of your story? Revenge? Recovery? Finding one's self? Then find a title that reflecs that. Ask yourself what you want your potential readers to know about your story and come up with a title that reflects that. The title can also give clues to the setting of your story. Sometimes, you have to dig hard for your title. Is there a significant object in your story? Maybe you can get a title from that. For example, let's say the significant object is a diary. A possible title is, 'The Written Words'. It isn't that straightforward and a reader won't be able to tell that your story revolves around a diary. However, it's related to a diary, doesn't it? Find other words or things that relate to that one significant object. It can work wonders for you, trust me.

Silly Titles

After creating your title, read it aloud. Would you be embarrassed to be seen reading such a story? If so, think of another title. Keep in mind often that particularly in the genre of romance, authors have very little choices over their titles so they tend to settle for the silly ones. 

Reflect The Tone of Your Story

For example, if you're writing an angst story, don't pick a happy or a fluffy title. Readers judge your story based on your title because that's basically the first thing they see. Readers looking for an angst-based story would probably overlook yours if your title reflects the opposite of the mood of your story. For example, a suitable title for an angst-based story would be, 'Dear No One' and not 'Meeting Mr. Brainiac'.

Don't Be Afraid to Ask for Help

Sometimes, when you're stuck, the best thing you can do is to ask others to come up with titles for you. While some people are title-challenged, others have great titles coming out of their pores. There are many writers here on AFF whose help you could ask for. Have a brainstorming session with them and you'd be surprised at the number of titles you'd get just from that one session!

With that said, I hope you found these tips useful and feel free to approach me should you want any help coming up with a title for your story :)