"Insert Title Here"

[oOGarrettOo]

Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but when it comes to writing I've always found the most difficult part was giving this fantastic piece of creative genius the perfect title.

A title can do a lot for a book. First and foremost, it can draw people in, intrigue them into picking up the novel and either reading the back, the insert, or the first few pages. This isn't to mean if your title isn't the greatest that someone won't be interested at all, but it certainly helps. A title can also tell the potential reader a good deal about what the novel contains, what they should expect. For instance, if a title says something about witches, I would wager the book probably has something to do with them (and if it doesn't, well then that was a pretty shitty title.)

So, when it comes to giving your books/stories their signature name, how are some of the ways you decide on one? What inspires your titles and how do you keep them simple without losing touch with the story?  

[Renkon Root]

I'm actually a fan of titles that are only marginally related to the actual book, or don't even have anything to do with the book at all.

 

[Thorns and Spices]

.....So anyway.

A couple of years ago someone linked this site in the NaNo forums that evaluated your title. Just with a bot. It had something to do with the number of words, the syllables, the sound, whether they were nouns or verbs, etc. I liked it, because my title got a good rating wink I don't remember where it is, though.

Generally I have trouble with titles. Major trouble. But here are a few of my basic ideas regarding titles:

Long ones work better if the book's a part of a series.
If there are lots of words, it's better if they are shorter.
If it gets published, people will shorten it if it's long when talking/writing about it to others. Keep that in mind.
Fun with words! - alliteration, juxtaposition, assonance.
Think about the onomatopoeiac qualities of the words you use, and the impression they give. Sound is important.
Think also about stressed vs unstressed syllables and how the title scans.
If you use a line or phrase from the book, people will assume that particular line or phrase has an especial meaning, whether it does or not.  

[oOGarrettOo]

That's very helpful. I have a horrible time with titles, myself. Can never come up with something unless the story starts from the title. A lot of my short stories were easy enough, but my longer ones are so difficult to put a name to gonk  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

oOGarrettOo

That's very helpful. I have a horrible time with titles, myself. Can never come up with something unless the story starts from the title. A lot of my short stories were easy enough, but my longer ones are so difficult to put a name to gonk

I think with short stories themselves you can fall back more on very short names and so on, but it's still tricky. With collections of short stories you can be a bit more fun with the title, which I like. I have a collection here by Susanna Clarke called "The Ladies of Grace Adieu" which is really sort of odd and random, but it caught my attention. And because it's a collection, it doesn't need so much to have that "deep and meaningful" title. It can be more along the lines of "Tales of Mystery and Madness", and stuff.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

WOULD YOU BELIEVE I ******** FOUND IT.  

[oOGarrettOo]

Sanguina Cruenta

WOULD YOU BELIEVE I ******** FOUND IT.

Oh Lulu! This is the site I use for self pub. I have a book up there now. It's where I'm going to put Ermintrude's books. 3nodding

EDIT: I've been playing with it...My titles suck.