It's the first Wednesday of the month, and that means it's time for another meeting of The Insecure Writer's Support Group. Our leader Alex J. Cavanaugh has gathered another group of fantastic co-hosts: Beverly Stowe McClure, Tyrean Martinson, Tonja Drecker, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor.
Be sure to check out the IWSG website!
The optional question for this month is: What's harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names?
This is an easy one for me to answer, because I'm struggling to come up with a title for my novel as we speak. I have plenty of methods for coming up with character names. There are random name generators for smaller characters that don't feature heavily in the story. There are baby name websites that I like to peruse when coming up with names for my main characters.
Choosing a title is a different matter altogether. People expect a lot from a title. It's supposed to speak to the nature of the story you're telling. The title needs to catch the eye of potential readers and pique curiosity. I want the title of this novel to have a good ring to it while accomplishing all these things.
So I'm stuck. The book is mostly done (I got a bit hung up on some of the logistics of the ending, but I'm hoping the revision stage will help me tidy these things up), but I'm no nearer to having a title for it than when I began. Is that unusual? Am I being too hard on myself? Should I allow the title to come to me organically, or are there methods I could use to generate one that will work? This definitely represents an insecurity for me, so any advice would be greatly appreciated?
Do you struggle with titles, or is it character names that trip you up?
I don't struggle with either, but the title is really important. It has to do so many things.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with character names. For titles, maybe find books similar to yours (same genre) and see what titles they have. Sometimes seeing other titles can help one come to you for your book. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteBoth are hard, but there are lots of websites to browse for name ideas. Not so many places to browse for titles.
ReplyDeleteI suck at titles. I usually need help. Maybe your husband or critique partners can help?
ReplyDeleteReaders are forgiving of character names, but that title can make or break a book. I understand your stress. Good luck with figuring things out!
ReplyDeleteI have lots of stories where I get to the end and I still don't know what to call it. Abducted Life didn't have a title for a good long while before inspiration finally struck.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with character names. My characters remain Mrs. B, Mr. X and Miss Y for a very long time.
ReplyDelete