Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Insecure Writers' Group 6-6-18




What's harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names?

Titles, hands down.

Characters tend to come to me with their names already attached.  I don't know how or why this happens, but once a character turns up in my head with all his or her own little quirks and traits, they almost always introduce themselves to me by name.

This is great in most ways, but becomes problematic when I need to change their names for some reason during the writing process.  Some characters just cling to their names, even when that name doesn't work with the people around them.

Titles on the other hand are always a challenge.  I very rarely have a title for anything before it's finished and write stories and books that are saved under titles like 'Virgin Amputee' (Stumped) and 'Sex, Drugs, Rock n Roll' (The Sidewalk's Regrets).  The only time I've ever come up with a title before writing a book was The Boyfriend Plague. And guess what?  When that was published, my publisher changed the title to An Unstill Life.

I wish I was better at titles because an intriguing and clever title is often a reason to pick up a book.

Which do you find easier?

4 comments:

  1. Most of my characters come with their own names too. Sometimes they don't tell me and I have to go searching for something that clicks.

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  2. I agree with you - titles are DEFINITELY harder! And, to make matters worse, more important! But when you know, you know, and when that happens, it's magical :)

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  3. Titles are fun! And the funny thing about Unstill Life and Boyfriend Plague was that you had another name, too. I just can't at the moment remember what it was.

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  4. Ironic the one title you had was the one your publisher changed. I guess that means don't stress the title too much, right?

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