Thursday 26 April 2012

Creating the Right Title!


I am slowly making progress with my book 4, though other events do get in the way and as much as I push them aside, they have a habit of nudging me and demanding my time and attention! Though when I have managed to sit down and tap away at the keyboard of my lap top, lost in the world of my imagination bringing my characters to life as together we walk down the paths of happiness, love, loss and much more, I ponder about what the title should be for this book. As yet nothing has come to mind that says what I want it to say about the three families who share the twists and turns of their lives.

I ask myself would one word say it all, like Gilli Allen has used for her novel Torn. Or maybe use three words that will evoke emotion, as Joanne Lambert has used in one of the books from her trilogy, Love, Lies & Promises. Or even make it a sentence, that inspires intrigue as in Too Much Trouble In Paradise by Michelle Betham. All of these ideas sound a possibility, but so far nothing has manifested itself as one word or one sentence!

I have written and published three books so far, the first two titles came easily, my third book title, however, took some agreeing on, but I got there in the end. I know I will get there with this one, well let’s be honest, I have to! But how do you come up with the best title for your book? Did you know the title before you begin writing or did the title spring to mind when writing?

As always thanks for stopping by, it’s great to see you and keep smiling, I will if you will!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've always had trouble with titles. But, my book titles popped into my head without much work for me. Funny how that is, huh?

Michelle Betham said...

The only book title out of my 4 books that I had sorted BEFORE the book was written was Too Much Trouble in Paradise; the others were a nightmare to think of!
Good luck with finding the right title for book 4, Pauline. But I'm sure, one day, the perfect one will just pop into your head. Here's hoping! :) X

Paula Martin said...

My recent release came from a quote by Mark Twain: 'Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet shed on the heel that has crushed it' - hence 'Fragrance of Violets'. My release next month came from something my hero saidat one point 'Changing the Future'. I find some come easily, whereas others I really struggle with and weigh up several options before finally deciding.

Pauline Barclay said...

Hi Jack, great to hear yours just pop into your head, thanks for sharing.

Hello Michelle, I hope it will too!

Hi Paula, I love your titles and love how you came to have the title, Fragrance of Voilets. Interesting listening to my ipod this afternoon has given me some inspiration. Looking forwward to hearing more about Changing the Future.

JO said...

I think finding the right title is like pulling teeth - I ended up brainstorming at my writers group to find Over the Hill and Far Away.

Short stories, poems - all as difficult. *sighs*

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

I love thinking up titles, but occasionally change them.

Pauline Barclay said...

Hello Jo, phew, I'm glad I'm not alone. Thanks for sharing. x

Hi Debs, best I pop along to your lovely shed and see what you can think up for me.... laugh! x

jolambertwriter.blog said...

Hi Pauline, yes book titles can be a nightmare. I tend to stick to song titles - When Tomorrow Comes the first part of the trilogy was taken from the Eurythmics hit of the same name. With Book 2 however, Love, Lies and Promises just seemed right as it said everything about what went on in the novel. For the third book, The Ghost of You and Me I went back to song titles but made the choice after hearing the song. It had a beautiful melody and the words were just right! One thing I tend to do now is to check on Amazon before choosing titles just in case someone else has already got there before me! This happened When Tomorrow Comes was published!