Title Trouble

I hate titles. Well, maybe hate is a strong word, but let me explain. I have been writing nearly my entire life. In school, you may remember, we learned to write essays, as early as 3rd or 4th grade even. And when we finished those essays, before we turned them in, they had to have a title at the top. I don't know how much time you spent on that simple last step, but I always spent way too much. Hold onto that thought.

I was an English major in college, and I have written hundreds of essays. Nearly every class I took in college involved multiple essays. Then, I got my Masters degree in writing. More essays. Now, you might be thinking, wow, she must be so tired of writing essays. She must hate essays. That could not be further from the truth. I love essays. I teach college students how to write them. I would happily write hundreds more. It's the titles. When I was in school, if there was an essay assignment that said nothing about a title being required for the grade, I did not put one. Or I put whatever kind of essay it was as the title. You know what I'm talking about? "Personal Narrative Essay" "Rhetorical Analysis Essay" "Eng 101 Essay". Because coming up with a creative title… The pressure of taking several hundred words and summarizing them into just a few. Difficult enough by itself, but then to also make it witty or so that it catches the readers' attention. But not too corny. But not so it gives away the whole message. So, it should come as no surprise that after writing an entire novel, I am still title-less. I would gladly write another 50,000 words. But alas... a novel must have a title. Anyone else have this struggle?