Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Discussion of Titles by IGMS editor

This is topic Discussion of Titles by IGMS editor in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

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.

http://sideshowfreaks.blogspot.com/2010/11/how-to-title-your-story-or-not.html

Posted by Meredith (Member # 8368) on :

Very interesting. Thanks for posting it.

Posted by philocinemas (Member # 8108) on :

Good information - and I didn't think many editors cared about titles.

Posted by walexander (Member # 9151) on :

Thanks KDW,

Enlightening,

Posted by MartinV (Member # 5512) on :

He does make a point.

Posted by Osiris (Member # 9196) on :

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?

Posted by Lissa (Member # 9206) on :

Thanks Kathleen!

Lis

Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :

My thanks also.

Some of that I have heard already but not from one piece.

Kinda surprised he didn't use any of my titles. Some have been on the weak side according to what he said.

Posted by Grayson Morris (Member # 9285) on :

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.)

Posted by WouldBe (Member # 5682) on :

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.

Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :

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.

Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :

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.

Or "Rescue on the Sun".

Or???

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

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...

Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :

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.

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

After a while, I tended to stick to the writers who wrote particularly lyrically or poetically...came up with better titles...

(On the other hand, a couple of titles created this way have haunted me for nearly thirty years even though I could never put a story under them...)