On Craft…
I believe in the importance of a title, a headline, a vision, what have you. When you give a title to your work, you make all your ideas into one salient and guiding thing, which you can rely on as the writing gets difficult. Giving a salient identity to your projects also helps you understand the scale of your work. Even if the title changes, there’s that bedrock you get to build on top of, which means your foundation will always be solid.
This one might feel obvious, but I went a long time titling last. This never worked in my favor, and my projects were typically so wild by the point I started giving them titles, they were too far gone to even finish. I used to really romanticize doing things in wanton ways, thinking of that as part of my “process.” But the actual process of doing things in steps—steps that work for me, your steps can be different—has done wonders for my ability to see a project through to completion.
It’s so important for your project to have body and identity. To me, that comes from the title because it captures all my hopes and wants for the work. I see the title as an opportunity to bring my ideas to life in a structured way. Too, I can always refer back to my title when I am in a rut and think on how I can apply said title to my current workflow. The same can be said for a headline, of course, but when we’re thinking long-term work, a set of tricks to keep you going is pertinent. The title is the first of many ways to make it to the proverbial finish line.
Scale is also crucial. When you title something, you understand the scope of your work and it helps build up boundaries and expectations for your project. Before you give something a title—and this was always my problem—that thing is everything. There are no limits and so your work becomes too wild to recognize. I am a firm believe in being infinite and finite at once. Balance, my friends. Writing is about balance.
What if the title changes? That’s okay, too! In fact, a changing title is better than no title at all, because of that aforementioned balance. When you do something as important as change your title, you’re committing to a new direction. Likewise, when you title something, period, you’re committing to it in its current form. The stakes are a little higher when titles are involved, and those stakes make for better work. Short titles are better than long titles. Specific titles are better than broad. Iron out your thoughts, then give them some pizzazz. It also serves you to keep old titles written down somewhere for a rainy and uninspired day. Use everything, always.