3T Writing Tidbit

More on Title Creation (second most-hated two words for authors, following Blurb Writing).

Friend and awesome author Edie Ramer loaned me her copy of Save the Cat and I finally found time to read some of it.

The first chapter, actually. But even that little bit blew me away.

September 2015 I had a 3T Writing Tidbit on Title Creation. Now I'll add to that:

Irony.

I knew intuitively that titles and tags which have contradictory words that annealed into new meaning (the sum greater than the parts) was a better title. Biting Nixie. Nitro, meet glycerin.

But I didn't know the mechanism behind it. It's irony. Two or more words which, when put together, rub each other the wrong way.

But the title must also say what it is. I think that's why all the : () titles are so popular. At random, #5 in Werewolves & Shifters on Amazon (on May 20, 2016): Shifters in the Spring: Sixteen New Paranormal Romances of Secret Babies, Frisky Shifters, and Fertile Surprises.

Yeah. That.

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.