Friday, November 4, 2011

What's in a Name?

A question that our good ol' friend William Shakespeare introduced. Ironically, now there's a question in on him. Though that really isn't old news, and completely irrelevant for that matter.

I just finished a manuscript that I've been working on for the last few months. I'm rather proud of it, though it is still a long way from being finished. It definitely needs some polishing and a bit more character development.

The major thing it needs is a title.

I've always felt that a title can say a thousand words. A title in the end can be the deciding factor on a story. I'm more likely to take a story seriously when it's given a thought provoking name such as And Then There Were None and Women of the Silk, compared to Harlequin titles that lay the plot of the story out ( I.E. our ever favorite The Prince Boss's Mistresses Secret Affair Million Dollar Baby). I'm not knocking Harlequin. When I was younger I totally cracked into my next door neighbor's Harles.

Of course I was like thirteen and had yet to develop taste buds when it came to literature.

I'm not saying you should judge a story by it's title fully, just like you shouldn't judge it by it's cover. In the end the writing is what matters. But lets face it, a title is important.

So when I finished my manuscript and sat down to pick a name, I was stumped. Because I want something that gives the full force of the story. It must be a powerful title because I want this story to be a powerful novel. When I first started I threw a title on and called it a day. But that doesn't suit it anymore.

Now I'm stuck picking something out.

Luckily, with the help of mulling over my work for a little bit and the help of some inspirational music, I think I've selected something that'll definitely have some driving force behind it. But I'm not going to settle until I've read through the manuscript one more time and decided that it's a good fit.

Oh titles, why must you elude me?!