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Do you see the way the White-cheeked Barbet above is looking intently at the tree stump as if for inspiration or may be answers? That is exactly how you’ll find me in between finishing a blog post and hitting the ‘publish’ button. The only difference is, I stare at the keyboard and not a tree stump.
Why, you may ask. Shouldn’t I be by rights doing a jig or something? Isn’t that the normal procedure when you have successfully completed a mission? A shriek of joy followed by ‘I did it, I did it, I did it!’ also suggests itself as suitable follow up action. The least anyone would expect will be a contented smile and the soft click of the mouse to ‘publish’.
Ahh, but then little do you know about my travails of the title kind.
Writing blog posts methinks, is itself easy-peasy, and if not really ‘peasy’, certainly easy enough. But coming up with titles? Oh no, no, no. Not so much at all.
I spend hours sitting, staring intently at the keyboard, much like the Barbet shown above, as if for inspiration of some sort to strike to come up with a suitable title. The keyboard though is of little help, my caressing fingers notwithstanding. It acts coy. And remains mute. If indeed it does have anything on offer it seems loathe to part with it. Still, I keep my fingers ready, and wait…. vainly.
Jokes apart, my problem is not a joking matter. I have spent more time on choosing titles than writing posts. Not that you would think so looking at some of the bland ones I have come up with. That happens because by then I am too sleepy (I do most of my writing late at night) to care and jot down the one that seems close enough.
Once I wrote a story and just couldn’t come up with a title. I asked a friend for help. I waited and waited and waited. Nothing. So in protest (I don’t think he even noticed it was a protest), I went ahead and posted it titled ‘Untitled story’ (it still remains untitled).
It is really bothersome, and silly, this inability to come up with appropriate titles to whatever I write. So tell me, do you have title travails like me or is it all smooth-sailing for you?
©Shail Mohan 2016
Day 2 NaBloPoMo 2016
Shail's Nest 
Really? I find your titles apt and elegant.
Oh, I clicked post before I completed.
I don’t think too much about the title. I use the first word that comes to my mind as I wrote the post. I however, struggle with themes to write about. I can never find the sweet spot between “too personal” and “impersonally public”.
That’s a dilemma, finding that sweet spot, I agree 🙂
Damn, I share the same inability. Just like you, I spend more time in deciding what the title should be than writing the entire post. Maybe, while penning down the post, we go with the flow. The thoughts continue to pop up in our mind like fragments of a story. But summing up the entire piece of writing in, say, 2-4 words is a li’l difficult. (Very difficult for me).
Nonetheless, You penned it down beautifully. ❤
P.S. I suppose many of the bloggers and the writers share the same disability, Shail. 🙂
Yes! Going with the flow, it is when one writes. But titles are a difficult proposition. Like you say, I guess many of us do share similar shortcomings 🙂
ha ha…trust me…titles are harder than posts !! I also have similar titles for many posts 😛
And that’s such a lovely pic !! They surely do pose for you 😀 😉
You’ll have to trust me on that, Uma, titles take way longer time than posts! 😉
Now, the birdies are probably annoyed with me for I don’t hang around with my camera due to my bad back 😦
Oh dear !! They’ll miss you, not annoyed with you !
I hope so! ❤
Oh….Love the picture, the subject of the post and the title itself! I keep changing it before hit ‘publish’!
Yeah, me too. Once or twice I forgot about the title and hit ‘publish’ 😛
I am good at titles, bad at post content. We should pitch in our powers, wotsay Lady?
That seems a good idea 😉 😀
I never had a problem with a title name
but then there is not much that I can claim
the volumes what you and i have written are not the same
and to be comparing them would be a national shame.
Did you really have to put ‘national’ in that line? 😛 😀
How can you be so unpatriotic? Let not the Senas know this.
rofl
Good lord! Your titles are always amazing…and if they come without inspiration, I daresay I can imagine the ones that come with it!
My travails are with the posts themselves. What on earth I have to say will be of interest to a reader? Why should someone read those apart from being good to me? And the likes…
That makes me feel good. Really? But you don’t know how much time I waste wondering ‘what the hell should I use as title’! 😛
As for the second half of your comment, just write for yourself, whatever you 😀 want to say. Forget the rest 😀 And good to see you around.
Yes, yes – really. I don’t say thing to please (and especially not to you :D)
Yes, writing for self is what I finally do. Else, I’d have given up eons ago!
Title travails tantalize
They seem to goad a lot of guys
But if you ask me
The first two lines, you see,
Are what take ages to stylize!
Ahh, not for me. The first lines are what come first and I only have to continue 🙂