When I recently mentioned on my blog that my fourth novel is still untitled, even though it’s written and I’m in the process of revising it, commenter Dawn Simon mentioned that she hadn’t named her new project yet either. Why is it hard to come up with a good title? I’ve been thinking about what I want my title to do:
1. Hook the reader
2. Capture something significant about the story
3. Sound good when you read it (e.g. it shouldn’t make you tongue-tied)
4. Stand out by being a little different
Up ‘til now, titles for my novels have just come to me. I haven’t had to work at it. Sometimes, I’ve even thought of the title first and then the book developed around it. This time I’m stuck. Maybe as I revise, I'll stumble across an idea? Let's hope so. Novel #4 won't sound so great in a query.
Showing posts with label book titles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book titles. Show all posts
Friday, September 3, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Every Soul a Star
8. Every Soul A Star by Wendy Mass
The title of this book by Wendy Mass is fantastic - it speaks to me about the uniqueness of individuals and how everyone has something they are good at. I really enjoyed this book and will someday love to read it again, because there were so many layers in it.
Since my own work-in-progress has alternating points of view, I was interested in how she moved the story forward through the perspectives of three different characters. Sometimes, the reader sees the same situation from the perspectives of different characters, which I thought was really cool. And I loved the characters' different interests and personalities. The only thing that bugged me about this story was that the parents seemed insensitive to the needs of their kids at the beginning (possibly a plot device?) but that's probably just coming from me being a parent, and might not bother younger readers.
The title of this book by Wendy Mass is fantastic - it speaks to me about the uniqueness of individuals and how everyone has something they are good at. I really enjoyed this book and will someday love to read it again, because there were so many layers in it.
Since my own work-in-progress has alternating points of view, I was interested in how she moved the story forward through the perspectives of three different characters. Sometimes, the reader sees the same situation from the perspectives of different characters, which I thought was really cool. And I loved the characters' different interests and personalities. The only thing that bugged me about this story was that the parents seemed insensitive to the needs of their kids at the beginning (possibly a plot device?) but that's probably just coming from me being a parent, and might not bother younger readers.
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