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- Thread starter Emily Patrice
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To me, that sounds like a book on mental illness (hearing voices).
A good way of picking titles is to find words or phrases with multiple meanings- for example, the novel Enduring Love plays on the meaning of love surviving everything but also having to endure someone's unwelcome love.
Literary quotations- the Bible, Shakespeare and classic lit are good starts. Works well if you use part of a quote- e.g. 'Where Angels Fear to Tread', so the audience mentally fills in the blank.
Sayings/mottos. These can be done straight- 'One for The Money' or you can subvert them like 'Curiosity Saves The Cat'.
Cultural references. Gossip Girl episodes are all plays on novels and film titles. For example, the famous book The Joy of Sex could become The Joy of Sects
MJHeiden
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I feel picking a title is like picking a good hook for the first sentence of your story. It's go to be intriguing. The title, cover graphic, and starting paragraph are what entices the reader.
As for choosing a title, I try and use inspiration from something unique in my story and build on that. A sc-fi I'm currently editing is called The Collective. It's based on neural networks and intrinsic energies that connect us all. Ideally you want a title that has multiple meanings. Or take examples from other works and mix and match. Good luck!
As for choosing a title, I try and use inspiration from something unique in my story and build on that. A sc-fi I'm currently editing is called The Collective. It's based on neural networks and intrinsic energies that connect us all. Ideally you want a title that has multiple meanings. Or take examples from other works and mix and match. Good luck!
You can trademark a series and it's important that you do because authors will copy your ideas right down to the title and the tagline.
I agree about Child's and Koontz's titles. Meaningless. Doesn't entice me to read them at all.
I stole my title.There’s a famous Jim Thompson novel from the ‘50s called The Killer Inside Me, about a small-town sheriff who’s secretly a sociopathic murderer.
That's a title that would entice me to read it.
I don't know if I have a system. I try to feel it out. I know that by the time something is published the title will be completely different.
This current novel was originally titled "The Wars of Old Men"--from it's 2013 draft which was incredibly wordy and the plot was all over the place--a lot like this title.
A crisper version is in the works now and the working title is "Kingdom". The title change came with a deeper understanding of my plot and characters. It was less about the war and more about the country my MC defended.
This current novel was originally titled "The Wars of Old Men"--from it's 2013 draft which was incredibly wordy and the plot was all over the place--a lot like this title.
A crisper version is in the works now and the working title is "Kingdom". The title change came with a deeper understanding of my plot and characters. It was less about the war and more about the country my MC defended.
I took the character's first name, then thought about how clumsy, awkward and ineffectual he is. The next two words came pretty intuitively.
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I was in Amsterdam, visting the Rijksmuseum. Here were all these paintings, simply named. "The Milkmaid"; yup, there she was, the real one. Same with the "The Night Watch". And halls of others, equally famous and simply named. On the flight back, I thought about that. My story was about a dancer and a spy. Nothing more, nothing less. Hence "Dancer and Spy".
A large part of my novel is about people trying to find a legendary ship (as in space ship) within which is a valuable treasure. It essentially boils down to a race between several people to find this ship, and I playfully chose the name "Regata" (an alteration of "regatta", meaning a boat race). Funnily enough, my first critique partner pointedly said "it's making me think of a boat race" and now I worry that the name is too obvious and actually gives the wrong impression... so I might end up changing it.
"Derelict" (the only thing I've finished) came wrapped up with the main character and the premise, so that was a gift. In chapter one, it occurred to me that the chapter title I'd chosen was also a song title, sooo...I went ahead and used the same method for the rest of the book. And, it had to be a song that I liked, I decided. It turned out to be a blessing and a curse. I had to line up potential titles that expressed where I thought the chapter would go, and that was time not spent actually writing. But, it also forced me to really think about what I wanted or needed to accomplish in the chapter, so that part of it was helpful. In the end, I found it to be a net positive. When I started a second book, it was just habit at that point.
I actually have a lot of fun trying to come up with the sexiest possible title.
I favor alliteration and assonance (e.g. Fair Wind for Vinland or Last New World Lost) or semi-shock value(to catch a prospective reader's attention, as in Mary Shelley Meets Frankenstein's Daughter.)
My current WIP (of which I just finished the first draft
and am recuperating from the attendant and pesky eyestrain) was gonna be 1066: Year of the Comet, but, gee, I dunno...
I favor alliteration and assonance (e.g. Fair Wind for Vinland or Last New World Lost) or semi-shock value(to catch a prospective reader's attention, as in Mary Shelley Meets Frankenstein's Daughter.)
My current WIP (of which I just finished the first draft
and am recuperating from the attendant and pesky eyestrain) was gonna be 1066: Year of the Comet, but, gee, I dunno...This thread is inspirational. I've been hoping a title pops into my head as I write but no luck so far.
The title of my novel is the most important element that drives the entire plot. Just like Harry Potter 1 was titled “The Philosopher’s Stone” because that was the core element of the plot of that book.
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I'm lamenting over the title for my WIP because there is another book with this title. I know it is okay to use it, but I have been waiting a year for a new inspiration. In my more sane moments, I realize it is folly to be too concerned because my first novel's title was totally changed by the publisher.
The title for my current WIP is taken from a very famous poem. I intend to use the line as an epitaph at the start of the book, so the title for now is only a working title 'The World Ends'.
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There's not a book or movie already in existence with the title I chose, and it should catch anyone's eye who's into what the story is about.
I've been looking at lines from the Battle Hymn of the Republic for a title for one WIP, since that song makes an important cameo. The trouble is that anything I use from that sounds too bellicose, and it isn't actually a military novel. It takes place during the Civil War, and there is a battle, but the story is mostly concerned with a civilian family. I'm also considering a Jefferson quote that's alluded to, about how "a little rebellion" now and then is a good thing.
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Both my current WIP and the novel I'm subbing have titles based on the MCs' occupations. Their jobs are vital to the plot lines of their respective novels.
Fun fact, "The Night Watch" was originally titled "Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq" and doesn't depict night. It was darkened from its original colors by varnish.
But I guess that proves your point, because "The Night Watch" is the much more well-known title.
Sometimes I'm better with titles than others. The first couple of books I worked on, I put some thought and effort into finding titles I liked early on. The first one was a latin word and I felt ever so pleased with myself about it. Now, I'm in the final edits of a book I've been writing/editing on and off for maybe 4-5 years, and it still doesn't have a title! Sometime soon I'll give myself a brainstorming period with the only goal of sorting a title. My focus has been so much on the book itself so far that the title hasn't been important. I've not been sharing it anywhere, so it hasn't needed anything other than the placeholder name I gave it when I first started it, but now it's going to go to beta readers soon, so I'd better come up with something!
All righty-right: I've settled upon 1066: Year of the Comet, Day of Doom.
I'd like to dump the date, but would not wish to mislead anyone into thinking it's another End of the World novel; I already wrote one of those, anyway.
I'd like to dump the date, but would not wish to mislead anyone into thinking it's another End of the World novel; I already wrote one of those, anyway.