unday afternoon, I kept catching myself in the act of indulging in my usual Sunday anxiety. “Oh no, it’s 4 p.m. already — how am I ever going to all the things that need to get done this weekend? Oh, wait, I don’t have work tomorrow. That’s right. I’m a full time writer now.”
But as I sit here on my computer at 8:12 a.m., I’m feeling deliciously naughty. Like I’m somehow skipping out on work. It feels weird not to be there. It feels weird not to be sitting down at my cubicle, saying hi to my coworkers, etc.
Sailor Boy keeps asking what my schedule is going to be, saying that I need to accomplish a certain number of things per day to really feel as if I’m progressing anywhere. Another friend said I should take the first day off and just revel in it. But I’m afraid I’m not really hard wired for that sort of indulgence. This time last year I had 80 pages of SSG. I do not have 80 pages of SSG2. (And it just goes to show how much this blog has changed in the past year that I feel uncomfortable telling you all that.)
In short, there are many things that need to be done by me this month, in writing, in revising, in promotion, in everything. So I wont’ be sitting around, this week or any other.
So, question for the day (I learn so much from you guys whenever I ask a question on this blog — cf. last Friday — that I think I’m going to have to make it a regular feature): What makes a good title? How do you find titles? Do you break out your thesaurus, or search for poems or quotations on bartleby.com, or do they just come to you, fully formed, like Athena from the head of Zeus? Do you prefer short titles or long titles? Or do you not think much about titles at all, knowing that your editor will change them anyway?
Discuss amongst yourselves. I’ll be back when I’ve accomplished something.
April 24th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
Cool new look on your bloggy blog blog.
(I haven’t been around lately due to life’s rude interuptions.)
Didn’t realize you quit work to write. Yay for you!! Looking forward to reading about you in the papers!! (When your book comes out of course)
When does the Judy Blume book get released?
Janet G
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April 24th, 2006 at 2:27 pm
Blogger was a hell bitch today!
I thought of you yesterday and this morning, Diana, and wondered if you were excited.
Ok. Titles. I’m addicted to the puns and/or the double entendres. So far, EC has kept all four of my self-created titles so I’m trying not to get a sense of entitlement here *gg*
Layover (a pitstop for pilots in a non-home city, and the obvious “lay” and “over”)
Coffee, Tea or Lea? (a play on a 60s(?) book about lusty stewardesses called Coffee, Tea or Me?)
Miss Behavior (about an etiquette columnist who relinquishes her good behavior for one, hot night)
Out Of This World (about a rocket scientist who suspects the woman he loves is a space alien)
My titles are very important to me and I often think of them before I even write the book. Because they touch on the theme of the story, they serve as a constant reminder to me of what I’m writing and act as a guide. I have to admit that I flounder in a WIP before I get the title and I become insanely attached to them. So, in that regard, I’m extraordinarly lucky to have been able to keep them all! Can I whine here when that changes? *gg*
Fun topic!
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April 24th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
I love clever titles. And I will go for long over short anyday. One of my favorites is Nauti Buoy. How great is that?
Grins*
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April 24th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
You have to post this stuff – some of us are living through you…
What was your job, by the way? No reason, I’m just nosy.
I am hideous at titles – hideous. For my first unpublished novel, I came up with the title two years after I had finished the book. Yes – two years. Stared at the ceiling in bed one night and said, “AHA!!” I don’t think this kind of timeline would go over well in the real world.
Most authors resent having publishers re-title their work, but I would relish it. They could call it “Carrot Top Reads the Phone Book” and it would still be better than whatever I came up with…
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April 24th, 2006 at 3:08 pm
Yeah, Diana! Hope you accomplished a bunch. Being home to write is fraught with much distraction. If you can make a schedule of sorts and keep to it, that’s fabulous.
As for titles, I love them. I don’t love them while I’m trying to come up with them, but once I get one that works? Love! I’ve titled many of my books and the ones I compromised on are my least favorite titles (Brazen & Burning was SLOW BURN and Pure Chance was GAME OF CHANCE–both of which I lost to Heather Graham and Linda Howard, respectively…great minds and all that, I guess.) Oh! And MAKING WAVES was supposed to be In Hot Water, another title I lost to another, bigger author.
My “Dirty” books I fought hard for!
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April 24th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
Oh, titles… tough topic. I love a clever or witty title and I’ve bought books based only on a cute title. But it’s hard to know where the line between cute pun and too dorky is. As for me, I just come up with a working title and figure that an agent/ editor/ someone down the line will want to change or tweak it. But I have to work hard to at least come up with a title that will jump out of a query letter.
One thing I don’t like, though, is when the title and the actual book don’t match (like a cute fun title on a more somber book). Oh, and I like clever series titles (I can always remember the order of Prey, Hunt, Kill because they make sense in that order).
As for the first day of full-time writer work, congrats! I’m actually working from home today due to a back injury (I’m too young for such things!) and I find I’m getting more done than if I were at the office. Something not right about that…
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April 24th, 2006 at 3:50 pm
congrats on quitting the 9 to five grind. Since you already managed to write a book while holding down a full time job (something I was never able to do), I’m sure you’ll have no trouble settling into a good, productive schedule.
As for titles, if someone here can impart the secret to coming up with a good title, please share it. My titles suck. I try to make them somewhat relevant to the story – i.e., my first book is called Simply Delicious, because that’s the title of the cooking show the heroine hosts. It has since been shortened to Delicious by Kensington, but it still works. I’m currently working on a novella featuring a landscaper, so I suggested “She Puts the Whore in Horticulture.” My editor didn’t go for it. Nor did she like “Dirty Deeds.” She came up with “Down and Dirty,” which works for me. Cheesey, but not awful.
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April 24th, 2006 at 7:08 pm
here’s what works for me:
Pick a title so laughably bad that nobody would believe you would ever consider calling your book by it unless it were porn. Then keep referring to the book by the title until it gets funnier and funnier every time. When you’re crossing the line between hysterical and hysteria publish really fast before you change your mind.
(Ex: an alternate title for SSG could be “Old Yaler”)
Rhyming with a common phrase can also add some real pizzazz to your title.
(Ex: original phrase: Raiders of the Lost Ark.
great title: Raiders of the Lost Pork)
And if you’re just not naturally punny, try taking a common phrase and replacing one of the words with something more memorable like “pickle”, “weasel” or “Albuquerque”
(Ex: ok title: Good Night and Good Luck.
great title: Good Night and Good Albuquerque)
Revel in it baby!
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April 24th, 2006 at 7:44 pm
I don’t obsess over the title before the book is finished. The title is subject to change as the book evolves.
But for me, the good ones just happen. No research. Just inspiration.
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April 24th, 2006 at 8:14 pm
Welcome to full time writing! Good luck with getting something accomplished.
Mmm titles. I love them like i love…well, lots of things. But I have to have a good title in order to write the book. I’m weird that way though I don’t think I’m alone in my weirdness.
I’m not really sure where the titles come from. Some just come to me once I have the plot of the book down. Some are plays are the theme. Some come from suggestions from friends. I think I’ve only had one book title changed out of …uhhh almost 30 books. I’ve been really lucky.
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April 24th, 2006 at 8:14 pm
Blogger is suffering growing pains. Or maybe Alzheimers–it’s lost at least one of my posts today.
As for titles, I’m still waiting for inspiration to strike. What irritates me most is that I have titles for unwritten (not even begun past plotting) books but not for the current one. Go figure!
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April 24th, 2006 at 8:25 pm
Titles. Hmmmm. Well, first of all, length doesn’t matter to me. (he he!) Meaning does. If a title isn’t specifically related to the plot and/or the main character, I won’t remember it.
They’re letting me keep the original title (Stray) to my debut novel. At least, I assume they are, because it’s on the cover concept. It has a double meaning. It refers to both the main character and the bad guy. And to my MC’s tendency to stray from the flock. So I guess that’s a triple meaning.
The title for my current WIP, which I’m calling Book on Spec. until I’ve sold it, is absolutely awesome. It’s seriously fantastic. It refers to the title character and does a fabulous job of evoking the mood of the book instantly. But I can’t take much credit for that, because this one just came to me. Usually it takes me forever to come up with them.
I have another such title picked out for the sequel I’m already planning.
Also, I like it when books in a series have connected titles. It helps me group them together in my head.
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April 25th, 2006 at 8:57 am
I thought about you yesterday on your first full day as a writer! Hope it was exciting and productive!!
Titles are a difficult thing for me. Most of the time, I’ll change my mind as I am deeper into the book. Sometimes, I get inspired and the title just clicks. I try not to get too stressed over them because I know one of my friends will help me out if my brain is fuzzy.
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April 25th, 2006 at 9:34 am
Congrats Diana!
I love picking out titles…I even blogged a week or so ago about realizing my title is tied to my hook–it was a completely unconscious thing up to then. Lots of times I have titles before I even have stories or the two come hand in hand =)
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