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How To Find A Good Title



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Sun Jan 07, 2007 4:45 am
Joeducktape says...



So, I have no title for my current project. My last working title was no good, and it made me cringe every time I read it. I was wondering, how do you find a title you love?
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Sun Jan 07, 2007 10:42 am
Swires says...



There are some articles on this already but I cant find one, I may write one some time.

Well first you can call your story by the name of the main character (if its catchy enough). For example "Harry Potter" or "Artemis Fowl"

Another way you can name the book is through a key theme or plot point of the book. For example a story a while back that I did was about a quest for tools of darkness, tools of hell. SO I called it "Hell's Tools." THe one I'm working on now is about a man who gets magic from a demon called Scall. Hence - Scall's Magic.

Metaphorical titles are sometimes good, I cant give any examples.
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Sun Jan 07, 2007 11:10 am
Zeige says...



yeah i generally don't worry about the title and focus on the story until something just pops into my head, points in the plot or names that just come up while writing that grab my attention like the story I'm working on is about a small soldier unit which are code named the wolf pack so I'm using 'Wolf Unit' as a title but it didn't come to me straight away and if something else comes along further into the story you can always change it so you shouldn't worry too much about it.
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Mon Jan 08, 2007 3:00 am
Shafter says...



Something I read in "Stein on Writing" (excellent, EXCELLENT writing book!) is that a lot of good titles put together two objects that aren't usually associated with each other.
For example: The Da Vinci Code. "Code" and "Da Vinci" aren't usually put together. If the title had been The Da Vinci Painting, an expected image, no one would have bought it.
Hope that helps...

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Mon Jan 08, 2007 9:01 pm
Lilyy03 says...



I'm not too good at it either, but... what I generally do is just go through writing the story, and by the end of it some word or phrase has settled into being the title. A lot of the time it doesn't really say much about the plot, or is vague about it.

I know that wasn't very helpful, lol.
  





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Thu Jan 11, 2007 4:52 am
Wiggy says...



I would do something that has kind of a subtle theme, but is integral to the story plot. Really, all of the suggestions here have taken care of what normal titles are. Just try to look for the unusual, one that will jump out from the bookshelf, entice readers to pick up your book with your title.
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Mon Jan 15, 2007 4:46 pm
Esmé says...



Titles are horrible. Just popped in to say that I'm with all those poor and lost people who can't think of one.

:)

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P.S. Certaintly not helpful, but I couldn't help myself.
  





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Mon Jan 15, 2007 7:34 pm
Prosithion says...



Unfortunately, I have the same problem. My book's title has nothing to do with the story, but it did a while ago. I just can't get myself to get rid of it. I'm as interested in the replies as you are. ^_^
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Mon Jan 15, 2007 8:04 pm
Skye says...



lol, I think titles are fun, especially when you can find that perfect one. I called last year's (two years ago? can't remember) NaNo Darling, It's Only Social Suicide because it was something my first-person narrator said at one point. If you can find a amusing/catchy/pretty line of dialogue (or even description!) that exemplifies what the reader may find inside, then you're set. :)
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Mon Jan 15, 2007 8:20 pm
Cpt. Smurf says...



Well, I think it's easiest to at least wait until you have the plot, and get the title somewhere from there. You could use the name of a place in the book, or a catchy title character (for example, The Lord of the Rings), or you could just use something that vaguely gives an idea of what the story is about. Once you get the right title, you'll know!
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Mon Jan 15, 2007 10:41 pm
Fishr says...



I was wondering, how do you find a title you love?


There's no easy answer to this one and you're bound to get many opinions but from my experience (like that amounts to anything, hehe), I wouldn't stress on it. Too often when I've edited someone's work, they seem too focused on the title rather the quality of the work as a whole.

Two methods I've used is one, forget about the title. Leave it as an "untitled" and focus on the plot, chars, etc. One you have a concrete grasp of the plot of your story and how the characters are to function as well as the setting, then prehaps a title might be easier. Or you could just finish the story first and then rack your brain later. ;)

Two, simplistic titles will work for now and can always be changed later. Remember nothing is set in stone and that's what editing is for. As for simplistic titles, I've used such things like, The Dog or The Red Book. The titles are horriable but they represent something important within the story, kinda like a reminder. That way, I can go back and put more detailed title later. For my HF novel, my old title used to be Bound for Glory: Mister Garrison's Childhood. (Gag!) It has since changed.
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