So, I have a new short story and I'm a little torn when it comes to the title. I want to call it "In the Empty Room" or "The Empty Room." The whole story is about being in this room. How you got there. What you're doing there. Why you can't get out. But there's also something happening on the other side of the door. Still, the focus is on being in this room. I'm conflicted on including the word "in" in the title. At first I wanted to go with it. Now I'm questioning if it does anything and if I should drop it from the title. Looking for thoughts and opinions from you writer friends. What would you do? Thanks.
In the Empty Room feels redundant. If someone's in there is it empty? The Empty Room on the other hand makes the reader curious.
Of course, you could just all it "Empty" or "The Room." Or "The Other Side Of The Door" or "The Door" or "The Other Side."
I also think it should be simpler but “The Room” is the name of a famously bad cult movie. I think it should reference the door too. Something like “A room with a door” or something.
Whoah! Reflecting on both room and character. Nice. Of course, that's if the character really is empty inside. Otherwise go with something else. This reminds me of the time I realized when they'd say MTV in commercials it always sounded like Empty V, and made me think about cleavage with nothing else going on. A perfect symbol for not only MTV but most of the numbing plethora of cable stations (and now websites). Though as it turned out, early MTV was one of the better things on cable.
Does the room have anything in it beside the MC? Is it truly empty or is the title intended to infer that the room is empty of other people? Based on your original description I would leave "In" in. To me that helps describe the story concept better. JMHO...
I might be in the minority but I like "In The Empty Room", or "Within The Empty Room", or "In This Empty Room" or maybe "This Side of An Empty Room". "The Empty Room" feels normal whereas adding something extra makes it feel off-putting, which is sort of appealing. It might attract more attention just on a first glance, but it depends on the effect you're aiming for.
The original title of this thread reminds me of “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream”. That’s my sort of title.
Maybe Thundair meant "Vacuous"? First definition: vacuous adjective vac·u·ous | \ ˈva-kyə-wəs \ Definition of vacuous 1: emptied of or lacking content 2: marked by lack of ideas or intelligence : STUPID, INANE a vacuous mind a vacuous movie 3: devoid of serious occupation : IDLE
Within and Without. ^ any good? Spoiler: thought process I went for literal, but also ambiguous. Juicy titular attempt to bait the story with curiosity rather than a reveal. And then play it at two levels: the physicality (the contrasts) of the setting v’s the rumination of the protagonist.
I’d avoid words that aren’t commonly known in a title. I’d consider my vernacular not as wide as some pros here, but wider than the average person and I’d never seen the word vacuous before. I see the Latin root in it and relation of vacuum, but without context, I’m not sure I’d get it; and titles are usually the first thing you see. It’d be a great title only if you can perhaps pair it with a visual medium like a cover, so depending on length of the story.
Thanks for all the help, guys. For some reason, I sort of feel like I should keep the "in." I want to keep the title of this story simple and clear. The story itself is a little complex and unconventional so I don't want any bells and whistles with the title. But the "in" seems to give it a little something, maybe. I'm pretty pleased with how the story has come out. I'm going to do a few more rounds of edits before doing anything with it. So, I do have some more time to think over the title. Man, titles are so hard for me. Maybe the whole idea of titling the story "In the Empty Room" is stupid. Maybe I'm being too generic. It's a story about murder, deceit, hunger, and greed. I was thinking a simple title would make for a good contrast. Okay, now I'm not sure of anything. I'm thinking I need another return back to the drawing board.
How about just “Empty”? It can be a description (he is empty), a verb (he began to empty something), an instruction (“empty the bucket, now”). Empty can imply not just physical space, but emotional hollowness, shallowness (as in superficial gestures), despair (as in a deep chasm of grief), hunger, something never filled to begin with or something that has had everything taken away.
