Yesterday afternoon I reached the sixty-first page of my newest manuscript — and the point at which I was officially sick of calling it by my protagonist’s name. Honestly, where’s the inspiration in Winifred—Book?
Since I’d already written my daily allotment of six hundred of words (716, actually), I decided a new title was the next order of business. After a half hour of puttering I came up with a list of titles, all rejects. Granted, I hadn’t given it a lot of time, but I called in reinforcements anyway. My husband took on the challenge, armed with enthusiasm and a dictionary of international slang. The former was helpful; the latter, not so much.
The story is a middle-grade novel with fairy tale elements, which is why we (very inaccurately) became stuck on the princess theme. Here are a few of the results, some suggested in earnest, some in fits of hilarity, many inspired by that blasted slang dictionary I could not wrest from my husband’s hands:
- Your Basic, Everyday, Standard Princess
- The Princess and the Peace
- Pretty, Pretty Princess
- Pretty, Gritty Princess
- Pretty Ugly Princess
- The Vainglorious Princess
- Proto-Princess
The end result is that I’m no closer to a title, and the word “princess” has begun to sound strained and strange from repetition, but at least I can say I gave it a shot. Titles are usually fun, so I’m sure I’ll come up with something eventually.
Many of you write — books, blogs, etc. How do you come up with your titles? What, in your opinion, makes a good — or bad! — one?
MY TITLES
my titles happen as my thoughts…by happenstance and sheer luck. although i have yet to sell anything officially titled, so what do i know…
Heather*, think I could pass the book on to your CP when I’m done and she can give it a title if it still needs one? 😉
Thanks Ello! That one is my husband’s. (Actually, I think all of the ones I listed were from him.) I’ll let him know you liked it.
Liz, you blog–and well, too. That’s writing. 🙂
Patti, I know what you mean! Good luck to you!
hmm. i’m not a writer, BUT i thought i’d give you some input on the ones you mentioned! my favorite is the ‘your basic, standard, everyday princess’. cute!
Maybe it’s time to turn it around. I read a book called The Frog Prince, by Jane Porter. The book is neither her or there, but the title is a play on fairy tales, slightly off kilter and the oposite of what you’d normally think of for a fairy tale. Sort of. I could list all sorts of titles, but my other writer friends generally use them as elimination rounds and not anything serious. 🙂 Good luck. You could stop calling it Winifred – Book, and try calling it’ “Win’s Story” for a while, just so you’ve changed the feel for a bit.
I wrack my brain to come up with titles, sometimes throw contests on my blog, and in the end it never matters. My editor usually has her own ideas . . .
Caryn, how about “You Can Call Me Princess” or “Just Call Me Princess.” Both sound beautifully vain! ;))
Emily, I kind of like that one, too. It’s actually my favorite of the lot.
Mizzz_K, great suggestion! Depending on how I did it, it would probably even fit the mood of the book, which is crucial.
Jill, I’ve heard that editors usually just end up having them changed anyway. Once I have an editor, maybe I won’t worry so much about titles in the future. I’m just afraid it will affect the chances of them wanting to look at the manuscript if the title is off-putting.
LOL, Larramie! Very true. And if I decided to write a sequel (which I probably won’t), the book would fit that chosen character very nicely. (Yes, I already know which character would “star” in the sequel.)
My titles just seem to come up by themselves. I don’t think I’ve ever spent time getting anxious over a title – they just appear – when they’re ready to. I’m inclined to think, that rather like the words of the story themselves, titles must be allowed to make their appearance when they’re good and ready. Did you get that, Princess? 😉
Congratulations on getting so far in your manuscript. The titles are interesting, some funny some silly. I sometimes write a title first and then the poem. Usually I write the title after completion. Sometimes, however, when in the shower (where my best ideas arise) a title will just come to me. Good luck.
ps. thanks for reading my blog and your comments are always appreciated. Veronica