Naming Novels

I find one of the most interesting aspects of writing novels is giving them titles. I know a good title sparks interest from other competing books. If I’m at the airport and forget my Kindle, I head to the bookstore and see what I can find to shorten the misery of hours of sitting in a cramped seat. A good title draws my eye before anything else. It’s like shopping for a house. I notice first the exterior. If it appeals to my eye, I have an expectation that the interior might be to my liking.

            Some novels have a title before I write the first paragraph. For instance, The Woman of a Thousand Veils is one such novel. The title represents the core of the book. Tangent Lines, Moth, Pomegranate, Cuckoo Bird, and the new sequel for The Woman of a Thousand Veils, Topaz Spotted Blue are titles I knew beforehand. However, others gained their titles after I finished. The Golden Goose is a title that came to mind soon after I’d finished the first draft. One book received its title while writing it. Dreaming of Field Mice became the title when the MC tells his brother how he wished he could be a porch cat dreaming of field mice without a care in the world instead of a guy caught between the Provisional IRA and the English authorities in Belfast.

            Then there’s three that battled me to provide a title. First was The Girl Without. However, that one came without nearly as much fight as Bray’s House and The Divine Mission. Bray’s House had at least four titles before I elected to keep it simple and call it by the name of the owner of the reclusive gray house overlooking the Pacific Ocean where most of the story happens. The bleakness of the house corresponds to the damaged characters who try to find a reason to live. As for The Divine Mission, the title came when I added a new chapter only a year after writing the full novel, when the MC finally understands why his ordeal was a divine mission of God. It had four other titles as well. Some of my reader group read it with different titles.

            The awesome journalist/writing coach Estelle Erasmus wrote an excellent article called Tantalizing Titles. She suggested eleven ways to find a great title. I list them here:

1)    Answer a burning question

2)    Share your challenges

3)    Insert an important moment

4)    Offer words that resonate

5)    Set up a problem/solution

6)    Include the action happening

7)    Share a number

8)    Equate to celebrity

9)    Seek out setting

10)  “Verb” your work

11)  Make a provocative statement

Not all the ideas contained above apply well to fiction, but the ones that do are gold. By the way, on her website, Ms. Erasmus has excellent how-to books for writers and mentions a podcast for those who enjoy the written word. I know it makes my heart sing to write.

            As I look at the list, I can see where my titles intersect with her suggestions. In the end, a title must feel right to the author, and it must represent the story’s theme or greater truth. If I’m ever graced with publication, I hope the titles I have created become must-sees at the airport and bookstores. After all, that’s the idea.