When a story finds its name

There’s a point in every creative project where something just doesn’t sit right. For me, that moment came with a story once called Hunted Shadows. It had all the right ingredients, mystery, tension, atmosphere, but the title never quite felt like it belonged. It was a whisper that didn’t match the story’s heartbeat.

As a deeply intuitive writer, I’ve learned to listen to those quiet signals. Titles, for me, are not labels. They are living parts of the story, carrying its tone, mood, and energy. When a title doesn’t fit, it’s like a song being played in the wrong key. You can still hear the melody, but it lacks harmony.

Changing Hunted Shadows to The Watcher's Prey felt like letting go of a version of the story that wasn’t mine anymore. Once I released it, the right title arrived naturally. It wasn’t forced. It felt grounded and aligned with the essence of what I was trying to say. The shift was subtle but profound, the story finally felt like it could breathe.

Listening to Your Creative Instincts

Writing intuitively is an act of trust. It means being willing to pause, to listen, and to follow where the story wants to go rather than where you planned for it to end. Sometimes that means rewriting entire sections, and sometimes it’s as simple as changing a word or a title.

When a title fits, you can feel it. The rhythm between the words and the story syncs. Everything starts to flow more easily. That’s when I know I’ve found what I was meant to write.

What I Learned from Letting Go

• Forcing a story to fit a title can make the writing feel constrained.

• The creative process often works best when we allow ourselves to adapt.

• Intuition isn’t vague or mystical; it’s a real and powerful guide for creative decision-making.

If you’ve ever had a project that didn’t quite “click,” it might not be the story that’s wrong, it might just be the name it’s wearing.