Every author has different ways of choosing titles. Here are some ideas:
- Describe the story. Examples of this sort of title include The Man Who Sold The Moon and any of the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories.
- Introduce the character(s). Use the name or description of your character or characters as the title. Examples of this include Son of a Witch and O'Reilly's Luck.
- Use a phrase or line from your story. Many authors use this technique. They use a line or phrase that they have written as the title, then you see it in context later on in the actual story. Often, if the title is particularly lyrical, or seems to make little sense if read out of context, you can bet that the phrase will be important once you begin reading. Think of Stephen King's The Shining or Robert Heinlein's Time Enough for Love.
- Use a quote. This can be tricky, because many quotes belong to an author or to their estate, and using someone else's words is plagiarism if you don't have permission. Quotes from very old sources, such as most religious texts or Shakespeare's writings, are usually safe to use, but always check with a legal expert to be certain.
- Just pick a title you like. Many authors simply choose a catchy sounding title that they like.