Every time I see the words on the big screen again, I marvel at the brilliance behind the name: “a Working Title production.” Working Title is one of Britain’s most successful movie studios ever, the company behind films like Love Actually, Darkest Hour, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, among many others. Making their own name one that would forever remain in progress didn’t just make for great marketing. It’s also a good reminder there’s always work left to be done.
When I write, 99% of the time, I also do so under a working title. It helps in several ways. For one, there are now some words where there used to be none, making starting the actual draft a little less intimidating. For another, it’s a working title—if push came to shove, as a title, it would work. So if nothing else, I’ve already got a name under which I can ship the piece if need be. That’s reassuring. At the same time, it’s a working title—a title very much still in the works. I can change it any time. That, too, is reassuring—and thus the writer climbs the confidence ladder, one small step after the other.
There’ll always be exceptions, but however soon you can, give your work a title. It takes the pressure off in multiple ways and provides a target to aim at to boot. Who knows? Ship enough working titles, and maybe sometime, we’ll remember you as the Working Title of your field: always tinkering on another potential hit, yet never quite done after shipping the last one.
