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What title do you find the most attractive?

  1. Between Land and Stars

    4 vote(s)
    50.0%
  2. All Roads Lead to Ghosts

    2 vote(s)
    25.0%
  3. Manjusaka

    1 vote(s)
    12.5%
  4. My Heart is in a Far Moon

    1 vote(s)
    12.5%
  5. The Flower of the Other Shore

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  6. None

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  1. Ale

    Ale Member

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    Book Title

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Ale, Mar 28, 2018.

    Hi guys! I am deciding how to name my current WIP. The novel has lowkey sci-fi (aliens are heavily implied) and fantasy(?) elements (past lives). So poll away!
    ****
    Reasoning behind each title (read afterwards):

    Between Land and Stars ----> the plot is basically the consequence a visit from Star Gods (aliens) has on a civilization.

    All Roads Lead to Ghosts ---->kinda metaphorical, all actions lead to having to deal w/ ghosts from the past.

    My Heart is in a Far Moon ---->really abstract, supposed to convey alienation w/ current life.

    Manjusaka + the Flower of the Other Shore: Different names for the red Spider Lily, a flower w/ some folklore about death and reencarnation which fit really well.
     
  2. grimshawl

    grimshawl Member

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    of these choices I favor Between Land and Stars. I think it has a grander feel to it than most of the others.
     
    Ale likes this.
  3. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    Going one by one:

    I like the vibe but no so much the wording. Any place that isn't underground or inside a star would qualify for this location, though it does clearly imply space and SciFi.

    Maybe. Still a bit confusing because the original saying (about Rome) is physical "fact" that lends itself to a metaphor. In your case, this would be a metaphor that leads to another metaphor, if that makes sense. And again, I'm not feeling the wording. When I read it, I'm trying to unpack the meaning, but not in a good way.

    I feel like this should read "My Heart is on a Far Moon." You can be "in Denver" or "in my mother's house" because those are penetrable locations. A moon is not, so I feel it should have the preposition "on" instead.

    Otherwise, I think it could work if you used a stronger verb than "to be." Like: "I Left (or Lost) my Heart on a Far Moon" or something."I left my heart" is an old saying I think, though I can't remember how it ended. Paris, maybe? Either way, turning it on its head by including a non-standard location like a moon might make the title memorable.

    If I had to choose, I'd pick this one with a left/lost tweak.

    No. I love one word titles, but this one doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. And I'm not sure what image its supposed to conjure. You say it's a flower but I've never heard of it. Maybe others have, but the title should give a fairly clear indication of genre or what the general expectations should be. If it were a cool sounding flower like magnolia or chrysanthemum* (also book/movie titles), it would be a different story. But manjusaka isn't cool sounding in my opinion.

    *(holy crap, I spelled that right the first time... yay, me!)
     
    Ale likes this.
  4. PennyDreadfully

    PennyDreadfully Member

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    I would pick up a book in a shop if it was called 'All Roads Lead to Ghosts' :)

    Although I don't think it conveys your book's sci-fi lean, if that's what you want to get across.
     
    Ale likes this.
  5. xanadu

    xanadu Contributor Contributor

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    Agreed. These titles all seem fairly Literary. I'd imagine if you're seeking a publisher in a genre market they'd want something that fits the style of other genre sci-fi books.
     
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  6. Ale

    Ale Member

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    Thanks for the advice guys! I think I'll continue looking for a good book title :)
     
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  7. LastMindToSanity

    LastMindToSanity Contributor Contributor

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    If I may, I have a suggestion for a different title. I mean, it's technically different, but it's really just an amalgamation of some other concepts in this thread.

    First I would like to clarify something.

    As far as I can tell, this is either a song about how everything except for San Francisco suck because his love is only in San Francisco and they're separated (I Left My Heart In San Fransisco, by Tony Bennett), or it's another song called "Left My Heart In Paris, Amanda Polk", which is the exact same song except the singer is a woman.

    I also found a bunch of bloggers (At least I think they're bloggers) who just got back from Paris, and are singing it's praises. They often use the key phrase "I Left My Heart In Paris", or some variation of that.

    Okay, so the song is about how dull the rest of the world is, compared to one single place, right? So maybe that could be used if your MC becomes enraptured by alien civilization and decides that the world he lives on is dull compared to space?

    Next, I would include the spirit of the phrase "My Heart is in a Far Moon" to capture that feeling of alienation.

    Finally, I would tweak the phrase "Between Land and Stars" into something that sounds a bit cleaner, but would make it known that the story is largely connected to space.

    In conclusion, I would suggest the title...

    I Left My Heart in the Land of Stars

    Let me explain myself. This title is meant to convey that the MC has become enraptured by "the land of stars" (This is easily recognized as space so everyone will know what the story is about), and that they also feel that they no longer belong on Earth, which would also sell a feeling of alienation, if that's what you want.

    I dunno, I kinda through this together haphazardly, but I think it works.

    Anyways, good luck with it!
     
    Ale likes this.

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