I frequently have classical music playing in the background at home while the kids are eating or while I’m writing (no pesky lyrics to get me off-track.)
My daughter perked up when one piece started playing. “I know this one!” she said. Then she frowned at the title that showed on the television (I get music via satellite on Sirius.) “Whaaa? What’s the name of it?”
It wasn’t a very catchy name. Eine kleine Nachtmusik Serenade No. 13 for strings in G major, K. 525. By Mozart. And if you listen to it, you’ll recognize it right away—it’s background music in gobs of movies, commercials, cartoons, etc.
But good luck remembering that title, unless you’re a huge classical music fan. It’s just not something that’s going to stick in your head.
I’ve read a few books like this, too. The title is either way too long, has a difficult to pronounce place name or character name in it, or just doesn’t seem to fit the book. When it doesn’t fit the book, a connection doesn’t click in my brain. And then I look dumb when people ask me what book I’m reading and I can’t remember the title!
Character names can be just as bad. I’ve pointed out some character name difficulties before—characters whose names start with the same letter, etc. (I just have a horrid memory and stumble when reading if I can’t differentiate easily between characters.) But obscure or difficult to pronounce names are also hard for readers.
I read Those Who Save Us late last year. One of the main characters in the book was the Obersturmfuhrer. Bleh. So every time I read that name, my mind just said, O-blahblah. Which was fine, until I went to my book club meeting and couldn’t remember the guy’s name at all…and couldn’t very well call him O-blahblah.
My first two books had punning titles of Southern sayings. They’re catchy enough…but people mess up those titles all the time, y’all. I’m just lucky that when you Google Pretty is as Pretty DOES, that my title will come up, even though it’s DIES. So I can’t necessarily recommend that approach.
My first Memphis BBQ book will be Delicious and Suspicious. It’s short and rhyming, which hopefully will keep it catchy.
I’ve currently got two books I need to name. How do you come up with titles for stories and novels? Any good tips to share?
Elizabeth – You are so right about titles! They need to focused and short. I choose names that have something to do with the story, and that have some sort of play on words if I can. I try to stick with three or four words, too. Too much longer than that and it gets cumbersome. I chose B-Very Flat for my second novel because it focuses on a violinist and I couldn’t resist that play on words. I guess it’s the linguist in me.
Even short names stump me sometimes. I read Micheal Moorcock’s entire Elric series calling the guy Erlic. One little letter reversed and people don’t know what I’m talking about. I still have to translate in my head before I talk about it.
I agree about book titles: short, pronounceable and please have something to do with the book.
I am terrible when it comes to naming stories and was recently banned by my husband and friend from coming up with titles.
I think that a title just has to be a little descriptive and have something to catch the person’s attention.
As to characters, I definitley prefer books where you don’t need a pronouciation guide to figure out how to say the name.
Har! I run over long names with ‘o-blah-blah’ when I read, too!
How I come up with titles is a very good question? My latest novel is called The Glass Pilot, and I can’t recall why I called it that, except that glass is like china, and pilots are by nature tough. I wanted the contrast.
Sometimes I’ll pick a phrase out of the text itself and use it. Sometimes (in historical fiction) I use a song or phrase from the time.
It varies.
Titles don’t stummp me like some folks. I see it as a mini-poem? Might me my quirky mind! :)
Corra
from the desk of a writer
Tell me about names and titles! Most of the times, I too am going O-blah in my mind.
And the titles I most like are the really pithy ones.
Punning titles? I would love them, but the danger always is that people would get them wrong.
Names for characters seem to pop into my head with the characters. I do change them sometimes, but not often.
Titles are much more difficult. They require work!
I’m on O-blahblah-er, too!
I love DELICIOUS AND SUSPICIOUS.
As for my titles, I’m going to stop trying and just call everything “UNTITLED” (or maybe “O-BLAHBLAH”). The publisher will just change them anyway (and I’m not complaining–they improved upon my ideas).
Funny post! Very good post!
I guess titles should not be dull and they should be easy to remember. I have enjoyed stories where title came from a memorable line in story.
As for character names? I’ve met many people who have interesting (simple, too) names and file them away for later. Also reading the newspapers/magazines adds to the list.
I love your title! It’s short, sweet, and catchy. I so agree with you about unnecessarily cumbersome character names and titles. I find that this happens when I read historical romances because the authors usually get all caught up in the characters’ titles. Lord Blah blah the Marquis of Blahdee Blah… it gets to be a little bit much :) Great post!
Hey there twin blogger. I did this Monday! , (And there’s still time for my giveaway) Especially tough if you have a series, because on the one hand, readers can tell they’re connected, but on the other hand, they might not remember which is which.
I am clueless as to JD Robb’s “In Death” series other than remembering the title of Book #1. And I’m hard pressed to know which of the 4 “Rain” books in Eisler’s series is #4, which is the one I need next. The next two both have “assassin” in the title.
But coming up with a title for me is killer.
Titles are hard. Yours are great. It seems I either have the right one from the start or I muddle through this one and that one and finally arrive at something that may or may not work. I’m with you on names – simple and easy to pronounce.
Good points here. As a musician and composer of songs, I learned you always need to have that “hook” – a catchy title, a catchy phrase that gets repeated, and a melody simple and wonderful enough that people have it in their heads humming it all day after the first listen. Books, their titles, character names, and plots should be just as catchy as a hit song.
Marvin D Wilson
I agree that names of characters should be
1: different.
2: not too long
(meaning when I READ books – when I write stories the rules are different, and I can call characters Urquhart Malahyde or Arnold Kickinbottom as often as I like).
I know I have an advantage, however, as I write my stories in two languages rather than translate them – so I can change odd Danish names just as much as I please.
I don´t think much about titles, usually they come to me without a lot of effort, and I was very proud recently when my daughter accepted my suggestion for a title for one of her academic papers! (Punny, but it played on one of her main sources).
I try to make character names as normal as possible, for exactly the reason you mentioned!
As for titles, SPY MY SHADOW is from a line from Shakespeare’s RIchard III; it makes sense because I’ve got a sub plot involving that time in English history. My other tentative titles are all from Shakespeare as well; ROSEMARY FOR REMEMBRANCE and KEEP THE KEY.
For my games, I’ve learned I have to include ‘murder’ or ‘Death’ in the title if I want them to sell well. I’m thinking of calling one ‘Deathly Murder’ since “Murder by Death” was taken by that hilarious movie many years ago.
“O-blah-blah”. I love it :) I will actually sit and try to pronounce the tough names. I may end up blah-blahing it in the end, but at least I tried!
As for the title game, geez. I hate it. Honestly. My writing mentor used to scold me because I didn’t have titles. They don’t come to me until AFTER I’ve written a while. A loooooooong while. Some people come up with titles and then wonder what to put in them. Not me. I’m the opposite. There have be precious few exceptions, but usually I just wait for it to spring on me in the dead of night!
Jen
The title of my memoir just came to me one day. Don’t know how I’ll deal with the next ones, although the nonfiction book does have a title I love.
Karen
I’m with you on character names. If I can’t pronounce them, I’m thrown out of the story as I try to decipher them, then I can’t remember them.
I do ponder a long time over book titles. I want them to fit the book perfectly yet be memorable and different. I’m more flexible on titles than character names.
Helen
Straight From Hel
O-blah-blah is a Nazi military rank… but even though I recognise it, damned if I can keep it in my head long enough to write it down properly in the comments box.
My personal bugbear turns up when I read character/place names that mean something incongruous in another language. (‘That womanising and extremely male knight is named after a South Slavic woman!’ laughs the bugbear as it goes off to construct an amusing genderqueer subtext that the author almost certainly hadn’t meant to be there…)
Excellent points! Names stump me all the time, more than titles do.
I’m still playing with character names in WIP, and I think a few of them may change before I type THE END.
I have a problem picking character names that haven’t already been used a gazillon times! Like, I fell in love with “Grace” and everyone is using it!
I wish I had some tips, but alas, I don’t. Titles don’t come easily or quickly to me.
I did enjoy this post. Had to laugh about the blah, blah, blah. I have done that, too, and been embarrassed when talking about the book and I can’t recall the character’s name, or heaven forbid, the author’s name. LOL
I just love the title, “Delicious and Suspicious!”
And I can’t believe someone would name a character O-blahblah. I’m not even going to copy and paste that one! Major BAD on that author’s part!
I don’t have to come up with names for books, but I was laughing as I read this because it reminded me of trying to come up with a name for the new KITTY! “How does he act? What are his traits? What’s catchy?” LOL!
Since I write science fiction, I try to keep names simple. Too often I see names that are almost impossible to promounce! I kept my short, simple, and all with a familiar feel.
I think if you need a glossary for name pronunciation in your book, you’ve made it too hard on your reader.
Delicious and Suspicious is a winner. I’ll definately remember that.
For my trilogy I thought I would stay with One-word titles for easy rememberance: BREAKTHROUGH, OPENING, and ESCALATION.
Other books in the pipleing will have short titles with a play on words. That, along with a simple but relevent dust cover canbe a powerful tandem that leaves an imprint in the minds of people who pick up your book at Barnes and Noble to look at.
Stephen Tremp
You’re right, that’s why I find foreign books so difficult to get into. I have to write down the list of characters just to keep tract of who’s who.
ann
Corra–It IS like a tiny poem, isn’t it? I think there’s just so much importance attached to titles that I’ve freaked myself out lately! “Glass Pilot” is good–clear, short, easy.
Margot–You do a VERY good job with your titles. I loved “Publish or Perish” and “B Very Flat” is just as clever.
Rayna–Punning is tricky. I’ve seen the titles written incorrectly in reviews, too. But luckily, it comes right back to me when it’s Googled. For now, anyway!
Lorel–I’ve done that, too! And that’s the worst because it’s CLOSE to being the name, but it’s wrong. But really, couldn’t the author have found another name?
Cassandra–There’s nothing like realizing you have a bad title! I have a bad title for my next Myrtle Clover book right now…I’m hoping the editing department will fix it. :)
Marvin–I think being a musical composer would be so much fun. I might even trade novel writing for that. Good point about the hook.
Jemi–Titles are tough. And there’s marketing that goes into the process, too…it’s not as purely creative as the character names.
Helen–Once a character has gotten set in our heads with a name it’s hard to change it, isn’t it? Even if I like the second name better, sometimes I still think of them w/ the first name.
Alan–Ha! You’re right…I have the copy editors helping me out a little with the Memphis series. “Untitled” would actually make a pretty cool title. Better than O-blahblah, anyway. :)
Marisa–That’s a good idea…getting a line from the text of the book for a title. Sometimes I wonder if the writer cheats a little and thinks of a cool title first and THEN goes back in and adds the line of text?
Julie–Oh those are the WORST! Then you have to rely on the description of the characters because all the titles run together and you can’t tell which is which! :) Too funny.
Terry–It’s my blogging twin! (We always blog on the same subjects, y’all.) Series titles…ack. It’s just hard. You want to have them connected, but… My working title on Memphis Book 2 (I’m on my first draft) is “Malicious and Pernicious” just because it made me smile and sounded like book 1 “Delicious and Suspicious.” I’m pretty sure I won’t be allowed to get away with that! Too confusing.
Carol–I usually put a working title on the top of my first draft, but I ordinarily will hate the working title with a passion by the time I’m finished with the draft. :)
Dorte–You DO have an advantage! That’s a good thing. I love punny titles, although sometimes I have to be forcefully stopped before I go too far with them. :)
Crystal–Oh we SUFFERED a year ago when we had to name our two cats. Our daughter wanted cutesy names, son wanted tough names…ack!
I think the name in the book means something in German. You can tell I was so distracted by the awful name that I didn’t even try to figure out the background. Maybe it’s a military rank? Couldn’t she just have called him Bob? :)
Elspeth–See, now, those are good titles. You’ve put a lot of thought into them and they MEAN something. That’s what I like. And they’re nice and short, too.
Jen–And that’s a good point. You know, if I’d just sat down and sounded it out once, I think I’d have gotten in. I kept hoping the guy wasn’t a main character, but darned if he wasn’t there page after page!
I think I used to be good at titles. Maybe I’ve gotten burned out on them. Also, I know the copy-editing department will help me title it if I get stuck! Maybe I’m not trying quite as hard with them as my backup.
Alex–I know what you mean! Sci-fi and fantasy frequently have names that make me wince. You’re right…if we need a pronunciation guide, it’s too hard.
Karen–I love it, too. I think those sudden inspirations for naming are the best…don’t you?
Stephen–I like those! Very easy to remember, I’d think. And they fit your action-packed books well.
Ann–I almost have to just assign an English name to them in my head if I’m reading a foreign novel. Otherwise, I’m blah-blahing the whole book!
O-blahblah! Oh, that’s beautiful. I think you should have just used it with your book club (and if they are too snobby for that, you need to change book clubs!)
I think you’ve got a GREAT point. I am a freak for one-word titles on my books–I like a big word packed with meaning, but I have no clue if publishers are going to agree with me–I suspect CONFLUENCE will fly, as it has a triple meaning in the story, but most aren’t quite so tightly bound.
as for people… I am bad at going for TOO normal and forget to mix things up a bit–males have single syllable first names and two syllable last names… it gets repetitive.
My trilogy is a little easier because I pulled up a list of Romanian names and am choosing from the names on THERE that aren’t too difficult for Americans to sort of think of an equivalent or pronounce (the list gets short with those restraints), but it is still tricky to keep from overusing some letters or sounds.
I got a million of em. I write them down. But what about this? I’ve been told that nine times out of ten the editor at the publishing house will change the title anyway? That’s a bummer if you’ve come up with a good title and they change it. Sounds like that hasn’t happened to you, Elizabeth.
One of my favorite titles of all time is kinda long, “The Post Man Always Rings Twice.”
Hart–I probably could have used O-blahblah for book club, but I’m treading gingerly with that group, since I’d written about them in my last book. :) Don’t want them to have anything else to talk about.
Your titles are great! I love one-word titles. And easy Romanian names sounds like a good idea.
hampshireflyer–And that’s the thing…maybe just an easy name for the guy, for the reader’s sake? She made it hard-going for me!
And I know what you mean about language differences–I remember how funny it was to Spanish-speaking people when the Nova car debuted in South America. No-go.
Tamika–It’s just like baby names, isn’t it? Pick a perfect name for your baby and then suddenly a celebrity names their baby the same thing!
Elizabeth–I’ve not had one changed yet…but I’d be open to the possibility if there was a good marketing reason behind it.
Maryann–It’s a struggle, isn’t it? I have to keep a Word file of books and authors I like because friends will ask me for recommendations and I can’t even remember the book names!
How did I miss this one????
I went for short and simple with my character’s names. Many came from the Bible.
I agree, characters’ names are really important. Once I have the name, the character follows. As for book titles – they are so difficult. Whenever I dream up something I really like, I find it’s been used before several times. So far I’ve gone for short and catchy names, CUT SHORT and ROAD CLOSED, for my crime thrillers. It’s hard, and so importa1nt, to think of something relevant, memorable,original… aaargh!