Hi whats a good title for a story about a girl called maevys who is a wizard. She must save the wizard world from an evil sorceror called Gruelin. Along with Lyrex, a boy who decides to go with her and save the world, they defeat terrifying creatures like giant spiders, etc Please help Also may I add my title right now is 'the quest to save the world'
I think the title is something only you can come up with. After all only you know if it really suits the story. Try to find a (short) sentence that summarize the story, or an actual phrase or sentence from it that strikes you in particular. something that is coherent to the story and the mood of it, to the genre.
Make a list of words and phrases that are important in the story, or that symbolize the story. Don't use just nouns like wizard and quest. Use adjectives, verbs, etc. Then go through them and see if a word sticks out the most to you or if you can make a phrase out of the words that would suit it.
From the description you've given us so far, it might as well be called "Transcript of D&D session, 2011-09-11". That's not a problem in itself: the fact that so many people have made great books out of exactly the same plot proves that it's the telling that matters. But it does mean that there is nothing to go on when it comes to choosing a title. If I said I was writing a book about a series of murders in a monastery, solved by a religious scholar, would that give you the title "The name of the rose" or "Dissolution"? Just give it a working title for now, which might just as well be "The quest of Maevys the wizard" because nobody else is going to see it. When you have finished you can decide on the real title, either by looking for an interesting word, phrase or topic in the book or by just picking random titles, nothing to do with the book, and getting friends to pick the one they like best (allegedly how Eco came up with The Name of the Rose, although they retrospectively hooked the title into the plot in the film).
No. We're not here to make decisions like this for you. Titles and plot lines are your own work and you should keep them that way. If you need help with spelling, grammar, or plot holes, that's why we're here. We're not here to provide all the solutions.
Write the story, then title it. You will find an idea within your writing that you want to draw your reader's attention to. Make your title a reference to that.
I don't know what title to suggest, but I will say, "Quest to save the world" is absolutely horrendous. At least call it "Maevys the Wizard and the Quest to save the World." Yes that's much better. Write the book first.
Go with that title only if you want no one to read your work, ever. Keep writing and something better should come to you.
I don't care what you call the book in the end, but please your current (working?) title has to be changed. You can't market a book with that. No matter how good your writing is. We actually can't come up with any name for you. At least not with any authority. You have to do that yourself, as you're the only one who truly understands the book. Good luck.
No matter what title you choose the publishers might change it anyway. Heck, they might even change your name, if it's deemed not marketable enough.
You could just title it after your protagonist, Maevys. Just the one word as a title, seems ... fairly interesting (as long as she doesn't work at a magical tire shop of some kind ). I would say to maybe try to focus small. Instead of coming up with a title to encompass the girl's entire adventure, maybe just create one that describes a piece of her journey, the quest, her character, or another element of the story. Personally, I would keep the title short (4 or less words), too. There's nothing that says you need to. There are plenty of lengthy titles out there (I once knew someone who published a short story with a 60-word title...I no longer remember what it was called...), but doing so will help you steer away from the crazy and ridiculous. Good luck.
I often give WIPs a throw-away working title. Like "Dead Animal Story" or "Bob". To be changed later in the writing process, when inspiration finally strikes.
Hi, My three wizard books are: Maverick, Of Dark Elves and Dragons, and Wizard at Law: Call of the Wild. The names mostly came to me somewhere during the writing process. They all had different names while I was drafting them. Write the book and ignore the title until the end or when something comes to you. However until then could I suggest that you go with what my traditional draft names are - the name of the character. So Maverick was initially drafted as Marjan etc. Maevys might not be a good final title but at least it gives you something to reflect on as you write. And who knows you might just keep it, or add to it. Also have fun with the title. E.g. Maevys Rules. Maevys Rocks. Maevys Kicks Arse. Cheers.
Just to add another note, something I do as I go along in my work is title my chapters. I've no real purpose in doing this and usually the final draft doesn't carry those titles with it, but the process helps me think of titles as I go along. You may try it and see if it helps you create a title for the entire book. Just a suggestion.
When publishers buy books, they often change the title--so I always advise people not to get too attached to any title. It won't work well in your favor, but if you really can't think of anything, just called it 'untitled' until you are in a better position to name it. Untitled would be better than 'quest to save the world'. You'll probably find when the book is completed, edited, polished and then probably edited again, the perfect title will just pop into your head.
I agree with digitig, Make a working title, you can change later. One short story I called one thing and the title was the last sentence in the story. "The sign on the door read: No pets allowed, but Dragons always welcome." "Dragons always welcome." Somewhere in the book the title will come. Another way to think of it, you are stressing over a title, to much pressure to see it, when you relax it will jump out at you.
In my experience, a title emerges after you've written it, not before. While it's still ideas or a couple of scenes, it doesn't yet need a title, and when you go further, you won't even want whatever title you come up with now.
Working Title Sep2011. Worry about the title only if it hasn't burst into your brain by the time you have finished the second draft.
My final title appeared in the end of the third draft, and before then I had gone through several bad ones, just to name it something. But this One i'm happy with. there is always time. I know about a writer who had her novel accepted for publishing this spring (i think), it's going to be out next spring and NOW she came up with the title. it means it's not dead important that you know the title in the process of the first draft, if it doesn't come to you automatically.
How about "Crusaders of (your fantasy land name here): Wizards' War Book I". That is if you are intending to make a series out of this obviously. A good title can make or break a book sometimes.
If there're a lot of giant spiders, you could title it "AAAARGH!" and have a picture of said spiders on the cover. Not gonna lie, I would read that book.
A good title should first be able to hook the reader's interest and at the end, the reader should be able to understand why the book is titled so. My humble opinion.
Something succinct and curiosity invoking. 1984 was a masterpiece imo, but the title says very, very little about the actual story. Just enough to spark interest. Sensationalistic titles turn me off personally.
