| Author | Message | ||
| KA
Advanced Member Username: kerryann Post Number: 86 Registered: 10-2002 |
How do you pick your titles for your poems? Do you start with the title and work your way down? or do you write the poem and then sit there and try to figure out a title? Does the title just come to you, or do you choose words from the poem to use as the title? Do you try to use words not used in your poem as your title? I could ask many more questions but I am annoying myself. I've just always been curious how people come up with their titles: mostly because half of them are clichés and half of them are very creative and I won't discuss which half is which. Sometimes, and I know I'm probably alienating myself here, I read all the poems and think to myself: Boy it would be much better had the title been... I'm probably the only one that's this critical, but I DO, most times, judge a poem by its title. Please don't shoot me.  | ||
| ~M~
Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 5779 Registered: 11-1998 |
Here's my secret, KA. I don't know if I invented it or read it somewhere (probably the latter, as I read so much, I don't know which thoughts in my head are mine anymore *LOL*). I write the poem with a working title (just so I have it to save as something). I write the poem, then I over-write by one extra line. That's right -- I say something beyond the final line, one last thought. THAT'S my title. This works for me because it keeps me from over-writing a piece. It's as important to know when to stop as it is to write the piece in the first place. Also it gives me a circular effect -- the title becomes the last line, the last line becomes the title. Then I know everything is tied together rather neatly. The title may only be one word, or it may be an entire phrase. But it's the final thought that would have been too much if it was pasted on the end of the poem. I also think it's a little surprise if the reader reads the title first, reads the poem, and then reads the title again. It gives them a chance to tie the title to the piece in a way they didn't recognize the first time through. In effect, it helps to close the door on the poem and put it to rest. So, there's my process. Don't know if it works for anyone else, but it's been quite effective for me over the years. Of course, I don't use it 100% of the time -- if a title is suggested or required, I work within the limits of that particular challenge. But 99% of the time, I go with this technique. Love, M | ||
| Gary Blankenship
Senior Member Username: garyb Post Number: 5557 Registered: 07-2001 |
No formula, the most common are Written in advance of the poem. From the poem. A borrowed/stolen line. Taken from traditions such as how the Chinese titled or the English might with their Ode to... Nothing to do with the poem, totally surreal and unrelated. Basic: Verses in Celebration of Birthdays Good luck. Gary The Eye of the Coming Storm http://www.mindfirerenew.com/ |
