Title opinions?

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  • #54893
    Kate Flournoy
    @kate-flournoy
      • Rank: Chosen One
      • Total Posts: 3976

      Hey, KeePers. I know I keep popping on and off very randomly, and I do hope sometime to be able to get back to a more regular presence, but for now this’ll have to do. 😛

      I have a question for you guys. See, I have this book. I wrote it when I was fourteen and it’s due for a serious rewrite. That part is all under control.

      But I’m having a bit of trouble over the title. See, it’s really lame, but I’ve known the book as that since I wrote it four years ago, and I’ve lost perspective on it, so I’m not sure how to go about fixing it. The title is Victorious.

      First, what do you guys think of that title? Honestly? Does it need a new one? And if it does, do you have any ideas?

      Ugh I suppose that means I have to summarize the story… *scrunches face* Okay I think I did a semi-synopsis on it a while back. Let me go find it.

      They said he was a destroyer.
      A man destined by prophecy to leave the world in ashes.
      They feared him, and where men fear, justice ceases to exist.

      Dunstan was only seventeen when his foster-brother framed him for murder. Seventeen when that same brother, in the name of justice, pronounced him an outlaw.
      Thrust out into a world as unforgiving as it is cruel, Dunstan resolves to take his case before the king. Surely kings, of all judges, still believe in justice. Surely the truth of his innocence, believed only by a very few, still has the power to save him from an outlaw’s fate.
      But it just isn’t that simple.
      King Leopold sits in the very center of a deceitful net, with integrity on one hand, and the threat of war on the other, and when Dunstan, asking only for justice, first sets foot in the king’s presence, the precarious balance is shattered into a million pieces.
      War follows.
      But Dunstan, caught in the center of a battle he didn’t start, where the passions of men rule them rather than the justice he has sought so long, realizes that just men are scarcer than he ever believed. He stands alone.

      Is it a crime to transgress the law that withholds a righteous judgment? Is it sin to destroy that which has become corrupt and unprofitable? Or will he earn in truth the false name given him in the beginning as he seeks desperately for the right way—
      Outlaw?
      Destroyer of worlds?

      La-dee-da-dee-da etc. etc. That was a lot longer than I remembered. 😛

      Anyway, any thoughts? I’m kind of looking for a one-word title because it matches the titles of all the other books in the series this one belongs to (except for one, and I’m working on that) but any ideas are welcome, just to get the creative juices flowing. I considered ‘Outlaw’, but that is so wretchedly cliche.

      Thanks in advance. 😉 My replies to this thread might be a little sporadic because I’m super busy right now, but I promise I will get back to you. 😉


      @Daeus
      @Hope @Ethryndal @Dragon-Snapper @That_Writer_Girl_99 @Sam-Kowal @Lady-Iliara @shannon @winter-rose

      Joy
      @dekreel
        • Rank: Chosen One
        • Total Posts: 2304

        @kate-flournoy I love your synopsis! It reminds me of Chaucer’s Knight’s Tale!

        Hmm… titles…. how about Justice? (with the question mark). Maybe…

        Balance. Outlaw. Innocence. I’m basically just throwing out keywords now…  I like Outlaw I guess. I’m seeing that word quite a bit in you synopsis, so I guess it’s some kind of ongoing theme.

        Ohh… maybe Arcite. That’s a character in the Knight’s Tale who sounds a LOT like Dunstan! And King Leonold sounds a lot like Theseus! So cool!

        Anyway, just some random ideas. Others will probably have more creative ones 😉

        You can pronounce it however you want.

        #54901
        Elizabeth
        @that_writer_girl_99
          • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
          • Total Posts: 1819

          I’m not really sure what you want me to say here, so…

          Honestly,  I think in a long series, like yours seems to be, simple, one-word titles are best. That way, they can be remembered more easily. I think Victorious is a good name, but some of the ones @dekreel mentioned would work. It’s your choice, but I think going with a one-word title would be best.

          Writer. Dreamer. Sometimes blogger. MBTI mess. Lover of Jesus and books.

          #54902
          Snapper
          @dragon-snapper
            • Rank: Chosen One
            • Total Posts: 3515

            @kate-flournoy

            Oh dear. Titles.

            Um….

            Here are some brainstorms:

            ‘Accused’

            ‘Trial’

            ‘Justifiable’

            ‘Warlaw…’ (insert Loki facepalm here)

            What kind of title are you going for?

            ☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀

            #54905
            Ethryndal
            @ethryndal
              • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
              • Total Posts: 1013

              @Kate-Flournoy WAIT, HOW DID I NOT KNOW DUNSTAN GETS HIS OWN BOOK? That’s cool.

              And honestly, Victorious doesn’t bother me too much. Granted, it’s not the kind of title that smacks you in the heart, but neither is it grating, like, say, Finding Freedom! or something horribly cliche like that. If you do end up keeping that title, I wouldn’t complain.

              Urg, the problem with single-word titles is that even with whole dictionaries of words at our disposal, one can never seem to find the PERFECT word. How ’bout… Reparation? Yeah yeah, it doesn’t have much to do with the theme portrayed in your synopsis. But it’s all I got.

              (And by the way, that story looks epic. The THEMES.)

              INTJ ➸Your friendly neighborhood mastermind. ➸https://thesarcasticelf.wordpress.com/

              #54917
              Daeus
              @daeus
                • Rank: Chosen One
                • Total Posts: 4238

                @kate-flournoy I agree that Victorious works. You can always use subtitles too if the title seems to plain to you.

                However, it’s worth looking into new titles.

                And now I’ve spent ten minutes trying to think of something and I’m coming up with nothing. 😛

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

                #54922
                Audrey Caylin
                @audrey-caylin
                  • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                  • Total Posts: 323

                  @kate-flournoy I’m dying to read your book now because THE THEME.

                  Anyway.

                  I like “Victorious,” but also all the dozens of ideas suggested above are cool. My only contribution is “Vanquished.” I guess it depends on what sort of image you want to bring to mind with the title. Maybe imagining it on a book cover will help?

                  #54928
                  Jane Maree
                  @jane-maree
                    • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                    • Total Posts: 909

                    @kate-flournoy ‘Victorious’ seems a little too soon. Like “oh yes here’s the book, but don’t worry they’re victorious in the end.” That could just be me though. When I started reading the blurb you have there, it made me think “Destroyer” which has a stronger sound and also shows the struggle of the story a little too?

                    That’s just my thoughts anyways.

                    Writing Heroes ♦ Writing Hope // janemareeauthor.com.au

                    Anonymous
                      • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                      • Total Posts: 859

                      @kate-flournoy, I think that @dekreel’s suggestions are good…but I agree with Jane Maree, that it might be too soon to say that they are Victorious. I like Audrey’s suggestion of Vanquished.

                      #54942
                      Sam Kowal
                      @sam-kowal
                        • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                        • Total Posts: 635

                        <p>@kate-flournoy</p><p>:D that sounds pretty epic</p><p>Soo.. this is what I’ve got</p><p>Nothing amazing but, as you said maybe we can get some creative juices flowing</p><p>Triumphant </p><p>Razed  (referencing the shattering balance)</p><p>Judgement (referencing the justice theme)</p><p>Cataclysmic (although maybe its not the end of the world)</p><p>Lawgiver (Judgement again)</p><p>Folly (the kingdom is ruled more by selfishness than justice)</p><p>Riven</p><p>Fractured </p><p>Shattered</p><p>Ruin</p><p>Outlaw is tantalizingly fitting, but it does seem pretty cliche</p><p>What about… Stan ;D</p><p>Or…</p><p>Resolve… no that’s terrible</p><p>Outcast… too similar to Outlaw</p><p>Will… but then that seems like an MC name not “will” itself</p><p>maybe the destroyer of worlds theme…</p><p>so Razed again</p><p>or Annihilation</p><p>or Corrupted… that goes into the falsity about the government and the king</p><p>Delusion </p><p>Sham </p><p>Reckless</p><p>Or, you know how famous composers never named their compositions? They were just Symphony 1 and so one? What about </p><p>Kate Flournoy’s Epic book No. 1?</p><p> </p><p>I dunno</p><p>I felt like I had a really good one the outskirts of my mind when I first read the synopsis but I that’s just cause it was so epic</p><p> </p><p> </p>

                        *Giarstanornarak tries to melt chair*
                        Also, Daeus has 22 turtles in his signature.

                        #54953
                        Kate Flournoy
                        @kate-flournoy
                          • Rank: Chosen One
                          • Total Posts: 3976

                          @Dekreel @That_Writer_Girl_99 @Dragon-snapper @Ethryndal @Daeus @Audrey-caylin @Jane-maree @Shannon @Sam-Kowal wow, thanks so much guys, all of you. Just getting the general feedback and feeling out opinion about the existing title helped me get so much more perspective.


                          @Jane-Maree
                          , believe it or not, I had actually already considered Destroyer, (and yeah, that’s my main problem with Victorious) but I thought it might be a little too… drastic to fit the MC. He’s stubborn as a mule, but he’s pretty quiet and laid-back about it. 😛 That’s definitely still in my ideas file.

                          Yes, @Ethryndal, Dunstan has his own book. Uncharted is actually a sequel, though it can be read alone. 😉

                          Wow @Sam-Kowal that’s an awful lot! 😛 Thanks for the effort, and believe me, if I could get away with naming it ‘Kate Flournoy’s epic book#1’ I would most certainly do so. XD

                          So… what do the rest of you think about Destroyer?

                          Sam Kowal
                          @sam-kowal
                            • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                            • Total Posts: 635

                            @kate-flournoy I think Destroyer is quite solid, although it is really heavy hitting

                            The thing with it, it sounds slightly too aggressive to me. So what about Ransacker? It has kind of the same feel, but seems more “breaking” than “annihilating”, and that’s what Dunstan does to the power balance, right?

                            *Giarstanornarak tries to melt chair*
                            Also, Daeus has 22 turtles in his signature.

                            #54991
                            Audrey Caylin
                            @audrey-caylin
                              • Rank: Knight in Shining Armor
                              • Total Posts: 323

                              @kate-flournoy hmm…Destroyer does seem a little aggressive. It makes me think more of a sci-fi novel than anything else. I do see what Jane is saying about Victorious being a little too early though. I will…return when I have more thoughts 😛

                              #55327
                              Anonymous
                                • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                                • Total Posts: 1486

                                @kate-flournoy I’d have to side with Audrey and Sam, I’m not sold on Destroyer. But I don’t really have any other ideas….hmmm. Maybe supremacy? Sovereign? Ascendancy? They don’t relate to victory, but they do relate to the authority Dunstan questions…

                                #56597
                                Kate Flournoy
                                @kate-flournoy
                                  • Rank: Chosen One
                                  • Total Posts: 3976

                                  Hey guys, sorry it took me a bit to get back. 😛 Thanks so much for all your feedback, it was so helpful.

                                  I think I might have found a different option though… what do you guys think of Valiant?


                                  @Daeus
                                  @Dekreel @That_Writer_Girl_99 @Audrey-Caylin @Jane-Maree @Shannon @Sam-Kowal @Winter-rose @Ethryndal @Emma-Flournoy

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