How do you come up with a title for your novel(s)?

[swvaughn]

Inspired by Jo's thread about helping to pick a title, and my own need to come up with a new title for mine...

Where do your book titles come from? Do you:

-Try to capture the theme of the book?
-Use word tricks like alliteration or puns?
-Name novels after your characters?
-Use a short phrase or repetitive element from the book itself?
-Pick random words from the dictionary and string them together?
-Ask friends, family members, or complete strangers to give you a title?
-Something else entirely?

What method(s) do you use in choosing a title? Inquiring minds wanna know...

(And yes, I am aware that agents and editors will often change the title you have so carefully chosen. You still need a strong title to capture attention in your queries, because really, who's going to be interested in reading more from a title like "Sally Goes to the Dollar Store" or "Ten Bland White Objects" or "The DaVinci Code"... oops, did I type that out loud?)

[seun]

I go for something memorable that fits the book's theme. A few times, I've had the title set almost as soon as I start writing it. For the last one, a final title didn't come till I finished the second draft.

[KatieJohnson]

I wish I was one of those people who knew their title while they were working on the project. Alas, I am not. I just call my books, "Book one" or "Carrie Book"-after the main character's name. I guess I need the time to come up with a name that suits the whole story and I feel I can't know that until I have the overall picture. I like chosing a name though...it feels like the "candy" part of the job!

I also keep an open file of great possible names I come up with for pretty much any possible work in the future. Usually when I look it over, nothing springs out, but it's always a good jumping off point for me to begin. Sparks my mind to get going on a good name.

[stormie]

A few times, I've had the title set almost as soon as I start writing it.
That's what happens to me. The title comes to me first. And it usually works. Can't explain it.

I read somewhere that one and two word titles are the catchiest. Don't know how true that is, but I guess it's easier for a reader to remember.

[sunna]

I agonized over my titles long after I finished - well, the first one anyway. Sine they're all connected once I'd picked one I had the other two in place, and a few in mind should I ever want to continue past 3. I went for the short phrase/repetitive element route; I like short & sweet titles.

[Nolita]

This How To Write a Novel (http://justinelarbalestier.com/blog/?p=398) helped me to get unstuck. So I go with her advice, she's very much published. Anyway, she goes with Katie's style of naming, at least at the beginning. Also, she hints, the title you give your book might not be the one the publisher wants, so... I'm thinking everything has to gel.

[ccarver30]

My first novel was a fluke. I had named it a long time ago, part of it being part of the last name of my male MC (novel is Stone and Glass and his title name is similar to Stone). But the Glass part I had no idea how I was going to incorporate it or even what the hell it meant.
Flash forward a bunch of years and I found the absolute perfect way to use the Glass portion. It was kind of weird. I am sure this probably makes no sense, so I guess you will have to read SAG when it comes out one day... :)
Anyway, as for the second one, I was coming out of the shower and watching the water drop from the end of my hair and decided that Watching the Water would be a neat title. LOL

[ccarver30]

Oh also, my titles always come first- not the story itself.

[ClaudiaGray]

I find that, when it comes to my stories, I either have a great title right away or I'm not going to come up with one until the very, very end.

I thought of Evernight years ago -- in connection with a scifi book that died partly finished. Evernight fit that world (it would be way too complicated to explain why) and was one of the things I liked best about the whole project; I put the name Evernight everywhere, named my hard drive that, etc. Well, the book died unfinished, and for a long time after that, I would run into jotted-down "Evernight" and feel like the biggest failure. But when the time came to name a creepy Gothic boarding school for my vampire book, Evernight seemed to work perfectly, and now I feel a lot better about it. :D

There's no one thing I use. I've come up with phrases that are spoken by characters, words or phrases that have a double meaning within the story, etc. All the Evernight books will have compound-word names; the second is Stargazer. The thriller book I'm outlining is tentatively called Delilah, as it's about a woman who knows how to cause trouble, and how.

I think you have to just keep turning it over and over in your mind until something stands out to you -- something original enough to stand out but meaningful, too.

[callalily61]

I had a miserable time coming up with my first title. When it tanked in a contest and I completely rewrote and entered the same contest a year later, I had to change the title because the first one was quirky and might have been remembered. The second title fits it so much better!

Sometimes it's those happy accidents.

For the mystery I'm writing, the title popped into my head immediately. One of those serendipitous moments.

[BruceJ]

Mine's named after my MC, but only his patronymic. His first name is too familiar and would ellicit too many preconceived notions on the thrust of the book.

[Shady Lane]

I try to use the title as an additional theme. It has to tie into the plot, but I don't want to insult the reader's intelligence by overhighlighting a theme that's already present. It has to add something that would otherwise be unnoticed, not point to something that's already there.

[Sage]

Usually I call it "'s Story" or "Sequel to [Insert previous story's title]" until I come up with a better title. There have been a few times that I knew the name early on & only once b4 I started writing the novel. I try to incorporated a theme, a name, a good line, or just whatever sounds good.

My last one, [I]AFTRLYF, came from a license plate I misread. It became my MC's license plate & the title. Using "afterlife" worked well as she's an Angel of Death, but a little bold, sassy, & kinda a screw-up (so a different spelling works well), the afterlife I present is a little unorthodox. The afterlife is what's at stake, politically (will the Big Bad take over the afterlife from the reigning Angel in charge?) and personally (the Big Bad has the ability to destroy angel & human souls so that there is no afterlife for them). Plus it's an eye-catching title, IMHO, so that's a plus.

[Anonymisty]

What method(s) do you use in choosing a title? Inquiring minds wanna know...

Honestly, I am terrible at choosing titles that I like (and that might make sense to more than 2% of my readers.) I'm one of those readers who prefers a funky, poetic title to my books, and I'd tried in the past to come up with something brilliant for my own work. But it always seems to feel affected and pretentious when I can come up with something at all.

Luckily for me, two friends who are already published assured me that publishers almost always change the titles anyway, so I stopped stressing about it. I stuck a title on my first novel, one that was short, to the point, and not particularly artsy or exciting.

So far my publisher hasn't asked for a change. I keep wondering when they're going to...

[Anya Smith]

Titles are the bane of my life.

I have working titles but they're not very good ones. Sometimes I change titles 4-5 times and still not satisfied. There are only two short stories of mine that I had come up with good titles that stuck.

[seun]

A strange thing for me - I have the title for a book I haven't started planning in any way other than having a few ideas. The title is ideal. All I need now is the complete story to go with it.

[C.bronco]

I didn't have a title for mine. After awhile, I started referring to it as The Haven. After I did a few times, I figured that must be the title, and I wrote it on page one.
Don't agonize too much; the publishers are likely to change it anyway.

[swvaughn]

Thanks for all the great responses!

*sigh* I'm trying not to agonize. I had a title. Thought it was okay. My agent thinks it can be better.

I agree - but I'm at my wit's end trying to come up with something else!

Please note my jealousy at all you folks whose titles come before your novels. :D

[maddythemad]

Ahh, I find titles hard. I have a friend (on these boards, actually) who always seems to come up with these brilliant titles along with her plots. Like, right from the beginning, she knows what her book is going to be called.

... I am SO jealous of her.

Basically, my method is this: I go around asking other people for advice, I bitch them out when they say, "I haven't read your book, how can I give you a title?", then I fall into a depressed funk for awhile, panic as I realize I need a title now, and finally grab some random title out of a hat that I end up loving.

Sometimes. Other times I'm miserable with my title-from-a-hat, and I spend a lot of time fretting over it. I still cringe when I hear the titles of my first two novels.

[DragonHeart]

I almost always start with a title. Even if it's not the one I end up with, it gives me a focal point of sorts. I have a hard time completing an unnamed work.

For example, I'm currently working on a series of short stories. Even though I'm only on the rough draft of the second story, I have names for all seven of them. It's the same with novels. I have titles for about a dozen novels even though I haven't started working on any of them.

~DragonHeart~

[Tirjasdyn]

I start with a title...eventually it changes...then the publisher changes it again.

[Oliveman]

I find the most effective titles are those that don't just inform, but relate what the book is about, what it feels like. There are many ways to approach your title, as before stated, and it really is up to you, your story, and what you want others to get out of the title and your story.

[Scrawler]

I try to capture the theme of the book, using word tricks like alliteration or puns.

[TsukiRyoko]

I don't have to search hard for titles, they usually come to me. On the rare occasion that I do have to put some thought into it, I rely on word tricks and double entendres when possible.

[TsukiRyoko]

I almost always start with a title. Even if it's not the one I end up with, it gives me a focal point of sorts. I have a hard time completing an unnamed work.

For example, I'm currently working on a series of short stories. Even though I'm only on the rough draft of the second story, I have names for all seven of them. It's the same with novels. I have titles for about a dozen novels even though I haven't started working on any of them.

~DragonHeart~
I agree with this. I usually can't start working on something unless it has a name (impermanent as it usually is). Without a title, I feel like I'm walking about blindly.

[swvaughn]

I agree with this. I usually can't start working on something unless it has a name (impermanent as it usually is). Without a title, I feel like I'm walking about blindly.

Ah! Tsuki, you have just revealed my problem to me (as far as not having a title before the book). Thank you! :D

When I start writing, I usually don't have a "novel" -- only a character (sometimes two characters). Thus, I have nothing to name until it's all there.

To come up with a title, I have to figure out what the novel "is" and call it that. Brilliant! O enlightenment! O inspiration! O damn I need more coffee because I'm reeeeeally tired and not making a lick of sense!

[TsukiRyoko]

Ah! Tsuki, you have just revealed my problem to me (as far as not having a title before the book). Thank you! :D

When I start writing, I usually don't have a "novel" -- only a character (sometimes two characters). Thus, I have nothing to name until it's all there. That's how my ideas usually start out, but I just let the characters marinate for a bit until a title pops up. For me, titles give an overall feel to the book that I find is essential, not just for publicity, but in writing it as well.



To come up with a title, I have to figure out what the novel "is" and call it that. Brilliant! O enlightenment! O inspiration! O damn I need more coffee because I'm reeeeeally tired and not making a lick of sense!
You make sense to me! Birds of a feather....

Gimme some of that coffee, s'il vous plait.

[Niesta]

I thought I had a title -- the MC's name, which is unusual. Then my agent tells me "Oh, BTW, a book is just coming out with that same name in the title! New title, please!"

So now I'm all stuck again. I have a prefect title for the (unwritten, barely planned) sequel, so I'm trying to come up with a title that kind of goes with that one. But I dunno. I may have to beat my head on the table for a while...

[Kay_XX]

I like coming up with titles, I tend to need one to get writing. But as for keeping the same title when I'm done.. Well I doubt it, but ask me again when I'm done.

[Esopha]

I'm a big fan of having symbols or motifs in the title. Usually, they won't be anything deep or moving (a la To Kill a Mockingbird), but rather a very sharp, simple image that, to me, represents what started the story in the first place. My titles are rarely over three words long.

[RainbowDragon]

Yes, as mentioned, something that boils the story down to a central theme or focus is good...mine often involve character names or descriptive nouns that stand in for their names, but not always. Generally it has to feel right before I'll go with it. Haven't had a title changed on me yet, but then I haven't had a book published yet, either. . .

[eliflauta]

My titles rarely have to do directly with any names used in the book, but rather are a ridiculously brief summary of what the message of the book is, or what it portrays. For instance, in a novel I recently finished (and have edited through about 10 times now) involving lots of nostalgia and discontent, I titled it Somewhere Not Here. I don't really know how others feel about it, but I believe it suits the book perfectly.

[Storyteller5]

My story's name when it is a WIP is often the first name of a character. I don't title it until it's finished. At that point, the title might be symbolic of what is going on in the book or taken from one element in the story (ie. Last Glass of Wine). I've often used the theme (ie. Trading Places). I enjoy naming at the end. :)

[Anthony Ravenscroft]

It all depends. I find it's easier to come up with catchy/apt titles for fiction than for my articles, though.

I keep in mind that what I've got is a working title only, something that keeps me on-beam, & might well be too quirky-hmm to be of much commercial use; since I'd have to send it out to an agent (or editor), that's not good enough. I run a bright idea through Google & Amazon.com to see how overused it might be.

Well, right now, on my "Why Haven't I Finished This Yet?" list, are some like:

Living in Shadow
Next Week, in St. Paul
Sell Your Soul
Year Zero in What Remains
"As the Hells were Gathering Dust"
"The Stars Look Up"

[Melanie Nilles]

Ditto for me on needing a title to work. It keeps the story focused. I might change it after the fact, but I usually need to have something halfways decent to work with.

[julief]

Titles are so aggravating!

For poems, it's usually easy to find a word or phrase that sums the emotion/content. But short stories and now novel is so much harder.

For this WIP, I have a new working title practically every other month. The first (and still what it's saved under on my computer) was Summer's End. This became Autumn Rain, which became Rain & Ash, then morphed into Rain from Ash, and is currently Heaven Rain. I'm still playing with it hoping to get one I like.

[spacejock2]

Somehow I got stuck with a food/dining theme, so now I have to come up with some new pun for each title. And they're science fiction books, which makes it worse.

[Southern_girl29]

I've written three books. One of them is gone forever. I deleted it from my hard drive, although I may have a copy of a disk somewhere. It was that bad. My second one is trunked for a while. I just finished the third.

The first was titled Southern Shoulders. I still love that title, and I may, someday, rewrite the thing, just from memory. It will be better than the original. Anyway, I was discussing it with my husband while I was in the middle of writing it. It's a family saga about a strong Southern woman. The rest of her family has always depended heavily on her. I said she was the shoulder to lean, and he suggested Southern Shoulders as the title. I thought it was a perfect fit.

The trunked novel is called Ships That Don't Come In. The MC in the book is a jerk, who leaves two of his children and doesn't see them for about 12 years. When they meet again, he tells the other MC of the book that he'll be a good father to her when his ship comes in. At the end, the first MC dies, and the second MC is at his grave and tells him that not every ship comes in or something to that effect. I knew from the beginning that it was going to be called that, because one of the first scenes I pictured was the one of them meeting for the first time and him saying that to her.

The third one, the one I'm editing now, is called Psychic Straits. I didn't have a title for it the entire time I was writing it. It was labeled as Psychics on my backup disks and on my hard drive. I was complaining to my co-worker about not having a title, and he suggested I play around with character names. My MC's name is Gracie Strait. I knew I wanted the title to have Psychic in it, so I put Psychic together with Strait. I looked up Strait to get an exact defination, one of which was a position of difficulty, distress or need. It fit, so I went with it. I really like this title, but would be more than willing to change it if needed.

[FloVoyager]

Interesting question. The titles came first, and related to the theme of each book. They just sort of presented themselves, and were obvious to me, based on what the books were about.

[Wolvel]

Titles are not hard for me to come by. I guess all those years in high school creating several superhero, fantasy, and sci fi worlds helps out.

usually I have my title when I start page one.

[JoNightshade]

Okay, so, I think all of you people who have titles just "come" to them should share the wealth and help the rest of us out! ;)

I am one of the group who names files after main characters, titles her works "Book 1," "Book 2," "Book 3," etc., and agonizes over titles at the end.

The weird thing is, I don't have this problem with short stories. I have instant names for all of them. What's the deal?

[NowCutThatOut!]

I have about 10 titles for my WIP :lol

When I toyed around with the idea, it had a very long title (7 mostly multisyllabic words). So I came up with several short 1-3 word ones that don't seem to have been used. And when (if???) I'm finished I will see which one fits the finished work the most.

[Wolvel]

As I said before, when I start page one I have my title.

Now before I start, I usually have the story idea come to me. So I begin by writing down the idea, charecters and so on, then by the time I have thourghly gone over the idea a title usually pops into my head.

[Chumplet]

My novel that's being published pretty much had the same title throughout. The Space Between is the twenty-five year gap between moments of happiness for the MC.

The second novel changed title back and forth twice. It's a hockey romance and I can't decide between Bad Ice and The Lost Season. Half my queries have one title and half the other.

My WIP started out with a place in Andorra where the main characters go to find a kidnapped colleague, so I called it Beyond Ordino. But now I'm adding a McGuffin - a painting by Picasso that's stolen, so I think I'll call it The Weeping Woman.

[CreativeDreamer]

What I like to do is make a list of words that I would use to describe my book.

Example: The story is about a women who is struggling to pay the bills and raise her son in New York.

Poor
Wages
New York
City
Son
Bills
Strife
Struggle...etc. Try it. :) You might be surprised that your title is hiding in there somewhere!