Judge the book by its cover! Wise words!! But they also say “whats in a name?”, “A rose with any other name would smell as sweet”. Fair enough. But does that stop anyone from making a first impression on impulse? I believe that if, as a writer,
you make people sit up and notice your title,
relax!!! you have won half the battle!
As a common man (or woman :), let me tell you why I would read a review. I would do so on the following 3 accounts.
1) Any of the writers on whom I have set the alert, write on anything under the sun.
2) I want to know about a certain product or advice.
3) The title of the review.
I am instantly drawn to interesting titles. It feels as though I am catching the bait. As for me, I am no connoisseur for guiding the writers on how “titling” should be done. I can only comment upon some style in the interesting titles I came across. Maybe we can take a tip or 2 from them all.
p.s. I am talking only about titles, and not on the style of writing.
Some like it hot
Admit it or not, in the list of 50 reviews, if there is some review with a title that has a double entendre, our roving eyes stop immediately and curiousity takes over. Read the title by Amateurabe ‘My Dark and Sinful Secrets’ or ‘Allergic to Pricks’ and tell me that you don’t want to read the review! Now see this title- ‘Doing It alone and still lovin it’. If you are still wondering what the review could be about, let me clarify that the review is on swimming and no prizes for guessing who the writer is. Shyamnambiar ofcourse. If you thought docs are boring, think again!! Heres our very own MS ka vaidh, Sudipto33, with his title- ‘Handi full of orgies’ or ’Bottoms up’ that dispels any such notions. His reviews can be hotter, I mean it!
TIP: Just a hint, a subtle word, can act like the tadka to your daal!
Some like it kewl
By cool, I mean innovative and different !! Megs.4u gave the title ‘Ek ruka hua Faizalaaa’ to her review on the movie by same name (ofcourse don’t go by the category), borrowing the name of our CEO himself. Another of the cool titles that left me speechless was ‘(3 days-2 months)X Dravid/Lara=India wins after 35’ on India-west indies series 2006 by sndaya! (Daya, pray tell me, how can I divide Dravid from Lara :). Thakurman gave the title ‘To Paulose’ for his Advice on Fuel outlets! Is that what is the personal touch? :) Then another interesting one - ‘1-2-3-4-5…..’ – for the write up on Flying comfortable by Angel25.
TIP: Throw in some numbers, some chars or borrow freely from others, their IDs too!
Some that make you smile
There are some titles that move the 22 muscles on your face to make you smile. Magical Summer needs no introduction. Her titles would fall in a lot of categories here. But her recent ‘Single owner, lady driven and still alive’ title to her review on Scoda, left me grinning all the way from the word go. Talk of smiles and can Zuludancing be far behind? The title of his review on Amul Kool -’World ki Coolest cheez ! ?Koun mallika ? Slap..nah’ - makes you grin the naughty way. ‘Looking 4 Alchemist Aam Aadmi Reaches the Chemist’ announces Paulose making his views on the book apparent from the title itself.
Tip: When your title smiles, the review smiles too and so do the readers!
Some that make you dream
Can a review for Nescafe have a title ‘A fleeting moment and a fragrance’ or Dairy Milk Chocolates have the title ‘Forget love - I would rather fall in chocolate’? Yes, they can if the review is written by Afrank. Wow! makes me dreamy all along. To add more dreaminess to MS, theres our very own Sumit_Only with a title like ‘The flakes are light and white’ for a review on Finland! Akisha sighs and says ‘That which noone can bring me’ on gifts she wants and makes us all wonder what it is. Sajita talks of her father in her review on Mysore Sandal Soap and titles it ‘The Scent of a Man’. Talk of nostalgia and sweet memories!
TIP: Listen to your heart at times and touch a cord (or chord!!) in others !
Some with title me twist
Some borrow from others titles and then give it a twist. “Monk who sold his yezdi” titles Flyingelephant his review on the bike, while Orknob calls Zidane “Monk who sold his soul”. This is called double twist! Paulsb02 says ‘Divorce comes before marriage’ when writing about dealing with broken relation. I thought it does, but only in the dictionary! Pri20 does a Bond and says ‘The name is Brown, Dan Brown’. Nitesh1104 uses the song "Everything I do, I do it for you" for his review on choosing gifts for beloved. Isnt that a gift in itself?
TIP: Borrow from other titles and songs as well!!
Some want an answer
‘How much love is too much love?’ asks Rohitthebest about the movie Parineeta. Moviezombie must have seen some kids ask ‘When will it end Mummy, when can we go home?’ for the movie SEI. ‘Who said elephants cant dance’ asks envyram on his review on a Telugu movie called ‘Ayite’. Sanjoy, can you answer that? Mydessertz wasnt convinced about the movie Don and asks "Mona darling, did you love Don?"
TIP: When in doubt, ASK. ( as Shyam says :) Your question may push many readers to attempt answering them.
Some give their verdict or advice
Cousin2 advices that if you ’Laugh and the whole world smiles with you’ . Alok_Sr says ‘Chill you are just 30’. So, you know that if you are on the wrong side of 30, you just have to read the review. ’Grab it, grip it and get thrilled’ says Kunchumon, and he was talking of the book Key to Rebecca ! Mimi_Mou feels strongly that Orkut ’is not only about scrapping’.
TIP: You may sum up your review with some advice or your view !
Some are just a word
If you ask me this is tough. For someone like me, brevity and being laconic are asking for too much. And look at these titles, where one word says it all. Flyingelephant with his twisted words ‘UnforgotTEN’ on 10 best serials or JaideepKhanduja who calls his review on Maine Gandhi Ko Nahi Mara ‘Untitled ‘.
TIP: Jaideep/Sanjoy, I think you need to tell us how you manage 1 word in title!
Some have their series
Series is not synonymous with only cricket :) We have Great Indian /Western Movies, Classic, Books series by Indian1969 and Patenik2. Need I say that they are doing a brilliant job at that.
TIP: If movies can have Don1 and Don2, we can have that as well.
Well, am sure, there are more tips than that and more interesting titles too. So, do let me know what I missed?