How in the WORLD do you name a book? or even a story?

As some of you may have noticed, in the Story Excerpts section of this forum, I have a huge problem with this. I don't really want to name it after the main character or anything.

How do you all come up with names for your works?

Hmm. Those are good ideas Evening. I had the title "A Slave's Song" in my head before I really knew what my story was going to be. For a while it didn't have a song in it! I'm usually bad when it comes to titles, so I may try those suggestions, Evening!

I have a similar problem Willow. I want a catchy unusual title that captures my interest. Right now I have either the Mark of Destiny or Mark of the Diegose. How boring! However, I do the same thing as Evening in the process of coming up with a title, only I don't use colors. I never thought about the fact that I could get attached to a title though. Huh, interesting.

I am REALLY bad at naming things, so any tips are extremely helpful.
I do like the idea of using color names or something of the like until I come up with a proper title.

Well, I like the tip of using colors and things to temporarily label. Because right now, I just have weird, corny titles.

Or titles like, "the story I started when I was bored" or "i can't come up with a title" or "i feel so stupid"

LOL!

This thread made me think – how do I title my books? Often a title comes to me during the development process; other stories get stuck with a temporary title that ends up sticking. A few still remain nameless. I don’t have a system; however, looking over my library of stories, I do have some themes going.

Most of my titles are people, places, or things from the story. “Hatful of Coins,” “A House for Marge.” Significant places and people make good titles, as do central objects. Is there an item at the core of your story – something people are fighting over? I think names make fine titles as long as they are unique, but if you don’t want to use the name straight, try crafting a synonym. I’m fond of possessive titles – “Peter’s Angel,” “The Orphan’s Papers.”

"Peter’s Angel” is one of my favorite titles at current; it is a phrase from the book and a synonym for the character Nathan. By that time in the trilogy, the reader will know that Peter’s angel is Nathan; but “Peter’s Angel” is more interesting of a title than “Nathan.” It is also significantly more interesting than “The Rightful Heir,” “Alaidia’s Prince,” “Fight for the Throne,” or anything like that. Nathan is not the MC of that book – Peter is – but Nathan is the object over which the antagonist and protagonist clash. I think it makes a strong title, but truth be told, I just love the ring of the phrase. The other books in that trilogy still need names, so they’re currently referred to as “Alaidia bk1 and bk2.”

I also like titles that are reflective of theme, whether external or internal. “Infected” is about an epidemic; it also deals with the concept of “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” “Faded” is about a land where everything fades as it ages. Both of those are past tense verbs/adjectives, aren’t they? Hmm… “Faded” was actually intended to be a temporary title (‘tis my NaNo novel), but I think it suits.

While I haven’t successfully used many, I love titles that are phrases from Scripture and hymns. They resonate nicely, and they can be powerfully suggestive of theme. I like wondering how the referenced Scripture or song will play into the narrative.

Well, I've got only a few going on right now. One is 'The Tale of Eruheran and Dorodhiel'. Yeah. That's definitely a working name. *grimace* I've also got my story with Zaciré in it, which I'm tentatively calling "Zaciré's Story". That's a working name, too. I've thought about using "The Two Fathers" for that one, because it downplays the actual action that goes on in the book and emphasizes the character conflict and development.

I'd say look at the heart of your novel (making an essence map sounds like a great idea!) and decide something directly or very closely related to that heart, whatever it is. It may be a message (The Two Fathers is message-core) or a character (Eruheran's story is character-core). So I guess I just re-said what everyone else pretty much said.

eruheran

Doing an essence map is a fantastic idea - I should try that!

Hm... I often use the name or title of my main character as my title. Rather boring really, but Lightning Ranger is about Lightning Ranger, The Prince of Yen is about Janin, prince of Yen, Trice is about two characters named Trice,

Legend of Darmoor is the rather boring title of my triology. Rather, well, (typical? Old fashioned? Folksy? Standard? traditional?) as is Heroes of Ynoureth.

My only truly fascinating title, (In my opinion) is the Third Earth.

Of course, don't get me started on my short stories. I can never come up with titles. So my temporary method is using the MC's name, and sometimes a plot event. Alyn and Avery, Amelia's Death, Sirum of Moab, etc.

LOL! I think I really like Peter's Angel too. Unfortunately it's already taken.

How do you keep the Title from sounding too overdone? I mean, I used to have a book titled, "Glowing Orbs of Doom". (not kidding, I really did.)

But that sounds just ridiculous! Is there some test you can run it by to make sure the title doesn't just sound...like a parody?

Allow me to assure you that you cannot copyright titles. It's not uncommon to find multiple books with the same title. That's not to say that you want to borrow other's titles, especially from a peer, but titles are, technically, free game. So don't expect to keep your title unique unto yourself, either!

I searched just out of curiosity, and "Peter's Angel" is not, at current, an overused title. On the first page of google, the only book I can find with that title is this. It's not the book's current title any more, even: http://www.paperbackswap.com/Monsters-R ... ook/31840/ That's good for me, but it just goes to show you that most titles are not original.

Now that we're done with the object lesson... I'm glad you like it, Willow!

I don't know of an official test, but I would definitely say - follow your ear. Does it sound right to you? Try running it by some friends... like us! Peers can give you an objective opinion.

I've gotten many titles from a thesaurus. I look up words that describe some element of the plot, such as Fast or Speed for a plot about someone running from something. Sometimes one word will work, if it hasn't already been used by another author, or I may have to combine it with one or more other words to make it unique. This can take awhile, but it usually gives me a title when nothing else will.

That is a great idea! I'd never thought of looking in a thesaurus. (I don't spend enough time with the thesaurus in general.)

I LOVE the thesaurus! Great idea Jonathan.

I am going to revive this thread, I was going to start a new one then I searched and found this!

I am really bad at naming stories! So all these tips are really helpful.

My historical novel sort of revolves around a place called Gravestones Wood.
Do you think that sounds ridiculous for a title? I always struggle with titling my stories.

Gravestones Wood sounds good to me. Gravestone Wood also sounds good, and perhaps flows slightly better in speech and thought.

I agree! That name makes a great title, though "Gravestone Wood" (singular) flows slightly better than "Gravestones Wood," as Jonathan said.

I agree that "Gravestone Wood" sounds a little smoother than "Gravestones Wood." However, both would work. It gives a nice image. (Well...not a nice image. It sorta sends images of gravestones, which isn't 'nice' at all. But it sends a very descriptive image, I think would be a more accurate description. )

I, too, struggle horribly with naming my stories. Usually I come up with a really quick "Working Title" while I'm writing it, and change it around when I've finished. (Or, I plan to. Once I actually, you know, finish something. ) The working title can be pretty much anything, from something that fits the story to something that doesn't, to the name of a place or the name of the first chapter.

I never thought of using a thesaurus, I'll have to try it. Yet another reason why I should carry my pocket thesaurus with me everywhere. (Which also includes antonyms and homonyms. )

Heh. I love naming characters, but book titles are hard. There are some interesting suggestions here I may have to try.

I'm not sure how I came up with the titles for the books I do have named. Elementir and Alcaydan are probably more working titles, although they've stuck for long enough it may be hard to change. They're both rather important names/terms from the stories.
The title Of Dragons, Wizards, and Fluffy Pink Bunnies was invented before the story, and it mostly came from reading the NaNoWriMo dares thread and thinking about how I wanted to write something light and fluffy for NaNo. As it happened, the fluffy pink bunnies hardly make an appearance...but you can't drop them out of the title without it falling flat.
Dreams of Darkness got named because Vanya wanted us to title things for the Fireside index, so I thought for a few minutes and grabbed a title that seemed to fit, since the main character's dreams are very important and have recently been very dark as well.
So yes. I have a very haphazard way of naming books...

*starts throwing things at her current story, hoping something will bounce out that she can use for a title when she finishes the first chapter and goes to post it*

Mwahaha, yes, Vanya likes Fireside things to have titles.

On a lot of other forums I've seen the importance of titles has been very downplayed. A lot of writing books barely devote any time to it. But especially with so many of us planning to self-publish I think titles deserve a little more respect. (I was wondering if this thread existed anywhere, so thanks to whoever resurrected it.)

If you don't want to go with people or place names (which work as working titles but are sometimes overdone and often times not very attention grabbing) look for a recurring element or theme in your story. Sometimes I get the perfect titles for some of my shorts and I can tell they just click.

For example:

One of my most recent shorts is call A Prison Flower. It starts and ends with the phrase "He brought me a flower." When I went to title it I immediately thought of just using that phrase, but it's too long, boring as a title, and not exactly explanatory. Since the story revolves around a flower however, I thought of just calling it that, but that's boring too. Then I threw in the location and it clicked into place. A Prison Flower. It also has a double meaning, if you really want to dig deep into the story's themes. It's attention grabbing, because prison and flower aren't two words you often associate together.

And of course, I'm making all this up off the top of my head, so I may be completely wrong. But it makes sense, so it might be right, and it's a place to start at least.

The short I'm trying to name write now repeat the phrase "It is not enough" over and over. I'm not sure I actually want to use the phrase, so I'm toying with the single word "Enough." Or maybe I'll go the opposite way and use "It is enough." Not sure... but I think I'm on the right track, anyway. It can be harder to pick out a central theme like that, but if you do it'll point it's own way towards title ideas. Try checking the thread about the moral of your story and figure out what moral or theme it does have or could have. Pick your MC's arc. What did he learn in one word? Now use that word to come up with title ideas.

I love naming characters - but titles are tough! The title is often what turns people on (or off). Some are super intriguing (like "An Episode of Sparrows) and others make me just know its going to be an Amish love novel or something.
For a while, when I was trying to write a story on a family called the Kellys I just called some my stories "A Kelly Tale" or "Orphan Kellys" or "A Kelly in Distress".
I guess I always try to consider the moral, the story, or the symbol of the story when I start thinking about titles. And I also find the character's names can make intriguing titles.

I second what Vanya said. If you can condense your novel into a one-word essence, then go with ideas from that word. For me, the key word is 'Trust.'

I use the MC name as the working title whenever I write something

eru

I like to use something that gives a key glimpse into the story often using irony or an oxymoron (e.g. Deafening Silence, A Shadow of Light) but for my three part series I merely sum up the important part of the story (The Three Shields) or something to that extent.

Thanks Lady Elanor. Sorry about that.

No need to apologize!


I find it really hard to name my books, I am really really bad at it.

I am writing my historical fiction book and it sort of centres around a place called Gravestone Woods so I was wondering whether to title it that.

*joins the club of writers who struggle naming their books *

I'm the odd ball, I suppose....

I love naming my books. It's really fun and it's even more fun, when I can gather up a bunch of HWers and have them help me if I'm stumped.

As far was what kind of names I use goes... I use a lot of names with words you don't hear commonly and I add them all together... Yeah, I'm not good at explaining my names. In short, I have a lot of names like "Gunshot Wounds & Broken Hearts" and "Exceeding Flesh & Blood" basically something that captures the essence of the book and uses saying or words you won't normally hear....ever.

I haven't had any trouble recently naming my books... Pen names are a whole other problem for me. *will not derail* I keep getting... inspired.

I agree with Miss Bethany and Miss Shawn; naming things is fun for me.
I have never really had a problem with it. It always just felt right.

These days it's either hit or miss. I either come up with a really great title instantly or I have no title for forever, no matter how many people help or how hard I try. Very, very frustrating.