posted
All right, I'll be honest. I am writing a novel, Science Fantasy, and am sitting at 400+ pages out of an expected 600. (double space courier so it's not THAT huge)
It's all outlined and it's just a matter of time before I complete it and begin the daunting editing period. But to date this book, which is a first of three, lacks a title.
So my question is, how do all of you come up with your titles? I am confident I can think of a good one, but I'd be interested in hearing a bit from all of you on how you do it.
posted
Usually -- not well. I am long winded, which is why I write novels. A title is all about brevity, and saying a world of things in one or a handful of words.
Often, I try to sum up the plot of the story in a few short words and take the title from that. Sometimes, the title just comes to me. Once, I actually managed to come up with the title before I came up with the story, and the story was about the title rather than the other way around.
posted
Me too! I'm sitting near page 250 of a projected 450 to 500, with no title in sight. Sometimes titles are easy, and sometimes they aren't.
I prefer to have the title jump out and scream at me, because it's so obvious there's really no other choice. In the case of this novel, I'm sure the perfect title is sitting out there somewhere, but it hasn't yet paid me a visit. I've enlisted the help of my husband, who is having exactly the same problem I am.
(On the other hand, I usually don't have too much trouble with titles for short fiction. They usually just present themselves to me, with no conscious thought at all.)
posted
Theme, or a re-accruing part of the story...maybe a location, or item. Also there is quite a few other concepts that can be used. Main character name (last choice for me), or name of a place...it depends.
I personally like to give a name that has some relevance to the theme or goal of the story.
posted
I sortof use Christine's method, as much as I use a method at all. What I try to do is pick a word or two that is evocative of the mood of the piece and can be interpreted in more than one way. My favorite titles are the ones that mean one thing when you start the story and another when you finish it.
For instance: "The Tempest" by William Shakespeare. When you begin the play "Tempest" means storm, by the time you reach the end it means emotional turmoil. "Stranger in a Strange Land" starts as a quote from Shakespeare and becomes several different descriptions of Michael Valentine Smith. "Death of a Salesman" seems to refer to physical death, then becomes emotional death, returns to physical death and death of meaning.
My radio play "Sweetheart" starts as a young couple in love and finishes as a monster/canibal horror thing. (wow. Do yo think that description will work on the packaging?)
Yours, Mary Robinette
[This message has been edited by MaryRobinette (edited April 26, 2004).]
1. Person. It could be an actual name (Emma, Jane Eyre), a nickname, a title or position (Speaker for the Dead, The Count of Monte Cristo), or a description (The Time Traveler's Wife, The Last Juror, The Three Musketeers). The person in question should probably be either the protagonist or the antagonist, although if the person has great "off-stage" importance it can still work (Rebecca.)
2. Place. It can be a specific place name (Mansfield Park, Main Street, Cetaganda), more generic (Island, Neutron Star) or a description (The Two Towers, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.)
3. Thing. (The Sword, The Picture of Dorian Gray)
4. Event. (The Trial, The Return of the King)
5. Time. (1984, 1632, Seven Days in May, Twilight)
6. The Ludlum Method. Follow the pattern used for most Robert Ludlum books: The [Name] [Noun]. (The Bourne Identity, The Da Vinci Code) {I'm not saying Ludlum wrote The Da Vinci Code, I'm saying it follows the pattern.}
7. Blank and Blank. (Romeo and Juliet, War and Peace, Pride and Prejudice, The Old Man and the Sea)
8. Blank of/from/to/on/in/for/other-preposition Blank. (A Storm of Swords, The Deed of Paksenarrion, Night of Madness, The Man in the High Castle)
posted
Usually, they come with the project... but in the case of my current WIP, I wasn't getting anything. So I kept a brainstorming file for a while, and threw in terms from the world. When I wasn't sure about those, I went over to Barleby and ran searches on words that seemed evocative of the kind of stuff I was writing (curse, darkness, mist, dream, ghost, etc) and pulled out some fragments that interested me. I winnowed those down to my top three and started asking opinions (thanks to everyone from F&F, and to Kathleen for the Bartleby pointer ).
Posts: 253 | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
With my current project, the name (series - "The War for Eden", parts - "For Eden Bound", "The Fall of Eden") didn't come until I'd completed the first draft and was 20,000 words into a rewrite. And even now, I don't have a title for the third part (although I think the 2nd part is too short to stand on its own, so maybe they'll both be "Fall"). Until I got these names, I referred to it as 'Space colonisation story'.
But in my next planned project, I got a name fairly early on in the worldbuilding, and I think I'll stick with it. This is probably because the story came to me as a fairly well-formed concept, and that concept suggested a style which was easy to follow through to a title.
Whereas with my current story, I wasn't sure where I was going until I finished the 1st draft. I didn't have an outline, I wasn't even sure how it would end until I was less than 5,000 words from the end (and writing that ending was very exciting, I'll tell you...).
posted
I usually wait quite a while before thinking of a title. the folder under which the story is stored is named with a working title, usually one word, and I wait until I have finished the first draft, or even when I have finished writing and revising everything. I tend to go for titles with a double meaning that have a strong connection with the title of the story: for instance, one story called 'bloody hands' deals both with the guilt of the villain and with his maiming the hands of the hero. Or else I lift a good quote from the story itself and use it as a title (a traditional saying from the imaginary world if it's fantasy works nice) or use the name of a particular concept/type of character in the story.
Posts: 121 | Registered: May 2002
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posted
I know how you feel. It's hard, i'm still looking for titles i've actually changed the title of one of my stories three times before i found the right one. My advice is try out alot of them till you find one that is perfect. Write them all down and cross them off one by one you are bound to find the right one if you keep trying. DTA
Posts: 6 | Registered: Apr 2004
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posted
How much do we actually have to worry about that with novels? I just started sending my "first child" off to publishers. I think my title is good, but not brilliant. I figuring that if I actually sell it, an editor will come up with a better title if necessary. Is there conventional wisdom that to the contrary?
posted
Actually, titles are pretty important. Being that they're literally the very first thing that's going to catch your eye, whether you an editor or a potential reader. For the editor, it's just a first impression, and they're going to read at least some of the manuscript anyway, so I'm sure you're okay. For the reader, however, the title makes all of the difference. I'm a lot more likely to buy "A Storm of Swords" than "Dragon Doom". Posts: 233 | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
Also note that both of Aero's examples have a very fantasy-suggestive feel. Everyone pre-judges, that is to say, everyone is prejudice. I think a good title would have to somewhat accurately reflect the genre and type of story it represents.
[This message has been edited by Alias (edited April 28, 2004).]
posted
Look in your story, is there a major event or something wonderfull said. That usually makes a good title. (Brave New World, What Dreams May Come. Both Sheakspear refrences i just realized.) Sometimes the title changes the whole meaning of the book.
Posts: 1895 | Registered: Mar 2004
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