How To Write Good Story Titles

When trying to think of good titles for stories, good story titles may be the last thing on your mind. You have an idea for a story and you are eager to begin writing it. Well, do it then - write the story first, and add your good title when your story is complete. Reading through your story when you are done writing it, should help you think of a good title for it.

What else can help you think of good titles for stories? (after you've first written your story, or even while still thinking about what your story could be about):

Reading through good lists of good titles for stories
Reading through lists of story ideas or story title ideas can help you think of your own stories to write, and what sort of good title you could give your story

Visiting online writing sites
Visiting and reading the short stories (and taking note of their titles) on online writing sites like HubPages and Helium may not only give you great ideas for good titles for stories, but may also give you an idea of what sort of stories, and writing style, is accepted for publication by these online writing sites - in case you wish to join either HubPages or Helium or even both of these free online writing sites yourself.

Knowing your target market
Include words in your story title that your target market will identify with, or that at least suggest a feeling, memory, or thought that your target readers may identify with. Even ask a question. Make the title of your story intrigue your target readers - try to make them want to read the story to find out more.

Learn and use SEO when publishing your writing online
Things can get a little tricky now: you still need to know your target readers and try to entice them to read your story, but without allowing your story title to get too long, you may also want to use some SEO in your title (and in your story too.) SEO is Search Engine Optimization. You may want to try and include words or phrases in your title that people are actually searching for on the Internet. You may be able to get a good natural search result on a search engine like Google, maybe even a natural (not paid for) search result on page 1 of Google, and thus get more people to read your story. Getting more people to read your story is especially important when you are also trying to make money from writing stories online. How do you know that people are searching for the words you were planning on including in your story title? Use the free Google Adwords Keyword Tool and check! Including words that people are actually using in their search terms on Google is just one aspect of SEO; learn more about SEO by reading articles about it on the Internet, for free (free other than paying for your Internet.)

The above tips should help you with how to write good story titles.

10 Ideas for Titles for Stories for Small Children

Older children and teenagers do not really mind too much about what the title of a story for children is, as long as the title relates to what sort of story they like to read, or that the story is by their favorite author. Smaller children usually need to also see pictures to help carry the story along, and to keep them interested in reading or listening to the whole story right through to the happy ending. The story also usually needs a good title to get small children intested in the story in the first place.

Here are 10 ideas for titles for stories for small children, that we thought of:

The Boy Who Had a Balloon that Never Popped!
How you make that balloon never pop is up to you, the writer.

What Happened to the Girl who Swallowed her Bubblegum?
Use your imagination:
Did she bounce around?
Did too much wind blow into her mouth and she became all round like a bubblegum bubble?

The Talking Ant that Lived in Peter's Head
How did that ant get into Peter's head?
What did the ant say?
Did Peter talk back to the ant?

The Adventures of Kathy Kite
What happened when Kathy Kite got caught in a tree?
What happened when Kathy Kite landed on the roof?
What happened when Kathy Kite got scratched by a cat?

The Day Mary and Jane Rode on the Foot of a Giant
Were Mary and Jane tied onto the shoe of the giant?
Did they do something nice for the giant and he thanked them by giving them a ride?
Did the giant even know they were on his foot at all?

How Brave Barry Bumble Bee got his Bumble Back
What on earth is a bumble? Make it up!
How did Barry Bumble Bee lose his bumble in the first place?

The Dog that said Meeow and the Cat that said Woof
Were they born like that, or did something happen?
Were they ever going to get their own voices back? How?
Were they friends or didn't they like each other?

The Princess Who Had No Hair
Her hair either never comes back but she still ends up happy,
or,
what made her hair grow again?

The very long slippery slide in Uncle Jake's Garden
Have fun with this one:
Perhaps the slippery slide comes alive and flies off on an adventure taking two children with it;
Perhaps all the moles in the garden celebrate a birthday by having fun on the slippery slide;
Perhaps a story on how the slippery slide stretched and got so long

The Bear Family visit the People Zoo
Use your imagination!