When a reader encounters a story, what's the first thing he sees? Usually, it's the title. And the title is one of the strongest influences, for good or ill, on whether a reader will pick up a story... or pass it by. Your story only has one chance to make a first impression, and the title is what makes it.

Which begs the question: What makes a title? How do you come up with a title that's guaranteed to pique a would-be reader's interest? Sadly, I don't have a sure-fire formula, much though I might wish otherwise. But I can at least give you a selection of titles which I (for whatever reason) feel have a certain 'oomph' to them...

The late (and much-lamented) Cordwainer Smith was an all-around artist, and it shows in his titles. His real name was Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger, and his personal life was at least as interesting as anything he wrote about.

The late Robert A. Heinlein was neither artiste nor auteur, and who cares? The man knew how to write, by damn! Heinlein, like Kipling, will never bask in the plaudits of literary critics; he'll have to content himself with the undying admiration of readers.

Harlan Ellison is... something else. He never goes for the throat when a more vital target is available, and it was none other than Ray Bradbury who declared that Ellison "writes like an enchanted son of a bitch". Check these titles:

Larry Niven is rightly regarded as one of today's foremost writers of 'hard' science-fiction -- the kind that gets the science right. The thing is, Niven is also slightly insane; his mind forms cross-connections between the most unlikely pairs of concepts...