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I'm sitting here in the middle of a project that is now over two hundred pages long, and I'm still calling it "the novel". It's not that I haven't been trying to come up with a title, either, but nothing seems to fit!
How do you come up with titles?
And how dreadful is it to submit something with a lame title? Is it realistic to change it later?
posted
Since the title is so important, I don't give my novel a title until I have finished it and get a chance to see how the plot turned out and/or what the most important threads were. During the writing phase, I give it a preliminary title that has only a far-removed connection to the subject and is only used to classify the story in my writing folder (like 'Dragon', 'Elf', 'Uprising', etc.). That said, sometimes, when I'm writing a short piece, the title comes naturally to me. But only rarely.
Posts: 121 | Registered: May 2002
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posted
I hate titles. They are like poetry....they must be short, sweet, to the point, and captivating. They are of fundamental importance. I have picked up many books based on the title alone. But I am a novel writer, not a poet, so I hate titles.
Most of the time I set up preliminary titles that are often the name of the main character. (or the person I thought would be the main character) I have files and files that are named after wmoen, and I do remember which women is which most of the time.
I imagine that editors are drawn by titles in the same way that readers are. Once you get to the submission stage, you need to have a powerful title. Now this gives you all the way until the day you print the story for submission to come up with a title. I wouldn't do it in process, I think titles should be the last thing you do unless inspiration just abounds.
And I also think forums like this are not a bad place to shake out a title. Go to fragments and feedback and ask for suggestions. You might strike inspiration there.
Editors have been known to change titles a lot, so don't fret over it too much.
If a title doesn't come to you in the first place, I'd recommend waiting until you're finished and then either looking through the book for something one of the characters says that will work or thinking about some kind of quick and simple way to describe the story or refer to it. Sometimes, just saying "the story is about..." will give you the title. (I have a story I've entitled "Getting Grandma to the Moon" and that title came from telling someone about the story.)
A title can be some phrase that is particularly evocative. (I think "An Echo of Violence" would be a great title--it came from Joseph Campbell when Bill Moyers was interviewing him for the POWER OF MYTH series. Campbell, more or less out of the blue, said, "Sentimentality is an echo of violence." Blew my mind. Later, Peter Straub had a character in his novel MYSTERY say something similar: "Sentimentality is a mask for violence.")
A title can be a nickname of one of the characters. It can be a quote from poetry or scripture or other kinds of literature. If you have trouble with titles, it's a good idea to have a quotation book on your reference shelf (I have an 1882 edition of BARTLETT'S, plus a much more recent edition.) Look up quotes that pertain to topics in your story.
Just remember that titles can't be copyrighted. If you know of a story with a title that would be perfect for your story, and it's not likely to cause a lot of confusion, go ahead and use it. (If you know the author, however, it would be polite to ask permission, or at least warn him or her.)
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Sometimes the story suggests the title; sometimes the title suggests the story.
I wrote my story "In Memory" under the title "Simtime." It wasn't until I'd finished the story (involving a character whose mind was uploaded to a computer) that I came up with "In Memory" for the title, but it was a perfect fit, since the character lives in the memory of a computer and the story deals with memories of dead people. (I love titles with more than one meaning.)
On the other hand, I had the title of "The Man Who Moved the Moon" before I had written one word of the story, and before I had anything more than the premise of a project to move the Moon for some reason that I had not figured out yet. (The title alludes to the Robert Heinlein story "The Man Who Sold the Moon.") The title helped shape the story and inspired the ending; if I had not had the title, I might never have written the story, and if I had, it would have ended differently.
posted
Regarding Kathleen's suggestion of quotations as a good source of titles, an excellent online resource is http://www.bartleby.com .
Posts: 1517 | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
Titles are a tricky thing, but it's my opinion that there's at least one great title for every project...they just don't show themselves immediately.
Until they do, I usually name a project based on the kind of story it is, like "untitled luck story" or "untitled dragon story." I'm working on one right now I call the Dream Story, just because the idea sprang from a dream I had.
Until the words are printed on hardcover (God willing ), or softcover, then they aren't, like Kathleen said, set in marble. In fact, you can even change it after they've been published. OSC changed his first novel A Planet Called Treason to simply Treason for it's second printing, rewriting most of the story.
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I have enough trouble coming up with titles for topics, let alone stories. My current WIP used to be titled The Return of th Gods. I've had to change it because, while that's a great title, it doesn't fit the story anymore. I haven't come up with a new one yet. Maybe I'll call it The Staff of Garrick.
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While I've not formally published anything yet, I have reached the 'title stage' on many of my projects (some of which I've finished...the others remain in a dark corner of my hard drive, collecting dust). My tactic usually goes something like this: I wait until I have the underlying message or concept hammered out and much of the story written before pulling the main theme together into two words. After those first two words, I add more, building the ugly mess into a semi-interesting and plausible title. Then I compare it with old sayings, popular quotes, and alternate words from the thesaurus (which is one of my favorite traditional resources, BTW).
I suppose everyone has a different method...mine revolves around trial-and-error for the most part. I do 'get' a title right off the bat every once in a while, though it's a rare thing. I was going to call my current project Echoes of the Mind, but that's been used by another author already (I don't even know what the other book is about...just searched for the title on Amazon.com). Now I'm considering Sundered Mind...but that will probably change as well. Gaaahhh...all this deep philosophical conceptualizing hurts the cranium. I need to go ice my forehead now...excuse me.
Inkwell ------------------ "The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp." -Anonymous
posted
I never think of a title until after I'm finished writing. I think it helps to let someone else look at your work and suggest titles. Authors sometimes are stuck looking at their writing too closely or become too attached; another view tends to help.
Posts: 4 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Ever since I found out that the orignal title of Salem's Lot by Stephen King was Second Coming I haven't worried too much about my title until I have to. Which is to say, until I'm getting ready to send it off. However, a working title can be important insofar as it helps you define what your story might be about.
Posts: 130 | Registered: Apr 2007
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I title everything I do, even if it's a grocery list. It helps my mind compartmentalize what I wrote. Now I don't give it a boring name like shopping list, for example Recently I named one Airplane parts. In writing I always start with a title which is usually just two words randomly put together. But sometimes I think of a phrase, like my favorite of all time is Cold yet Happy. And sometimes I need to write but I don't know what to write so I run off of the title. For my current WIP (that's actually put on hold) it had the title The Ace and Victor Story for the longest time. Then one day I was returning a book to my friend, it was badly damaged in many peices so I put it in a plastic bag. (BTW It came that way, I'm no book killer.) And he had some comment about how it was wrapped. That comment was the best title I ever heard. I love it in a book when the title of the book is said in the story at an important time. Think of Brave New World.
Posts: 1895 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
I also like when the title is mentioned at a great spot in the book. The best example I've seen of this was in "The Lovely Bones" (which is a fantastic title in its own right).
Posts: 1621 | Registered: Apr 2002
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I am yet to really finish anything, but I expect my titles to be the last thing I write, at least for my novel. My short story title just came to me one night as I was falling asleep (this seems to be when I do my best thinking). Four Days to Islana; I think I will probably keep it.
Posts: 292 | Registered: Feb 2004
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posted
The title tends to be a conflict with the author. OSC wrote that when he was writing Ender's Shadow, he wanted to make the title "Urchin."
I believe the reason why the title "Ender's Shadow" became the final title, is because it gave a recollection of Ender's Game. Also the word "Shadow" is a powerful word.
I guess when it comes down to it, the writers feelings toward his or her story are a world different than the readers point of view.
~James you don't know me
[This message has been edited by FiveSides (edited April 13, 2004).]
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), or softcover, then they aren't, like Kathleen said, set in marble. In fact, you can even change it after they've been published. OSC changed his first novel A Planet Called Treason to simply Treason for it's second printing, rewriting most of the story.
