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/lit/ - Literature

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8665788 No.8665788 [Reply] [Original]

How does one come up with a good title for a book?

>> No.8665798

from what ive gathered you just scan shakespeare or the bible until you find something cool-sounding

>> No.8665804

>>8665798
>http://www.bibledice.com/
>2 Timothy 4:4
>And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
>Turned Unto Fables
Pretty good.

>> No.8665808

>(But this transparent thingum does require
>Some moondrop title. Help me, Will! Pale Fire.)

>> No.8665842
File: 33 KB, 476x342, d6253fe0e86426b192e5ebf24d7abbb8.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8665842

>>8665804
>And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head,
>And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!

>> No.8666264

>>8665804
>Romans 12:9
>Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

>Let Love Abhor Evil

meh.

>> No.8666322

>Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
>Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

A Friend of the World: The Life of William Jefferson Clinton

>>8666264
>Without Dissimulation

>> No.8666323

>>8665788
There's nothing more pathetic than someone out of shape that thinks reading makes them look attractive.

>> No.8666336

>>8666323
Who are you even talking about, because it's obviously not the person in the picture

>> No.8666338

>>8666323
There's nothing more pathetic than a /fit/izen who bears enmity toward everyone who isn't fit

>> No.8666378

>>8666338
I don't browse fit. You don't have to browse fit to just run daily and eat well.

Either way the opposite generally applies more heavily. If your hobby is a largely a form of Compensating, you don't deserve anyone's respect towards that hobby.

>>8666336
You must describe yourself as "a little chubby" too, right?

>> No.8666488

>>8666378
>applies more heavily
>heavily

people who rely on the word "heavily" don't even have half a right to post on this board

>> No.8666504

>>8665788
Take a passage from the book and mix and match a few words from it. Simple as that. Catcher in the Rye is a good example of this.

>> No.8666599

You think of a particular object, character, emotion or image that can resume or give a clue on what the book is about.

>Ulysses
It's a journey like the Odyssey, but centered around a single man; the Greek name showcasts its use of culture.

>Moby-Dick
It's about the whale Moby-Dick and all he means. To give it less than a proper noun is to reduce it.

>Alice in Wonderland
Pretty much what says it all.

>Blood Meridian
Evokes the image of a deserted, brutal horizon.

>The Lord of the Rings
A beautiful, non-modern, uncomplicated title for the evil that moves the story.

>Gravity's Rainbow
This one takes a little effort to figure out, and it's as black as the humor in the book.

>> No.8666615

>>8666599
>>8666504
good advice, thanks

>> No.8666636

The title should essentially be what the book/story is about. But it should also match how straightforward you're being as the author.

>> No.8666682

>>8666599
Some more book titles (in some cases rendered in their popularly-known form):

>Tom Jones
a character in the book

>Anna Karenina
a character in the book

>David Copperfield
a character in the book

>Robinson Crusoe
a character in the book

>Emma
a character in the book

>Guy Mannering
a character in the book

>Tess of the d'Urbervilles
a character in the book

>Tristram Shandy
a character in the book

>The Brothers Karamazov
characters in the book

>> No.8666707

>>8666599
>Ulysses
>Greek name

>> No.8666718

>>8666707
to be fair, that was the Latinization of a Greek name. If you were to ask any old Roman what sort of name Ulysses was, I think they'd say Greek.

but yeah other than that I agree with you

kek

>> No.8666742

>>8666682
This is a definite oversimplification, though. The names themselves carry some meaning, via etymologies or connotations.

>> No.8666772

>>8666742
If you think that's an oversimplification, try this one

>A Midsummer Night's Dream
Setting of the play

>Inferno
Setting of the poem

>Wessex tales
Setting of the tales

>Mansfield Park
Setting of the novel

>A Tale of Two Cities
Two settings of the novel

>Bleak House
Setting of the novel

>To the Lighthouse
A setting in the novel

>> No.8666797

>>8666682
my character doesn't have a name though, none of the characters do

>> No.8666799

>>8666797
except, of course, for a minor character named Gregory Berrycone.

>> No.8666802

>>8666799
no no thats just the name of the novel. none of the characters are actually named that

>> No.8666820

>>8666666

>> No.8666831

>>8665804

>http://www.bibledice.com/

Rollin!

>Psalms 34:17-19
>The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
>The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
>Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.

Hmmm...let's see what we have... I see:

>The Righteous Cry
>Deliver Them From Troubles
>Of a Broken Heart
>A Contrite Spirit
>Many Are the Afflictions
>Afflictions of the Righteous

Not bad at all.

>> No.8666839

>>8666831
>nigh unto them

>> No.8666871

My novel is named after the city that the story takes place in. That may sound simple, but it's actually not. In my novel, the city is practically itself a character.

>> No.8666888

>>8666742
Yeah, isn't that so cool? I love it when the hothead character's name is etymologically related to "fire."

>> No.8666910

>>8666772
>the lighthouse is the setting
fucking read you bum

>> No.8666913

>>8666871
>the city is practically itself a character
btw that's a metaphor from at least the biblical times:

>And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
...
>And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
>For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

>> No.8666923

>>8666910
I think you will find that they are definitely on their way "To the Lighthouse" in one scene. "To the Lighthouse" is indeed a setting in the novel.

>> No.8666942

>>8665788
Fuck if I know, Nietzsche probably has the most consistently good titles of any author I've encountered though.

>> No.8667618

>>8666772
I am very upset by To the Lighthouse's inclusion in your reductive list.

kys

>> No.8667708

>>8665804
>Matthew 8:10
>When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

>Not in Israel
What's it about?

>> No.8667712

>>8665804
>The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
>And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
Meh, noun of noun

>> No.8667716

>>8665842
"Heil, King of the Jews" should be the title of a conspiracy book which claims Hitler was the Jewish messiah

>> No.8667722

>>8665788
Depends
You could just quote anyone from the past as the Italian Renaissance taught us, since everything they did was quoting each other sarcastically
I'd go with something anachronistic

>> No.8667775

>>8665804
>Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Wine is a Mocker has a nice ring to it

>> No.8667791

>>8665788
Sometimes I write the title before anything else and see what comes from there

>> No.8667823

>>8666772
remove to the lighthouse, add wuthering heights.

>> No.8667935

>>8666871
Hi Mr. Bely

>> No.8667971

Make references.

First one that comes to mind is 'The snake within' from a verse in a recently released song by Leonard Cohen.

Perfect title for a book about sin.

As you can see, I didn't even have to open my Shakespeare.

>> No.8668078

>>8667618
>>8667823
see my previous post, in which I explain that "to the lighthouse" (as in "going to the lighthouse") is indeed the setting of a scene in the novel

>> No.8668133

>>8665788
Write the book first then describe it flippantly in six words or less.

>> No.8668178

>>8668133
a lonely hallucinating retard contemplates suicide.

hey that's actually a decent title

>> No.8668389

>>8666488
Oh. I apologize. Ill be sure to drop some big boy words to show how smart I am.

Fuck off poser faggot.

>> No.8668414

>Matthew 8:10

>When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

No, Not In Israel: Multiculturalism and the Jewish Intelligentsia by Ben Garrison

>> No.8668804
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8668804

>>8666707
>He thinks all traditionally Roman mythology names are natively Roman.
>He thinks Latin words can have an /y/.

>The name has several variants: in Greek the character was called Olysseus (Ὀλυσσεύς), Oulixeus (Οὐλιξεύς), Oulixes (Οὐλίξης), and he was known as Ulyssēs in Latin or Ulixēs in Roman mythology. Hence, "there may originally have been two separate figures, one called something like Odysseus, the other something like Ulixes, who were combined into one complex personality."

>> No.8668871

>>8666504
>we did it Marty, we finally have become True Detectives

>> No.8668927

>>8668871
Another excellent example from True Detective.

>> No.8668928

>>8666378
That stomach in the pic is flat tho

>> No.8668997

>>8667971
Sounds gayer than balls smacking balls in a two man back beast

>> No.8669704

>>8665788
White the story first and then pick a cliche that is spoken within the dialogue.

>> No.8669761

>>8665788

It has to be accurate
For example I can think of no better title for its book than The Cherry Orchard and Other Short Stories

>> No.8670690

>>8665788
who is that

>> No.8670699

>>8667712
You gotta think outside of the box a little more. There's a couple of good titles that could come out of that passage.

>> No.8670700

>>8668178
Not really, sounds like the average r9k greentext.

>> No.8670728

they name it The Dragontails

>> No.8670736

Do like the best of em', write a book, pick an artsy fartsy intellectual title, hook up with publisher, leave coming up with title to the publisher.

>> No.8670739

>>8665804
>And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

"And Men Loved Darkness Rather Than Light"

>> No.8670914

>>8665804

>Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
>For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
>Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Wrath of Man

Swift to Hear, Slow to Speak

Save Your Souls


not bad

>> No.8671123

>>8665798
Kek

>> No.8671135
File: 102 KB, 960x960, 14358832_1135706606526240_9055449762422330291_n.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8671135

In my writing class in high school, I always used to write the whole essay/story first, then decide on the title.

You don't choose the title, the story does.

>> No.8671199

>>8665804
>Mark 7:34
>And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

Sighs Toward Heaven
Ephphatha (back of dust jacket says Be opened)

eh christianrock/10

>> No.8671202
File: 100 KB, 640x635, tumblr_nu9n68WlKn1utigmho1_1280.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8671202

>>8668997
embarrassed but I kek'd

>> No.8671822

>>8665788
If someone could please tell me her name, Google doesn't know it.

>> No.8672173
File: 109 KB, 619x815, roughing it.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8672173

>>8665804
>Matthew 5:41-42
>And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

>> No.8672237

>>8665804
>Proverbs 21:19
>It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and angry woman.
A Contentions and Angry Woman - the MGTOW manifesto

>> No.8673418

>>8665788
Something catchy that has to do with the title. Sounding biblical or Shakespearean tends to be an easy way, but just about anything works that represents the idea of the book works.

>> No.8673425

>>8672173
a good one

>> No.8673429

>>8665788
The trick is to take it from a cool sounding bit of dialogue so that, when it's clearly approaching, the reader thinks "OOOH SHIT OOH BOY IT'S COMING HE'S GONNA SAY IT"

>> No.8673431

>>8671135
I find this picture attractive as fuck

>> No.8673441

>>8667708
a novel about a father trying to teach his shithead kids in a brutal, unforgiving world

>> No.8673593

>>8665804
>Genesis 39:7-9
>And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
>But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
>There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

It Came To Pass
His Master's Wife
Eyes Upon
Lie With Me
There Is None Greater In This House Than I
Great Wickedness
...And Sin Against God

>> No.8673894
File: 351 KB, 1920x1080, Reader-is-sexy02.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
8673894

>>8665788
I keep a Word file with story titles. It's something I started years ago and currently have over three hundred or so potential titles listed in it in two columns per page, alphabetized.

Sometimes for fun, I open the file and just come up with random titles, sort of a free writing exercise. Then, when I've written a story and don't have a title in mind, I open the file and see if anything pops out at me.

Also, I've used this file when I want to write something but don't feel inspired. I'll open the file and scan through the titles until something strikes me, then I use it as a prompt to write a story.

>> No.8673916

>>8665804
>Psalms 63:1
>O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
>Early will I seek thee
>In a dry and thirsty land

thanks anon

>> No.8674254

>>8667775
I like it.