Sunday, January 24, 2016

WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO NAME IT?



At some time in the past, a tiny idea was germinated. It divided and grew and finally got its own little legs. You carried it with you everywhere…musing about it while you wandered through grocery aisles or drove the ten hours to your mother’s house. You had conversations with it when you were showering. You began to eat strange foods, most of them unhealthy, and drank lots of black coffee. (Health statistics, be damned.) Pretty soon, your clothes no longer fit, but you stopped caring.

Simple tasks like carrying laundry and taking out the trash became a struggle. The burgeoning babe took all your time, attention and energy. Friends began to make comments about your complexion. “Are you getting enough vitamin A?” Or maybe, “My, you have such an otherworldly glow about you.”

Somewhere along the way–right near the end of things–you grew tired of the whole ordeal. You just wanted it to be OVER. You wanted to lie on a beach and go to movies with friends and live a normal life again. Each minute seemed an eternity.

At last…the momentous day came and, after much groaning and writhing and primal screaming, you produced a bouncing, beautiful creation that left you speechless with pride…even if it was in need of a good hosing off and some scrubbing behind the ears.

Congratulations. You just birthed your first draft.

After all the oohs and aahs and phone calls to family and friends, you are faced with a decision of utmost gravity. Just what are you going to name your little hatchling?



While book titles are not protectable by copyright laws, you don’t want to use a generic title or one that’s been used extensively. You could devise a formula for choosing a title, such as Adjective Noun Verb (as in, Dead Man Walking). You could get all alliterative (Of Mice and Men) or just use a name (Elmer Gantry, The Sacketts).

Of course, the title and book subject should convey the same tone. If you pick up a copy of Lee Child’s Killing Floor, you can bet it’s not a good bedtime read for the kiddies. On the other hand, it sometimes pays to find a title that makes what could be considered a mundane subject appear more tantalizing on a shelf. Dee Brown's manuscript, originally titled A History of Indian Tribes in America, found its wings when renamed Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.




It can prove a particular challenge to name a western novel. With over a hundred years of western fiction behind us, authors have pretty much run the gamut of titles about trails, canyons, riders, wagons, cattle, guns, bullets, horses or posses. And all of those have been described as dark, lone, lost, wild, blazing, cold, lawless, hungry and a hundred other adjectives. We’ve seen the word “of” after vengeance, revenge, attack, or any number of aggressive-sounding nouns.I found this interesting Western Book Title Generator online:

Be careful with this one though. It had a few intriguing suggestions for me when I gave it a try, like Empty Boots, Black Arrow and The Shadow of the Wolf. More often than not, the random selections were nonsensical, if not a little creepy; for instance, The Tumbleweed of the Searching Meadow, The Ravaged Deer*, and The Cry of the Falling Windows. Yikes!
*Name and Likeness Withheld


I’d love to hear how some of the members of Western Fictioneers choose titles. Do you draw words out of a hat? Do you take a poll of the neigborhood kids? Write down whatever your spouse mumbles in his/her sleep?


Until next time, happy writing and happy titling! May your baby book grow up to be a household name!

All the best,
Vonn

 



17 comments:

  1. Good points Vonn. The title is indeed critical. I found it difficult to find a good title. There's just so many things you can use in Western titles and so many have been used. "The Hardest Ride" was not my first choice. It's working title was "The Bean Receipt."For those who read it, I think the'll understand why that title. The publisher thought it sounded like a cookbook. They wanted something different. "The Hard Ride" was suggested, but there's a motorcycle book called that. I could have kept "The Bean Receipt" (Sometimes wish I had), but I too was nervous about the "cookbook" aspect. "The Bean Receipt" remains as a subtitle. The sequel will be "Ride Harder" (do you expect anything less from Marta?) subtitled "The Cornbread Receipt." Looking down the road, the third book (almost done too) deviates from any hard riding, its "Marta's Daughter."

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    1. I thought The Hardest Ride was a good title for that book, and yes, The Bean Receipt makes sense but it's not catchy and I think readers would see it in the western section and pass right by it, for reasons you stated. And by the way, Marta is a wonderful character.

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    2. You're right Jacquie, The Hardest Ride is no doubt the better title.

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  2. Finding a title can be tougher than writing the book. I usually do an Amazon search to make sure I'm not right on top of a dozen others (or one bestseller). Publishers can get really opinionated at that point. I liken the titling/book cover process to choosing an outfit for your "baby."

    Thanks for stopping in.

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  3. I gave a lot of thought to my YA survival-adventure novel's title. Received scores of suggestions from my critique group, other writers, friends, etc. I settled on "Tears of the River" as it shows there are rough times and describes the setting. Had to be careful and selective as there's lots of titles with "Tears", "River", and both.

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  4. My new series is a vast departure from my western romance novels, so I went to the dime novel listings and came up with a title. Haven't revealed it yet, though. For my single reads, I've used a twist on song titles. Don't Go Snaring My Heart, and A Flare of the Heart (the hero's nickname is Flare) are two of them. For another, which is a mash-up of Have Gun - Will Travel, Narnia, and The Princess Bride, I used Have Wand - Will Travel.

    I'm terrible with titles, but then I have to come up with one because it's slow going to write before the title has settled with me. And now I'm going to try that title generator you suggested. ☺

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    1. Oh, what fun it is to write...and very little fun summing it up in a few words. I like the song title twist. Nice hearing from you, Jacquie.

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  5. You know what this reminds me of? Those "naughty" book titles we memorized in elementary school: Rusty Bedsprings by I.P. Freely, etc. Oh, I wish I could remember them all--there were some good ones that were so stupid they were funny. I have to admit...I do use these title generators, and they have them for all genres. WHY? Because they get me thinking in ways I might not have thought before, even if I don't use their suggestions--they really send my mind in all different directions I just wouldn't have thought of on my own.

    Sometimes the titles are just magically "there" --from the beginning of the story. I have to admit, that doesn't happen very often. Other times, I have to really really work at coming up with something good that has not been overused. It's tough! Great post--I really enjoyed this.

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    1. I wish I'd sat next to you in elementary school. We would never have gotten any work done!

      When the title doesn't announce itself, it's good to get creative sparks wherever you can find them. I'm using snippets of KJV scripture for a novel series in progress.

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  6. Right now I am working on a novel that I named before I began the story. The title I chose, in my opinion, reflects the entire theme of the story. At other times, I have been half way through my intended story when a word or phrase comes to mind that I feel would reflect what the story is about. Without wearing it out, I try to limit and use that one word or phrase at least once in narration.

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    1. I like your approach. Now and then, I read a book that seems to have no connection to its title. (But then I am a blonde...)

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    2. I use working titles to and am pretty confident that during the writing a title will come to me.

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  7. A totally realistic view of trying to find the 'rigth' words for a title. As a relative newcomer to the writing business, I read the responses with eagerness. A varied as the authors themselves. Thank you all for sharing your insights. Doris McCraw/Angela Raines-author

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    1. These WF guys and gals have so much experience. I get great suggestions from them all the time. Thanks, Doris!

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  8. Vonn,

    Great post. I always begin a story with a working title. I NEVER write a story without typing the title at the top of the page. Sometimes the title changes and sometimes it does not.

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    1. I like working titles too. At least they give me a bullseye to write to.

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