Creating
a Snappy Title & Character Names
The
title of a book is intrinsically important. As a reader, I can tell
you the title alone has a great deal of influence over whether I take
the next step and read the book flap or put it back on the shelf (or
click to view the next e-book). Knowing this to be true about
myself, I’m sure there are plenty of other readers who find the
title to hold equal importance. So as a writer, I work hard to give
my novels a title that will (I hope) capture a potential reader’s
interest enough to take them past the cover and into the story.
A
title has to be well thought out and connected to the story-line in
some clever (if not obvious) way. In the case of “Cadence Beach”,
the location plays a large role in the story, so the title was
appropriate. But as easy as creating a title for this particular
book was, it’s rarely that smooth and simple.
I
have an odd process of creating my stories; I tend to begin with a
title. For me, the title coaxes the story from my imagination. It’s
not easy to explain, but I begin with a snapshot of a story idea,
follow it with a preliminary title then sit back and let the story
flow from there. It actually works for me, as strange as it may
sound. I don’t always stick with the original title, but whatever
title I choose, it’s with the intent of capturing a potential
reader’s curiosity right away while offering some sense
of what the story is about.
I have been suffering with insomnia for most of this week. The only good thing about this is that I have gotten several things done, including reading several books. I do have a few reviews to write tomorrow, well it's more than than a few, more like eight, and that's only book reviews. I have a few other non-books reviews to write too.
