Tips for making a strong title for your novel?

D

Dave Carignan

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I am about 1/3 of the way trough my first draft of my novel. I haven't out much thought into the title yet. Nothing has really jumped out to me however like I just mentioned I haven't really put a lot of thought in creating one.

Everyone here on here. How did you come up with yours or what sparked the right fit for your title? I want mine to be strong so it is probably why I haven't rushed into making one up to this point.
 
Honestly, though my writing does NOT do them justice, for some reason, titles for stories and even each chapter, just seem to come to me out of nowhere. I wish I could give you some magic answer or place to look for 'good' advice, but all I can suggest, is that you keep writing, and it will likely strike you at some point. A moment in the story, a phrase, a word or two, or the general theme will come to you, and you'll know... 'that's the title to your story.'

K2
 
My first two novels had the title taken right from somewhere inside.
I always had a running title to work with--sort of like a place setter.
I have just finished three stories(rewrites of the first novel)I gave them new information and that information helped form the new titles.

Some people have suggested that short is good.
Though I have seen successful novel with long titles.
 
It varies. I have had stories where the title was obvious from the start, and others where it bedeviled me until well into the novel. And one that I was never totally happy with but everyone around me said it was perfect so I went with it.

The only thing I've really learned is to let it simmer and not fret over it. At least, not until I have to talk to my cover designer!
 
TItles really aren't that important to brood over. It might be what catches the eye, but during the creation process it's the least important aspect of the craft.

That said, the way I come up with titles really depends on which of my worlds I'm dealing with. Tooninoot is comedy, for instance, so I've gone for titles for episodes via puns and other forms of wordplay. It really all depends on what genre/sub-genre your work is and what kind of atmosphere it's meant to invoke.
 
Once I pick a title I might go with, I plug it into google to see how many other titles or results come up. If you pick a unique set of words, google will put it at the top of the list. Of course it only works if people type in those particular words.
 
It's perfectly all right to use a title that's already been used; you can't copyright a title. That said, you might want to re-thinking titling your book "The Shining."

I ran into this myself recently. I have a short story that involves a pixie and a giant trying to figure out what to do. Because they are next to a dragon that is sleeping. The obvious title is "When the Dragon Wakes". But a little voice went off. It's the one that doesn't actually say anything helpful but just buzzes like a gnat in the ear. Then I got it. ASOIAF. Viserys. Geez, thanks ever so much, GRRM.

Been title huntin' ever since.
 
sknox said:
It's perfectly all right to use a title that's already been used; you can't copyright a title. That said, you might want to re-thinking titling your book "The Shining."
Click to expand...

But 'The Shinning' should be fine, right?

I've always been terrible at titles. Point in fact, I'm rapidly (on a geological timescale) closing in on the end of my first draft of a YA novel, and I've got nothing. Nada. But to be honest I haven't given it much thought, and it's very low on my list of priorities right now. That list is pretty much just, Finish The Damn Thing.
 
Sometimes it's an obvious title that suggests itself before you even write the story, like TIMESTORM. It's about a ship travelling through time after going into a strange storm. It was an easy choice I decided on prior to writing and the publisher wasn't concerned that it had been used before.

With BLURRED VISION, I used my more usual method of trying to find a title that had multiple meanings. In this case the title directly related to the SF story and also reflected the confusion encountered by the main character. I'm doing the same with the sequel, but also wanted to maintain the vision theme, so it's called OUT OF SIGHT. The third, should I sell it (& the second!), will be called FUZZY LOGIC.

My latest novel is a crime thriller with a series of outrageous murders and the working title was OVER THE TOP, which reflected the story, but it also had an inappropriate WWI feel. After playing around with dozens of titles and bouncing words around a thesaurus for months, I stumbled across the final title, which I immediately knew was a perfect fit: OVERKILL. It's both over the top and suggests both the crime and a thriller.
 
I'm not a writer so maybe should not post here. But... many of the best titles are quotes from, eg, King James Bible, Shakespeare, Beatles, Dylan, Keats. Maybe because even if the reader doesn't know the origin of the title, it seems somehow familiar and resonates? The title should be something that draws readers in.
Counter argument: any Steve Aylett title
 
The title should always be a pivotal phrase, preferably oft used. E.G. "Hot Tub Time Machine." Otherwise, anything that sounds good with an exclamation mark, like the musical adaptation of the life of John Merrick entitled "Elephant!"
 
My last novel draft I had no idea even when rewriting it, barely a few thousand words into this one and an idea leaps into my head unbidden...
 
I'd wait until you get to the end, by which time you might have found that certain themes or ideas have become more important to the story.
 
By the way... my primary project at the moment, I changed the title and even series name a number of times (some of my vacillating can be found in old threads in this section). At first they would each have the same main title, using a different subtitle and year. Then each would have a different T+ST+Y. Then, ditching the subtitle, I came up with a series title... Round and round it went. I even came up with a new system for dating just for the titles :LOL:

In any case, I say that because you might be worried that the title is not used as a tag-line in the story... If that's the case, then you definitely must wait till you're done. If not, and you just want a way to refer to it, call it 'Bob' for the time being. That will make everyone really curious ;)

What I will say is: don't write your story 'around the title.' IOW, allowing the title to dictate how the story runs. It needs to be the other way around, the story dictates the title... hence, you must know the whole story first.

In my needless fretting over my own titles, I ended up instead using what I initially thought in various ways. Some of those subtitles which I really liked, are now chapter titles. That year system gave me a lot of flexibility since now I didn't have it pinned to a real date. My entire series title, is never mentioned until the second novel, and there it is used as a chapter title... IOW, the series theme is not detailed out until roughly 180,000 words into it.

Speaking of tag-lines and the like, I don't use tag-lines directly. In 'The Abolitionist,' in the last chapter the deuteragonist says: "I'm going to abolish this system, tear it all down..." In 'Lest ye be Judged,' the protagonist discusses what Jesus meant by that with some children, for the deuteragonist's benefit 2/3s of the way in. In 'The Violence of Lambs,' lambs are simply a new type of character... BUT, if I can shorten the series and cram all I have left into a third/final novel instead of 5, that title will become a chapter title, as will the 5th planned novel's (Tecumseh's Land), and 'The Measure ye Mete,' will be the third's title... BUT never stated in the novel as it is mentioned in the same discussion mentioned in the second.

Point being, as I learned... you can spend loads of time on it now, just to discover in the end, it really demands to be called ____________.

Wait till you're deeper into the story if not until it's finished. It will come to you then.

K2
 
-K2- said:
What I will say is: don't write your story 'around the title.' IOW, allowing the title to dictate how the story runs. It needs to be the other way around, the story dictates the title... hence, you must know the whole story first.

K2
Click to expand...
I like that. I defiantly haven't been so I should just continue what I have been doing. If something I like just pops into my head I will go with it. If not I'll worry about it more down the road.
 
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