My current title for my book is A Tale of the Faeries - which doesn't really shout, "Read me!" from the bookshelves. Certainly, I wouldn't want to read my book, if it was titled that. There is quite a bit of truth in the phrase, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Because people will, and do.
There are just so many intertwining plot threads that I can't pick one from which to form a title. A Tale of the Faeries encompasses the entire theme, but doesn't give any hints to what the story is really about. It doesn't make anyone hungry for MORE! When I've been editing a book so long, it's difficult to see the novel as a whole - which is necesssary in giving it a name.
Looking on the bright side, while I'm still having trouble with the title, I have no problem with the plot. The plot of a story is, after all, the most important part, right?
The other day, I came up with an excellent title - which is a rare accomplishment for me, since the title is usually the cherry on top. BUT! I have no plot to complement it. Like meat and potatoes, you can't have one without the other. And so, I'm neatly tucking that amazing plotless title away for safekeeping in my not over full "Ideas" file.
Novel Update: No title yet. Obviously. Making excellent progress with the second draft. Going back through, adding my notes from the hard copy. I'm noticing alot of inconsistencies throughout, which I'm fixing as I go. I have 11 days until my second draft is due. 111 til the book is complete!
1 comments:
I completely agree. Titles are one of those deadly points that writers can really get hooked on. But even after we slave away trying to find the perfect attention-grabbing title, it - more often than not - will end up getting changed anyway during publication. It makes me cringe to think that the title that captured MY imagination may not, in fact, do the same for the rest of the reading population.
All points considered, I think you are MUCH better off being blessed with skillful plotting, since publishers definitely wouldn't fix that for you. ;)
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