Characters need names, and stories need titles.
Sometimes the title is easy and obvious, but others times that isn’t the case, and I find I have to try out different titles to see which one best suits the story and might be interesting to a reader as well.
Then, sometimes I have a wonderful story title in mind, but no story to go with it.
This has been a problem for me since I started writing my current novel. I can’t find a title I love. Sure, there are those that work, but not “THE ONE.” I’ve tried everything obvious, so I think I need to find the less obvious. Hopefully I’ll find something I love.
For me, titles are difficult to choose because you are basically picking out the most important element (or elements) of your story, and when you have a complex story, it can be tough to decide on one main theme. I am working on a story right now that is divided into three major sections, so the problem I am faced with for the title is how I decide to unify those three sections under one title.
In some cases, a title is like an extremely simple summary. Other times you can read the title to a book, and have no idea what it is about.
shari: Maybe as you work through writing Book two of your series, you’ll find the title you know is right.
matthew: Are you writing a series of 3 books? I can see that it’s important to unify them under one title, as well as naming each individually.
I usually think of the title as soon as the story idea pops into my head, but for my current project, I’m stumped! I cannot think of anything that fits.
merrilee: I have two completed short stories with titles that I know are not right. One is already contracted; nothing more to do there. The other is being shopped around; sometimes, when it comes back with a rejection, I change the title before subitting it to a different market.