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InterGalatic Medicine Show editor, Edmund Schubert, explores titles, how they should work, why some do and why some don't, and how to help your title do its job.
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This reminds me of an interesting comment I got on the title of my current WIP for WoTF. I'm not sure I'm allowed to say the title since it is going to be submitted for this quarter to WoTF, so I wont, but I'll describe the readers issue with it.
The title, when taken literally, suggests that the MC will die. In the story, the MC doesn't die, but rather two changes occur, one in his relationship with a family member, the other in his attitude towards some technology that invades his life. So, he doesn't die, but some attitudes do, figuratively speaking. So does this make it a bad title?
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Oooh, now I'm all stressy about the title of the story I'm planning to submit this quarter (my first!) to WotF. Is it only clever after reading the story? Ack! Back to the drawing board.
(This is actually a welcome diversion from stressing over the actual text of the story itself.)
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Interesting. I have titles before I have a story, so they tend to be closely tied to the story.
But I like pun-ish titles; that may be a mistake. I recently posted a first-13 for "A Timely Birth," which evolved into a story about a woman physicist going back in time to observe her own birth (serving as her mom's midwife). Do you suppose that title falls too far left of the premise to be considered a good title?
"Me, Myself and I" might work. "A Midwife's Paradox" evokes a lot of physics craft.
quote: Interesting. I have titles before I have a story, so they tend to be closely tied to the story. But I like pun-ish titles; that may be a mistake. I recently posted a first-13 for "A Timely Birth," which evolved into a story about a woman physicist going back in time to observe her own birth (serving as her mom's midwife). Do you suppose that title falls too far left of the premise to be considered a good title?
"Me, Myself and I" might work. "A Midwife's Paradox" evokes a lot of physics craft.
I think the first title is better than "Me, Myself and I". It gives more of an idea of what the story is about. The Me title could deal with alternate universes, cloning or some other way of duplicating oneself.
I have one story titled "Time Mate". It's a rather long story about a guy who keeps going back in time to keep his wife from having an emotional breakdown. He fails the first three times.
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My latest story was titled "Sun Mine" , But even before I read the link I decided to change it. The story isn't about the sun mine so much. So "Meeting Fate At The Sun Mine" . That's kinda old and cliche-ish though. Another word for fate would be better.
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I used to generate titles by thumbing through my books, sticking my finger on a sentence, and writing that out. Sometimes an evocative title suggested an idea...
I don't do as much of that anymore...my ideas being few and far between, and usually with lousy titles. The last four things I worked on are, right now, called (1) "Love Dream," (2) "Guardians of the Gate," (3) "Human From That," and (4) "I Remember." (1) is much too simple a title, (2) sounds like a Leigh Brackett story, (3) is a direct and conscious lift from a story by Algis Budrys, and (4) I got from an old song title.
My plans are to change all of them...if I ever get around to revising them...
quote: I used to generate titles by thumbing through my books, sticking my finger on a sentence, and writing that out.
Sometimes I could use that method since no idea comes to mind. I usually use the best idea I get but that's usually not saying much for how good it is.
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