What are your titles? Do they fit your story right away or do they not make sense until the end? Would they catch someone's eye? Or are they just another one of the bland ones that people pass?
Usually, my titles don't make sense until you near the end and usually they are more symbolic than anything. I'm not sure why, but base titles that refer to the literal part of a story bother me. They don't catch my eye as much as symbolic titles. I'd like to think that my titles catch the reader's eye, but I am not one to judge that sort of thing.
As for my titles? Well, here are a few from the past and my recent ones:
Past:
Heart's Turmoil
Guardians of the Vain Dream
Fate and Fallacies
Shackles of Destiny
To Rise
Recent:
Flames of Lecraesa
Tears of Lecraesa
Thunder of Lecraesa Flowers of Lecraesa Touch the Wind Glaive (in italics are potential ones - not used as of yet.)
Ooh, I love titles! I've always been jealous of CL's, they're always so hip and lovely.
My uber-favorites:
- The Something Beneath the Stairs
- Communist Jack
- Orange Black Box
I do like the chapter titles for Hourglass, though- I don't really like one-word titles, ergo I don't especially like 'Hourglass' by itself. I was stuck and needed something to save it as in Word. I think it's bland, personally...you'd get in the first three chapters, though, when they're carrying the man away from the library and the hourglass falls out of his pocket. Whoop-di-doo, surprise.
- Swollen Red H - A Rather Convenient Truth - The Perpetual Darkness of Beatrice Golden - Ambidextrous Adelais - The Problem of Nightmares
I think it's really awesome when titles have some wit to them, or tie into the story unexpectedly. If they're just bland, why should I read the story?
Graffiti is the most passionate form of literature there is.
-The Salty Sailor
-Final Reject
-Mon Dernier Jour Avec Toi (My Last Night With You) <--- sorry if I misspelled anything, I speak Spanish, not French.
-The Assassin King
-Echelon
A few tentative ones mixed with those that never saw the light of day:
-Seven Years (which was the title I had before Final Reject)
-Proverbs of a Seventh Grader
-Ghost Waiter
-The Delusion Department
-For the Longest Time
"2-4-6-8! I like to delegate!" -Meshugenah "Teague: Stomping on your dreams since 1992." -Sachiko "So I'm looking at FLT and am reminded of a sandwich." -Jabber
I think my titles tend to make sense after the first few chapters and sometimes straight away. A few I've used for stories are -
Suns, Planets and a whole load of Balls
A.K.A. Mr Pailey's adventures through Space.
Mr Pailey's adventures through time (will also have a more appropriate title when we think of one.) When Writers are no Longer Needed (Not very original so it matches the story. Lol. Wrote it when I was thirteen or something. Might do a re-write.) Mage Wars (Again, a very old one) The Last Human About androids. Title still questionable and very far from finished.)
I like Titles a lot, and I get really excited when I come up with one that fits my story. Here are some I've used in the past and some that are just floating around in my mind:
-Celesta
-Delusion
-Why
-The Oil Mark
-Shades of Despair
-The Deafening Rainfall
-Starlight
I think it's bland, personally...you'd get in the first three chapters, though, when they're carrying the man away from the library and the hourglass falls out of his pocket. Whoop-di-doo, surprise.
