That's it. I need help.

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  • #36280
    Hope Ann
    @hope
      • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
      • Total Posts: 1092

      Titles. I’m rubbish at them. Well, sometimes they come quickly. Generally, they don’t and this is one of those times. Problem being, I need the title by next weekend, so I need some brainstorming help. *collapses to knees and folds hands*

      Here’s the deal. I have this series of nine novellas called Legends of Light. Each one focuses on an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit. The series is split into three parts, each with three novellas. Each part is going to be published as a paperback, so when I’m done I’ll have three paperbacks with three novellas in each. The problem being, I need a good subtitle for each of these paperbacks, or at least for the first one since I’m getting ready to make a cover for it. And this is where I’d love your suggestions because I’m drawing a blank.

      A bit of context. Each novella is a fantasy and retells a fairy tale. The first three novellas center around a war and the Prince’s sacrifice for His people with an underlying theme of the Prince’s love. The next set of three focus on the persecuted church area and the problem of bad things happening to good people. The final three novellas focus on the battle between the lie and truth (probably with creation/evolution ties) and the importance of standing on the whole church without surrendering to apathy. So each of these sets will be titled something like: Legends of Light – War for Aslaria or something along those lines. I just can’t figure out what. Here’s the result of my first brainstorming session:

      1. War for Aslaria
      2. War for Zahava
      3. Victory for Truth

      Horrible, I know. That’s why I’m hoping some of you might just have a few ideas, either of titles or a theme or something of that sort to get me started. *looks at you all beseechingly*

      Tagging a few people to get started, and I guess you can tag others if you think they’ll have ideas. @daeus, @kate-flournoy, @mariposa, @Jane-Maree, @winter-rose, @jess, @dragon-snapper, @bethany-sinky-roses, @Northerner, @Ethryndal

      INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.

      #36281
      Hope Ann
      @hope
        • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
        • Total Posts: 1092

        Bother it… @bethanysinkyroses, I mean. I’m not going to edit your name in my original post, because the last few times I’ve tried, they’ve vanished on me. XD

        INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.

        #36282
        Snapper
        @dragon-snapper
          • Rank: Chosen One
          • Total Posts: 3515

          @hope PPPPFFFFFFFFFFFFF……..AAIAIAIIAAII!
          *ahem*
          Sorry about that. Dragon explosions going on at the thought that I have to think to answer you. 😀
          *cough*
          Anyways…you can ignore that.
          Dragon Snappers like thinking.

          Do, things I’ve noticed with trilogies, (I mean, this is like, three trilogies wrapped up in one trilogy, right? 🤔) is that there is some sort of theme running along with the titles.
          Take J. A. Nielsen’s Ascendance Trilogy, for example. 1) The False Prince 2) The Runaway King 3) The Shadow Throne –All titles tie back to royalty. *stops and realizes that dragon snapper doesn’t know many other trilogies or series that do this*
          Hmm… Well anyway, that’s one way to look at it. What overarching theme is in all nine books that might branch off into the three different titles. Is there any reoccurring events in each of the books–pairs of three–that can be grouped together?
          On the other hand, you could take simply the themes you mentioned as titles for the three book trilogies.
          1. The Sacrifice
          2. The Persecution (or a more flattering word, if you wish)
          3. The Justice


          @mark-kamibaya
          Do you know anything about titles?

          ☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀

          #36285
          bethanys.inky.roses
          @bethanysinkyroses
            • Rank: Loyal Sidekick
            • Total Posts: 193

            *peeps over the Dragon Snapper and reads her suggestions*
            Ummm. I love titles. A lot. Could you give us the first and last line in every novella? That might help with idea generating. 😀

            #36286
            Kate Flournoy
            @kate-flournoy
              • Rank: Chosen One
              • Total Posts: 3976

              @Hope I like @Dragon-Snapper’s suggestions, but I also think your three aren’t as terrible as they could be.
              Except for the last.
              Which is rubbish.
              Excuse me.
              *coughs* 😛

              But you had a good thing going there with the different wars. If you could think of a third war to make that last one fit, I don’t think that would be so terribly wretched.

              Orrrr… you could take the Biblical symbolism a bit deeper and find titles that correspond with the allegorical groups. The Ploughing, The Sowing, The Harvest…
              Flip through Revelation; that thing is just stuffed with title inspiration. Not even kidding. I’ll let you know if I think of anything else.

              Snapper
              @dragon-snapper
                • Rank: Chosen One
                • Total Posts: 3515

                If you could think of a third war to make that last one fit, I don’t think that would be so terribly wretched.

                Yeah, like War for Truth, or if you had another country or something to name it after. 😀

                @hope
                @kate-flournoy

                ☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀

                #36292
                Hope Ann
                @hope
                  • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                  • Total Posts: 1092

                  @dragon-snapper Yes, it is like a trilogy of three trilogies. Hmmm, I do like the idea of themes as titles. That could be cool. Or a final ‘War’. See, Alsaria is the land and Zahava is the captial city. I could see if I can find another location to center the last three novellas around.


                  @bethanysinkyroses
                  I only have the first three novellas written: Rose of the Oath, Song of the Sword, and Shadows of the Hersweald. The first lines of them all, in order, are as follows.

                  They were coming. They never stopped coming.

                  The birds fluttered nervously, their songs sharp with the same tension that swelled inside Evrard. Their notes quivered on filament threads in the back of his mind as his gaze swept the Melody Realm.

                  They would have to come that afternoon. Haydn scowled and clenched his fist behind his back. The rutted road twisted away from the gate beneath him, slithering like a chalky serpent into the shades of the forest.

                  Not sure if that is very good for ideas, though.


                  @kate-flournoy
                  Hmmm, I might try that.

                  *hurries off to scribble down everyones ideas*

                  INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.

                  #36293
                  Daeus
                  @daeus
                    • Rank: Chosen One
                    • Total Posts: 4238

                    @hope I don’t know. How about…?
                    1. The Reckoning
                    2. The Affliction
                    3. The Triumph

                    🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢

                    #36294
                    Hope Ann
                    @hope
                      • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                      • Total Posts: 1092

                      Thanks so much, everyone. That prompted several cool ideas. So… what do you think? Favorites or changes? I’ve two places I couldn’t decide on a word so I included both.

                      1. War for Aslaria
                      2. War for Zahava or Zulema
                      3. War for Veritas

                      1. The Sacrifice
                      2. The Steadfast or Subjection
                      3. The Subversion

                      1. Ancient Oath
                      2. Rejected Pardon
                      3. Tainted History

                      1. Blackened Rose
                      2. Bloodstained Crown
                      3. Broken Seal

                      1. The Sacrifice
                      2. The Affliction
                      3. The Reckoning


                      @daeus
                      , @kate-flournoy, @dragon-snapper, @bethanysinkyroses

                      INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.

                      #36295
                      Mariposa Aristeo
                      @mariposa
                        • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                        • Total Posts: 335

                        @hope Well, since it’s called Legends of Light, maybe you could have something to do with light in the titles? Like this:

                        1. Love’s Dawn
                        2. Flickering Hope
                        3. Ray of Truth

                        #36296
                        Snapper
                        @dragon-snapper
                          • Rank: Chosen One
                          • Total Posts: 3515

                          @hope I especially like the last group of:
                          1. The Sacrifice
                          2. The Affliction
                          3. The Reckoning

                          ☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀

                          #36297
                          Hope Ann
                          @hope
                            • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                            • Total Posts: 1092

                            @mariposa Oooo, yes. That’s a good idea. *scowls at self* seriously, Hope. You have light in the title and don’t once think about using that as a theme?

                            INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.

                            #36323
                            Jess
                            @jess
                              • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                              • Total Posts: 575

                              @hope
                              I like the idea of doing titles with light in them, but I like this set too
                              1. Blackened Rose
                              2. Bloodstained Crown
                              3. Broken Seal

                              #36326
                              Hope Ann
                              @hope
                                • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                                • Total Posts: 1092

                                @Jess Yes, that is my favorite set too.

                                INTJ - Inhumane. No-feelings. Terrible. Judgment and doom on everyone.

                                #36329
                                Christine Eaton
                                @christi-eaton
                                  • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                                  • Total Posts: 306

                                  @hope There are a lot of great titles in here, I really like the last set, but the second to last I feel has more of a fairy tale feel to it with words like Blackened Rose, Crown, Seal. I think those will nicely fit your stories 😀

                                  Theater kid. Currently depressed because I can't stop listening to sad musicals.

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