For a theme to work and story, which will revolve around theme, it has to contain three things…

1.Character

2.Conflict

3.Resolution

What’s reason for this?

If your theme doesn’t contain these three essential elements, then you won’t be writing a proper short story. It might turn out to be an essay instead.

Because without…

1)Characters

You can’t achieve emotional depth. Readers become engrossed in stories because of characters in them. They either become character (sympathize), or read about an interesting person (empathize).

Emotional depth is achieved when readers use their imagination and senses and/or experiences to live story through characters.

2)Conflict

Your story will be boring. Why? Without conflict, something to stir things up, nothing happens. And a story, in which nothing happens, is one not worth writing about.

What your title’s job is, it has to lure readers into your story – it has to be so compelling that they won’t even have a chance to ask themselves, ‘Will this story interest me?’

Their eyes will glide over title and into story before they realize it. The action will be instant.

What’s a compelling title? It’s one that instantly grabs our attention because it’s…

Intriguing Interesting Catchy Provocative Amusing

Your title may not be all these things but it will have to be at least one. There should be something about it that grabs your readers.

So how do you write compelling titles?

Start by learning from masters.

Learn from those whose articles and stories are published in newspapers, magazines and, in particular, pay close attention how writers of Readers Digest go about it. They have been luring readers into their written material for years. They know their stuff.

Here are a few examples of titles taken from Readers Digest….

•Did I really need to know that?

•Who is Jack Kevorkian, Really?

•Against flames

•Who Killed Margaret Wilson?