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Just curious, how does everybody come up with titles for their own stories? What’s the meaning behind your title? What do you appreciate in a title, and what sort of titles turn you away from or draw you to a story? Favorite styles of titles?
I know it can really vary for myself. Once in while a title will come to me right away, but most of the time I have a hard time finding just the right one. Just wondering what everybody else thinks! 🙂
This is a great topic! As for me, sometimes I have more title ideas than I do titles, other times I draw a blank when I desperately need one XD But the title of my most recent WIP, (is as some of you probably know) The Snow Warrior. And actually, that was the title that came with the photo that inspired my whole novel, and it was just a near impossible title to replace. Since it did everything that I needed it to (open a window to what the story’s about, spark interest -at least I think it does-, show readers what the story might be about, be unique, represent genre/tone/mood, etc) and bonus, it also indirectly and concisely sums up my protagonist and her life story.
What I appreciate in titles is something powerful, interesting, and to the point. Such as War and Peace, Star Wars, Warriors, Wishtree, Ranger’s Apprentice, Watership Down, Narnia, and Dark Horse. They all contain similar traits while often being from different genres and or themes. I’ve never been a fan when subtitles include a character’s name, but I don’t think there’s anything directly wrong with it.
My favorite styles are the large, bold, slightly ancient/fantasy aesthetic-y fonts:)@wyn-rose Mm…I’ll throw some examples out and my thought process behind them.
The Mafia of Heather Flights
My sister said it was pretty self-explanatory; no need to change it to something aesthetic. Got a place, a group, and it makes you wonder. The most basic title I have, probably. But it represents what the whole work is about.
I Hid Beneath My Umbrella So the Adults Wouldn’t See Me Cry
I also like to do long poetic things. This short story’s POV character is a child who is underneath an umbrella all the time, so the title already reflects some of the elements within the story. The adults would perhaps refer to the people he’s watching, and tears…well, just hinting it’s going to be sad. I like long titles because they remind me of the original titles for a lot of Japanese anime movies which are sadly, not directly translated over.
Yanhua
Means “fireworks” in Chinese. There’s already a movie called Fireworks, I believe. It’s a short story with a Chinese cast, there are fireworks in the end, and after I wrote it I decided it fit because there was a subconscious connection: his life was brief, but it was brilliant and beautiful, like those fireworks. Even if they are to be forgotten soon…
Abluvion
I was going through a one-worded title phase. I like to collect rare words on my Pinterest boards, and this one stood out to me. It seemed fitting for that story idea, about how everything is washed away in the last chapter…
Those Who Were Given Another Yesterday
Essentially “those” would be the main cast, and “another yesterday” is part of the basic time-loop premise. I enjoy doing titles in this format, actually.
So basically, I either choose a word which I think reflects the story’s main theme or ending, or I do something very long and poetic that reflects several themes or elements within the story, or I do a title that’s basically “subject/thing that is connected to subject”. Usually they’re made up on the spot.
I’m not really picky on what titles I see in fiction. Usually the fantasy ones all sound the same to me, though. Something about “crow blood crown thorn sword”.
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days@wyn-rose Ooh…good question!
Let me see…for the titles of my Daughters of the Seven Seas novels, most of them just came to me! Held Captive, Prisoner at Heart, and Bound and Determined all fit the captivity theme and just popped into my head! The next title, Course for Home, took a bit of thinking. I knew it wouldn’t fit the theme (which was all right), but I wanted it to fit the story. Since I knew this one was more emotional and, well, about home than anything else, that title somehow wiggled into my head and stuck there!
For A Faithful Quest and A Noble Crusade, I knew I wanted something that fit the search for the Holy Grail theme, so the first one only took a little bit of thinking. The second is directly based off of The Last Crusade (Indiana Jones), but it took me a minute to decide on “noble.”
Most of my titles are divinely inspired, so the only one I’ve really had to think about was Tell Me No Lies. This story has no category or really even much of a genre, so I wasn’t sure if I wanted it to sound romantic or mysterious or what.
So I made a list of any and all keywords that fit the story, then played with them until I came up with one I liked! Some other titles I’d come up with were Behind Closed Doors, The One I Never Knew, and A Question of Loyalty. I knew betrayal and secrecy were two themes that stuck no matter the genre, so I worked with that!
the resident romance ghost; last seen within the pages of a gothic novel
Great topic!! <33 Oddly enough, I’ve come very close to starting this topic as well… So, for me, I think titles are one of the first things I judge about a novel. With that said, I’m still trying to find the right title for my book (it’s currently Fortitude, but I don’t think that’ll stick around), though I’ve thought about Prodigy or something like that. One thing that I shy away from is including a character’s name in the title (this is personal preference), though a lot of famous books such as Harry Potter or Percy Jackson do this. I would just feel weird if my book was named Caira Watson.
You could always open a document and type in a few key words that remind you of your book as a whole, and then try to think of a title from that, if that makes sense. Jotting down some words can lead to potential book titles. (As I was writing this, I looked up and realized @gracie-j said the exact same thing, so maybe think about trying this method lol)
Good luck with it!! <33333
Oooh umm ok. So usually I just come up with titles or words/things relating to the book or story.
For instance when I came up with working titles for my Series I realized they all flowed together really well (Being two words, one an abstract thing or whatever and one a noun or whatever)
For instance- Destiny’s Murder is the working title of my first book! I love fantasy titles that are one word titles or have like Of ____ and ____
And other titles like that. With words like shadow, queen, kingdom, etc.
Btw, while we’re on this subject would y’all plz help me with 2’of my titles? I have working titles for every book except 2 I cannot seem to totally figure out.
Book 1: Destiny’s Murder
Book 2: Fate’s Rebellion
Book 4: Wisdom’s Gift
Book 6: Revelation’s Death
Book 7: Prophecy’s End
Book 3 and 4 are the ones I’m struggling with.
For 3 There’s a sort of war bubbling to the surface so I thought maybe Tradition or Eternity’s War, but tradition and eternity make no sense really.
So then I thought something’s Offering or Sacrifice. But it’s just that first word! I cannot figure it out!!
same with the other title I’m struggling with.
I know for book 4 I’d like Something’s Betrayal, or something like that but it’s those first words!!
The only words I’ve got listed so far are these:
Eternity’s
Tradition’s
Legacy’s
Chance’s
Luck’s
Fortune’s
and one that makes no sense lol. Any ideas y’all? If y’all need to know more about the story just let me know
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
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I completely agree with you that sometimes the title comes right away and sometimes it doesn’t. When I was much younger (in the baby stages of writing, lol) I always knew the title before I even wrote the story! Now I would say that it doesn’t take me especially long to think of titles; I always give the WIP a title before I start writing. For some reason it just bothers me to leave that blank, lol. I just tell myself I’ll change it later if the need for a change becomes apparent.
When thinking of a title for The Apostle’s Sister, it came to me right away. It was just the first thing I thought of, because, after all, the novel IS about the sister of St. Paul the apostle! And I had people tell me that the title, The Apostle’s Sister, really intrigued them because we don’t hear much about the apostles’ families. I was told that the title was a great hook to make someone want to open the cover and discover what it might have been like to be St. Paul’s sister. So that kind of solidified the title in my mind, and I honestly don’t foresee it changing. I feel it’s such a simple title but adequately conveys what the story is about while providing mystery and an exciting hook. (I hope!)
I hold my friends at gunpoint until they read my story and then threaten to take away their chocolate and tea until they give me title ideas.
The pen is mightier than the sword, but in a duel, I'm taking the sword.
ekseaver.wordpress.com@e-k-seaver XD XD XD (Except I could totally see you doing that, so…)
the resident romance ghost; last seen within the pages of a gothic novel
(So it looks like the forum ate my reply for some reason??? Apologies if y’all’ve seen this like, three times.)
aNYWAY,
@wyn-rose What a cool topic!! I don’t have a ton of titles to share (I guess that’s what comes from only having two major WIPs over the course of several years) but I’d love to talk about my thought process behind each one. 😀The Drakesbanes. Originally just “Drakesbane.” So, back when I started this dear story of mine way back in 2013, the plot centered around a girl slaying a dragon. I wanted to think of a cool name for the sword she found/inherited (the details are a bit foggy at this point), hence Drakesbane (Drake=dragon, bane=ruin. Dragon’s Ruin, if you will.) That word eventually became my MC’s last name as well as her sister’s, and since they’re the driving force behind a lot of action in my duology, I figured it would be fitting to call the first book after them. That being said, I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to name the second book, so wish me luck.
A Beginner’s Guide to Villainy. Another WIP that I’ve had for quite a while (2015 I believe?) and haven’t touched in a bit (but hope to do so once I finish a draft of The Drakesbanes). The premise is that a very tired but very ambitious college student decides to become the greatest Disney-style villain of all time to save his GPA. I’ve forgotten how I came up with the title, but I do love it.
Now, as for what I appreciate in a title…I suppose I’m drawn to something unique and interesting? Which I know is vague, but it’s one of those things that’s hard to pinpoint.
“Seven seconds till the end. Time enough for you. Perhaps. But what will you do with it?”
@abigail-m @devastate-lasting @gracie-j @writerlexi1216 @godlyfantasy12 @joy-caroline @lewilliams Everyone has such good titles! It’s so fun to hear about them!
@e-k-seaver Ha, I guess that works too! 🙂- Rank: Eccentric Mentor
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Thank you!
Thanks!! : )
@wyn-rose Thanks!
Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days@wyn-rose Thanks!
the resident romance ghost; last seen within the pages of a gothic novel
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