Current Project: "Shadows" WIPStatus: Reworked the characters and plot, 2500+ words of backstory written
I'll admit it up front -- I suck when it comes to thinking up titles for my stories. That flash of inspiration that screams, this is it!, just generally fizzles for me. It's a disappointment, because I love a good title, don't you? I can walk through a bookstore and get inspired to write just by reading all the titles on the shelves.
There are titles I will always love, though I have no doubt I'll never read the actual, you know, book. Love in the Time of Cholera and The Unbearable Lightness of Being are two such titles. I'll never forget them, but I'm just as sure that I'll never read those books (yes, I know they're prize winners and considered amazing works of literature -- it's nothing personal, I'm just not interested).
Let's face it, though, one the purposes of a book title--if not the purpose--is to sell the book. There are definitely books I picked up because I couldn't resist the title. I started reading a few mystery series because of the title of the first book in the series: Grime and Punishment by Jill Churchill (the Jane Jeffrey series), and Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart (the Death on Demand series) are just a couple of examples. And how about the titles of Martha Grimes' Richard Jury mysteries? Each book title is the name of a pub in England and some of them are doozies, starting with the very first book: The Man With a Load of Mischief.
Switching genres, I still love the title of the first book in Karen Ripley's The Slow World fantasy series published in 1993 -- The Persistence of Memory. I don't much remember the story, but the title has stuck with me all these years. I might not have started reading Barry B. Longyear's wonderful Circus World trilogy if the first book had been titled something other than City of Baraboo. Come on, who wouldn't take a second look at a book with that title? And then there's Bride of the Rat God. While I was already very familiar with Barbara Hambly's work when she published that novel, if I hadn't been I still would've picked it up just because of the title.
I hesitate to say this, but most titles are forgettable. Oh, they're interesting enough to briefly catch my attention, which is good enough from a sales standpoint, I guess. But I can't honestly say that I remember most of the titles of the books I've read, and certainly not for long after I've finished them. Those titles that do stick with me tend to have an intangible quality, a way of rolling off the tongue, that I'm always hoping to find for my own writing.
How about you? Do titles come easily to you? Do you have favorite titles you'd like to share?
7 comments:
Hi Debbie, Usually titles come easily and with the first inspiration of a story. Then I second guess myself about the title. LOL
Titles capture my attention but I can't think of any that are jumping out in my mind at the moment.
I started reading the MC Beaton mysteries because of the first title I ran across: Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death. Likewise with Carolyn Hart's Death on Demand and the bed and breakfast series by Mary Daheim, Leggs Benedict. However, since so many cozy writers have begun using these kind of titles, I've grown bored with them and they are no longer enough to attract me. I love the single word titles Dick Francis uses: Proof and Banker, for instance and in those two instances, the titles do remind me what the books are about, but most of the time, single word titles tend to blend together so I don't know which one goes with which book, if I have read it, etc...
But you are not talking about titles that sell a book, you're talking about titles that attract you, not only as a reader, but as a connoisseur of the combination of words, rhythm and suggestion. The titles you mentioned are also well known to me and I also have not actually read the books. It's like The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. That's a lofty sounding title. And Shakespeare was a genius with his titles, I think. Maybe they aren't lyrical, but Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, MacBeth, The Taming of the Srew, The Tempest -- good stuff.
On the flip side of that coin is a book I very much enjoyed that I can NEVER remember the title of. Never. Not even now can I think of the damn name of that book. It's the one with the POV of a young murder victim named Salmon. I believe Alice Sebold wrote it. The title continually escapes me and so whenever I talk about the book, I have to launch into an explanation like I just have, so for me, that book would win the not-so-coveted worst title ever award.
Fun blog!
Titles never come easily to me. I'm truly surprised that of the four books I have published or have in production now, two have titles I came up with. That's 50%.
I know. Stop laughing.
Titles rarely make me buy a book, though. It's usually a combo of the title, the cover and the back blurb that steers me to buy. And I agree, I can think of some great titles that have stuck in my mind but which I've never read. All I can truly say is thank goodness for publishers who know better than writers what sells and what doesn't. If titles were left up to be I'd have "Book 1", "Book 2", and soon, "Book 3" sitting on the shelves.
I absolutely stink at thinking of titles. A book title is what actually got me reading romance, unexpectedly, in the first place - "A Girl's Guide to Vampires." I love that title! Looking at bunches of vampire fiction on Amazon, that one jumped out at me and the rest is history.
Hey Debbie! Fun post. (You girls always have fun posts!) :)
Well, I pretty much suck at titles.
Scott Westerfeld's books always have awesome titles like: Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras, So Yesterday, and Peeps. I don't know who chooses his titles, but whomever it is, they're good at it. :)
Skin Hunger by Kathleen Duey. Love that title.
I've never read Wicked Lovely, but it's a great title.
The Hunger Games and Catching Fire- awesome books & titles, too.
Patrick F. McManus always has hilarious titles...Never Sniff A Gift Fish, They Shoot Canoes, Don't They?, Rubber Legs And White Tail-Hairs, The Good Samaritan Strikes Again, Real Ponies Don't Go Oink. LOL
I was at a garage sale one time and saw a book with the title: Letters From A Nut by Ted L. Nancy. Of course I had to buy it. Laughed so hard at the letters in that one!!
The list could go on and on, but I won't. :)
Eli- ROFL "book 1, book 2, book 3"
The book title that got me reading romance was "An Offer From A Gentleman" by Julia Quinn. I've now read everything she's ever had published! LOL
I have to have a title to start blogging. MUST have title! And yes, I will pick up books based solely on the title. And sometimes, I nearly miss a book because of an odd title. I just finished Tessa Dare's AMAZING Goddess of the Hunt, but I almost passed it by b/c it sounded like a Paranormal to me and this combined with an old-school regency cover had me confused. But, the book is SO worth it. Lesson: Title isn't everything, but it sure helps!
oops, writing not blogging.
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