TITLE SEARCH

by John M. Floyd

I’ve enjoyed reading the opinions in the roundtable discussion of titles this week, and I hope you have as well. I congratulate Paul Guyot for suggesting the idea.

I agree that titles play a big role in the impact, as well as the marketing, of fiction — and especially short fiction. Like Paul, I have chosen to read some short stories and novels based on nothing more than their titles, and have passed them up for the same reason.

I can’t resist mentioning some favorite titles: Fahrenheit 451, “Hills Like White Elephants”, Watership Down, “The Tin Star”, The High and the Mighty, Something Wicked This Way Comes, Run Silent, Run Deep, Atlas Shrugged, etc. And a few that are just delightful: Florence of Arabia, Let’s Hear It for the Deaf Man, A Hearse of a Different Color, Apocalypse Pretty Soon. (I have several in mind that I think are real stinkers, but I’ll let those go unnamed.)

I also admit a fondness for titles that have double meanings (Ken Follett’s Lie Down With Lions had at least three), and titles whose meanings are only later revealed, like The Shipping News, “Rain Man”, Dances With Wolves, The Green Mile, and Cool Hand Luke. As Paul said in a comment to Rob’s Wednesday column, sometimes it’s fun not to know what the title means until you read the book.

As for choosing titles for my stories, I’m afraid I seldom have one in mind before I start. Sometimes I do, as was the case with “Eyes in the Sky” , “The Sixth Victim”, “The Pony Creek Gang”, “Midnight”, “The Judge’s Wife”, “The Blue Wolf”, and others, but more often a title comes to me during the process of writing. If that doesn’t work, I can usually settle on a title by asking myself the following questions after the writing’s finished: (The examples listed are titles of some of my own published stories.)

(1) Can I use a place name? “Hardison Park”, “Vacationland”, “Eddie’s Motel”, “The Wading Pool”, “Rainbow’s End”, “Lookout Mountain.”

(2) Can I create a play on words? “Murphy’s Lawyer”, “A Little Knight Music”, “Henry’s Ford”, “Della’s Cellar”, “Wheels of Fortune.”

(3) Can I add an “-ing”? “Going Straight”, “Remembering Tally”, “Saving Mrs. Hapwell”, “Waiting for the Bus”, “Catnapping”, “Mugging Mrs. Jones.”

(4) Can I add an apostrophe and an “s”? “Lucy’s Gold”, “Doctor’s Orders”, “Hartmann’s Case”, “Dooley’s Code”, “Lindy’s Luck”, “Newton’s Law”, “Clara’s Helper”, “The Warden’s Game.”

(5) Can I take a line or phrase from the story itself? “Speed Dial”, “Not One Word”, “Last Chance”, “Run Time”, “One Less Thing”, “Greased Lightnin’”, “Smoke Test”, “One-Way Ticket.”

(6) Can I use a three-word “Ludlum-like” title? “The Pullman Case”, “The Medicine Show”, “The Willisburg Stage”, “The Winslow Tunnel.”

(7) Can I use something that has a double or unexpected meaning? “Elevator Music”, “A Gathering of Angels”, “Knights of the Court”, “High Anxiety”, “Four for Dinner”, “True Colors”, “Ladies of the North”, “Poetic Justice”, “Little White Lies.”

(8) Can I use a name or nickname? “Diamond Jim”, “Frankie”, “Sweet Caroline”, “The Messenger”, “Thursday’s Child”, “The Cookie Monster”, “Good Samaritan”, “Guardian Angel”, “King of the City”, “Sneaky Pete.”

(9) Can I echo the story’s “theme”? “Appearances”, “Survival”, “Early Retirement”, “Careers”, “Civic Duties”, “Creativity”, “Family Business”, “Battleground”, “Teamwork”, “A Matter of Honor.”

(10) Can I use a phrase that has a good “rhythm” when read aloud? “The Early Death of Pinto Bishop”, “Debbie and Bernie and Belle”, “A Thief in the Night”, “The Moon and Marcie Wade”, “A Nice Little Place in the Country.”

(11) Can I use a well-known saying, or part of one? “A Stitch in Time”, “A Thousand Words”, “Old Soldiers”, “Just Passing Through”, “Lost and Found”, “A Piece of Cake”, “Sink or Swim”, “A Place in History”, “Batteries Not Included”, “Nothing but the Truth.”

(12) Can I (if all else fails) use something simple but still appropriate to the story? “The Proposal”, “Illumination”, “Sightings”, “Partners”, “Stopover”, “War Day”, “Travelers”, “Pocket Money”, “Oversight”, “Premonition”, “Clockwork.”

In answer to one of the questions Paul asked in his Monday column, yes, for me the title-search process often takes a while. I like to tell myself it’s time well spent.

Another confession: I do sometimes change a title several times before I submit the story to an editor. Are those changes always for the better? I hope so — but who knows? I should know, of course, by now, but I often question my judgment.

I must mention here that the best-laid plans sometimes fail. Publishers of novels and editors of shorts are notorious for changing a writer’s titles. All you can do is try. (By the way, in response to Jon Breen’s question the other day, no, AHMM has never changed any of my titles. But I do have another story coming up there soon, so I hope I’m not giving Linda any ideas…. )

Just remember, fellow writers — if your title does get changed by an editor, you at least can rest assured that your original was better.

Wasn’t it? Sure it was.

Wasn’t it … ?