Titles

[kailhofer]

I need some help.<br><br>I'm trying to sell a fantasy short in the paying market, but I can't come up with a good title.<br><br>(Hey. Don't look at me like that. I'm writing another one for Aphelion, but Jeff doesn't have it scheduled until next September. This story I think I can get paid for.)<br><br>I have this gigantic hole in my writing skills when it comes to titles--mine stink. I stare at the spot on the page above the byline and nothing comes to mind, especially not anything catchy. Most of mine come out as one or two-word ones like "Route Driver," "Creators," "Triumph," " The Game," "Appliance Therapist," etc. (I heard somewhere that studies proved 5 to 8 word titles were the most memorable for readers.) The only titles I'm proud of were my poem and short from last month and "Karen's Last Game" over at Planet Magazine.<br><br>How does everyone else come up with their titles??<br><br>Also, any suggestions for a fantasy set in modern-day Minnesota wherein an erratic witch and her eccentric brother, who, while trying to photograph a ghost, accidentally let a demon loose on the world & have to send it back??<br>("Photograph" can't be in the title or it ruins the surprise when you figure out what they're doing in the middle of that divided highway at midnight.)<br><br>Any advice at all will be greatly appreciated.<br><br>Nate

[kailhofer]

Titles for my stories usually come about during the writing process. Rarely do I come up with a title for a story then the tale to back it up (Gentlemen Prefer Humans was an exception).

<br>This story was finished in June, under the working title "The Ghost of the Hanging Tree". That seemed too much of a horror title to fit, so I have been using the title "To Photograph a Ghost" in trying to sell it. I just need something better, something that doesn't give away the ghost element, but still draws readers.<br><br>

The first thing I thought of in reading your description was an F-Stop, but you don't want any camera paraphernalia in your title either I suppose. In order to give you any real help with the title, I think I would have to read it, or at least have more information about it. Is it serious throughout or somewhat funny? Those things make a major difference in my title choices.

<br>This is a magic-realism fantasy that starts funny, then transitions to horror/suspense as the ghosts and demon are summoned, and then turns to action as they try to survive and reslove their delemma.<br><br>Nate

[kailhofer]

Mostly I get my titles the same way David does--they come to me as I'm writing the story. Sometimes though, I won't think of one until I've finished the story. Occasionally, I'll have a title ready before I start the story, but I'll always have second thoughts and change it later.

<br>I always label the file as something while I'm writing. My problem is that even a month or more after its done, I still can't settle on something good. I come up blank. Sometimes it's years afterwards and I'm still swapping its name as I send it to the next potential publisher.<br><br>I mean, I've been working on a Nightwatch story for a few weeks now, and even though I'm almost 8,000 words into it, I only refer to it as "Nightwatch?" Or "Idea 73"! <br><br>Maybe they'll perfect brain grafts soon...<br><br>Nate

[Robert_Moriyama]

Deserted highway at midnight? How about Road Kill?<br><br>Robert M.

[kailhofer]

Just for the record on this one, I went with "Walnuts & Witchcraft," hoping to be seen as more of a comedy/adventure, at least until the reader is roped in.<br><br>Thanks to everybody who gave suggestions.<br><br>Nate