Tuesday, February 9, 2016
A Bit of Musing
Do you ever wonder how important titles are? Last night my fifteen year old grandson and I were watching "Cowboys and Aliens" and he said he'd never watched it before because the title sounded stupid. I said how bad could it be with Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in it? Which got the "who?" reaction. I came back with James Bond and Hans Solo. Oh yeah, it's a really good movie, Grandma. So, it makes you wonder what's more important, the characters or the title?
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8 comments:
I love good titles and they will make me pick up and look at a book. Bad ones will tend to keep me from looking at one.
One of my favorite comedies is called I LOVE YOU TO DEATH. I saw that it has Kevin Kline, Traci Ullmann, Joan Plowright and some other great comedians, and I grabbed it.
But I also heard Kevin Kline say in an interview that the movie is little known because of the terrible title.
I do the same thing, Charles, unless it's a series character that I love to read then the title doesn't matter.
Exactly, Al, there's always that actor that you'll watch (or book you'll read) no matter how bad title might be :) Though for a new writer you'd better have a great title or nobody will read your book.
Titles are important. Not deal breaking but can turn potential viewers or readers away. I think the movie "John Carter" fouled up by not having "-of Mars" added to it. Who but interested parties knew that was a sci-fi/fantasy flick? And there was a great show called "Terriers" starring Donal Logue as a off the books P.I. Even the creators said the title was one of the reasons the show never caught on. Naming something is magic.
I agree Rob. Some titles are just perfectly suited to a story and when you nail that you've hit that magic mark. I love the book "Winter's Bone" but in every interview I read Daniel Woodrell would always have to explain the title.
Titles are an important part of discoverability. Sure, if the writer is a favorite of yours, or you're already hooked on the series, or someone you know recommends it, then the title might matter less. But if you're browsing, a dull sounding title is easier to run your eye right past, and if you've read the book already and want to rec it to someone else, will you remember a generic or hard-to-mentally-pronounce title? While a stupid sounding title -- as your grandson noted -- can actually drive people away.
And even if someone recs a story or book to you, if the title is very generic sounding, how likely are you to remember it next time you're in a bookstore, or browsing Amazon? A good title not only catches (the right kind of) attention, but is also memorable and will immediately come to mind when you're thinking of the story. Or will bring the story to mind, if you think of or hear the title?
I suck at coming up with titles for my work at least half the time, but it's something I'm working on. :)
Angie
I've been known to change the title of a story at least five or six times before I finally settle on one so don't feel bad, Angie. :)
Sandra -- stories I'm working on tend to have working titles, something like "Tree Alien Story" or "Alchemy University Murder," just because I need something to name the file. :P I've been known to think of something, anything, to use as an actual, permanent title at the last minute in a blind panic, type it in, and slam it into e-mail 20 seconds before deadline. [hides under keyboard] Sometimes it turns out to be good and sometimes not. One of my goals is to improve my percentage of titles that are at least reasonably good. [wry smile]
Angie
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