What Do I Call This? How to Title a Personal Essay

By Andrea A. Firth

Essay titles challenge me.

Maybe it’s because I’ve worked for years as a journalist and magazine writer, where titles are formulaic and the editors’ domain. News article titles distill the story to five to ten words of succinct, accurate summary: Titanic Sinks Four Hours After Hitting Iceberg.

Magazine titles get catchier: Ten Ways to Survive a Shipwreck (And Catch His Eye on the Lifeboat!) or Six Cruise Ship Destinations Best Viewed from the Boat.

In both sett...