Blue Unicorns in Jelly Bean Fields

Hello, lovelies! Glad to see you again. Well, I can't actually see you--don't worry, I'm not creeping up behind you or anything...or am I? (HA! You totally just looked.)

Unless you didn't...in which case, I feel silly.

So, I'm sure you've noticed there was no Tipster Tuesday post yesterday. (Or maybe you didn't. Whatevs.) Well, I just wanted you guys to know that feature is going on vacation for a little while. At least until I can come up with a good list of posts so I'm not smacking my face into the wall every week trying to think up a topic. Yeah, the nice man at the hospital told me another concussion could lead to a black hole opening and swallowing the moon...but I don't think he was a doctor. Do the doctors usually smell like old pizza and ask for change by the gate? Sorry, sorry. I'm off topic.

The point is, no more Tipster Tuesday until further notice. No big dealio.

Annnnyway, by now I'll bet you're scratching your head and saying, "Hey! What's all this about unicorns and jelly beans?"

Well, quit it because that's completely unrelated to the post.

Actually, the blue unicorns and jelly bean fields are just to prove a point, which will lead me into the subject of this post. When you saw that title, what did you think? Did that make you want to click it and find out what the hell I was talking about? I hope it did, because that's my point here.

While strolling through the bookstore, nine times out of ten, the first thing that will attract your eye to a book is...?

The title!

I mean, unless it's one of those displays that has all the books facing cover-out, instead of spine-out. But the only displays I ever see like that always look like this:

(Ugh.)

Anywho, back to my point. The title.

A good title is like a huge, glittery diamond tacked to your book. The potential reader will be so fascinated, they'll have to stop and take a closer look instead of just passing by it like all those other lackluster pieces.

And that leads me here...

Hello, my name is Kristina, and I suck at titles.

Yep. I said it. I hate all my titles. Well...maybe hate is too strong of a word. Let's just say I really, really, really don't like them.

Before being dubbed BROKEN, the project was called LIGHTS OUT. That title was "borrowed" from a song by Mindless Self Indulgence that had ABSOLUTELY nothing in common with the actual story. It just happened to be playing during a particular fight scene early in the book and, in my very young mind, I thought it lined up well enough to name the whole damn book LIGHTS OUT. After a few months, I despised that title, but because I suck at titles, I couldn't come up with anything better and was forced to leave it that way. Until, my boyfriend sat down with me to help me brainstorm. He threw out BROKEN and I gobbled it up. I like this title a lot more than the old one--and it's a lot more relevant to the story--but I still feel like it could use that extra omph, if you know what I mean.

OPHELIA...what, oh what can I say about this one? It's the most basic title formula: JUST USE THE MAIN CHARACTER'S NAME. Bleeeh. It's damn easy, but it also seems blander than hell. Buuuut...I guess I can't be too mad at this title. I do like the image of a title like this being paired with a description of the story. It seems like they'd contrast one another in a good way (to me anyway).

Finally, VENGEFUL DEEP. Oh, jeez. This title grates at the inside of my skull like nails on a chalk board. I'm the kind of person who just hates to leave a story untitled for long, so I will jump on the first thing that pops into my head and convince myself it sounds good. Of course, when that initial "Yay-I-named-my-story" phase wears off, I'm unhappy with the choice I made. (I needz self-control plz.) With VENGEFUL DEEP, my first choice was really DARK WATER. But I was a fan of The Pirates of Dark Water as a kid, so I decided against it and came up with something else. Now, I'm starting to wonder if, for once, I should've gone with my first choice.

Do you think having a good title really makes a difference?
What do you think goes into a good title?
How do you come up with titles?
What are some of your favorite titles?

HAPPY WRITING, LOVELIES!