How do you choose your title?

Make a wordcloud on http://www.wordle.net/, and play with the words that stand out the most.

Ideally, mine get at what the story is essentially about and put that across in an interesting way that generates some interest. Enough, so a potential reader will be curious. Easier said than done of course. Usually, I come up with several and choose the best fit. Story trumps all of course. I've read great stories with lousy titles and vice-versa.

I also have title first, and quite often the title haunts me for a few days. Once I had a title in my head for a couple of weeks - as I was writing other things. I kept seeing it as I drove to work and I would tell myself: Knock it off. Dumb title. GET RID OF IT.

Then I saw a little girl walking along a wide stone wall. (We have some in the area that can be huge, a couple feet across.) And 'tada!' the title made sense.

Then I wrote the darn thing and sold it.