Title Taxonomy

A title is the first story decision an audience encounters, and it tells them more than most writers realize. In the Stop Writing! methodology, I break titles into three root categories: Person, Place, and Thing. Every title you can name falls into one of these buckets — or combines two of the three. Once you see the pattern, you cannot unsee it.

Two concepts matter here. The Lens Character is the character through whose eyes we experience the story — the perspective holder. The Focal Character is the character who captures the most attention, whether or not the story lives inside their head. In JAWS, the Lens Character is Chief Brody. The Focal Character is the shark. The title tells you which one the audience will remember.

The taxonomy below covers the full system from my book. Study the categories. Notice which pattern your own title follows. A title chosen with intention signals a writer who understands their story before the first page.