How do YOU manufacture a story title? - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T08:03:26Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/how-do-you-manufacture-a-story-title?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A389524&feed=yes&xn_auth=noWell, speaking as a medically…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2014-06-22:537324:Comment:3924502014-06-22T14:46:15.076ZMartin Roy Hillhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/MartinRoyHill
<p>Well, speaking as a medically-oriented person (military medic and Navy medical analyst), "arrhythmia" isn't a broken heart, just a heart with a different beat. Some arrhythmias are dangerous, some are not. Technically, a broken heart would be called "asystole," but that doesn't sound inviting either. However, asystole essentially translates as "Still Heart." That sounds better, doesn't it?</p>
<p>Well, speaking as a medically-oriented person (military medic and Navy medical analyst), "arrhythmia" isn't a broken heart, just a heart with a different beat. Some arrhythmias are dangerous, some are not. Technically, a broken heart would be called "asystole," but that doesn't sound inviting either. However, asystole essentially translates as "Still Heart." That sounds better, doesn't it?</p> In the first novel I wrote, m…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2014-06-22:537324:Comment:3925462014-06-22T13:06:23.594ZJ. E. Seymourhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JESeymour
<p>In the first novel I wrote, my protagonist is falling apart psychologically as well as being physically hurt. I wanted something that would reflect both of those, and I came up with <em>Stress Fractures. </em>I decided to stay with the theme. The second book was set in January in New Hampshire, so I used <em>Frostbite. </em> Third novel, the one I finally got published, is about my protagonist trying to fit in with his family, and not really doing a good job of it. <em>Lead Poisoning.…</em></p>
<p>In the first novel I wrote, my protagonist is falling apart psychologically as well as being physically hurt. I wanted something that would reflect both of those, and I came up with <em>Stress Fractures. </em>I decided to stay with the theme. The second book was set in January in New Hampshire, so I used <em>Frostbite. </em> Third novel, the one I finally got published, is about my protagonist trying to fit in with his family, and not really doing a good job of it. <em>Lead Poisoning. </em>I'm working on the fourth now, and I originally called it <em>Arrhythmia</em>, because he ends up with a broken heart at the end, but nobody likes that title, mostly because nobody can spell it. I'm considering <em>Hypothermia,</em> because this one is set in December in New Hampshire, but I don't know if that's too close to <em>Frostbite. </em>I'm also rapidly running out of these medical themes. </p>
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<p><a href="http://jeseymour.com" target="_blank">http://jeseymour.com</a></p> Debbie and Martin are correct…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2014-06-21:537324:Comment:3921792014-06-21T03:32:21.990ZJeanie Clemmenshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JeanieClemmens
<p>Debbie and Martin are correct. You can't copyright a book title. I'd still rather not duplicate, but I do't worry anout it if I do.</p>
<p>Debbie and Martin are correct. You can't copyright a book title. I'd still rather not duplicate, but I do't worry anout it if I do.</p> Yeah - kind of what I thought…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2014-06-20:537324:Comment:3921772014-06-20T18:34:47.989ZDebbie Bennetthttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DebbieBennett
<p>Yeah - kind of what I thought at the time! :-)</p>
<p>Yeah - kind of what I thought at the time! :-)</p> Eden is still in production,…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2014-06-20:537324:Comment:3919592014-06-20T17:58:25.446ZMartin Roy Hillhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/MartinRoyHill
<p>Eden is still in production, so no.</p>
<p>I think it would be hard to copyright the name Eden, unless you held the rights to the Bible. Since God didn't sue John Steinbeck when he published East of Eden, I don't think there's a problem. <g></p>
<p>Eden is still in production, so no.</p>
<p>I think it would be hard to copyright the name Eden, unless you held the rights to the Bible. Since God didn't sue John Steinbeck when he published East of Eden, I don't think there's a problem. <g></p> I'm curious about Eden. Have…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2014-06-20:537324:Comment:3920582014-06-20T17:43:28.516ZDebbie Bennetthttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DebbieBennett
<p>I'm curious about <em>Eden</em>. Have you had any problems? I know two other authors who have books with that title and both received emails from a third author claiming the title was "his" and he would sue them if they didn't change their title! No copyright in titles and it's utterly ridiculous, but I wondered if you'd had one too?</p>
<p>All my titles follow the Pied Piper theme. They all just seem to jump out at me so I've never really had a problem with them. There was another…</p>
<p>I'm curious about <em>Eden</em>. Have you had any problems? I know two other authors who have books with that title and both received emails from a third author claiming the title was "his" and he would sue them if they didn't change their title! No copyright in titles and it's utterly ridiculous, but I wondered if you'd had one too?</p>
<p>All my titles follow the Pied Piper theme. They all just seem to jump out at me so I've never really had a problem with them. There was another <em>Paying the Piper</em> that came out around the same time as mine, but I don't think it's ever been a problem.</p> Jeannie, my titles are:
The K…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2014-06-20:537324:Comment:3921732014-06-20T15:15:54.404ZMartin Roy Hillhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/MartinRoyHill
<p>Jeannie, my titles are:</p>
<p>The Killing Depths (serial killer aboard a sub)</p>
<p>Empty Places (murder myster set in Palm Springs)</p>
<p>Eden (sci-fi novella set in Iraq where scholars believe the Biblical Eden was located)</p>
<p>The Butcher's Bill (a follow up to The Killing Depths)</p>
<p>Polar Melt (a mystery thriller set in the Arctic Ocean)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's difficult to come up with titles that no one else has used. There are several books with "Empty Places" in the title.…</p>
<p>Jeannie, my titles are:</p>
<p>The Killing Depths (serial killer aboard a sub)</p>
<p>Empty Places (murder myster set in Palm Springs)</p>
<p>Eden (sci-fi novella set in Iraq where scholars believe the Biblical Eden was located)</p>
<p>The Butcher's Bill (a follow up to The Killing Depths)</p>
<p>Polar Melt (a mystery thriller set in the Arctic Ocean)</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It's difficult to come up with titles that no one else has used. There are several books with "Empty Places" in the title. Same with Eden. My first book is a short story collection with a military theme called Duty. I found many books with that title. Most recently, former US Defense Secretary Bob Gates named his memoirs Duty.</p> Titles can be difficult. I di…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2014-06-20:537324:Comment:3921672014-06-20T10:53:15.577ZJeanie Clemmenshttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JeanieClemmens
<p>Titles can be difficult. I discovered 10 books with the name <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Jigsaw</span> as my first book was named and at least one other <span style="text-decoration: underline;">No Substitute for Murder </span>with my second (changed 'no' to 'a'). I had someone pick from a list of titles I'd checked for duplications and he chose <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Something Fishy in Manhattan</span> for the third. </p>
<p>I like Debbie's comment about not…</p>
<p>Titles can be difficult. I discovered 10 books with the name <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Jigsaw</span> as my first book was named and at least one other <span style="text-decoration: underline;">No Substitute for Murder </span>with my second (changed 'no' to 'a'). I had someone pick from a list of titles I'd checked for duplications and he chose <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Something Fishy in Manhattan</span> for the third. </p>
<p>I like Debbie's comment about not just throwing 'dead' in the title and I like to give an indication that the the book is a murder or mystery. For my next three, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Mystery at Pima Point,</span> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Death in Sequence,</span> and <span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Numbered Cups Murder</span> (not sure about this - wanted to use Red Solo Cup - but it's a brand) I struggled with the titles. </p>
<p>Martin, It'd be great to hear what those titles are. </p> Do you find plot easier than…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2014-06-19:537324:Comment:3921642014-06-19T13:18:30.348ZSam Kinghttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/SamKing
<p>Do you find plot easier than characterization?</p>
<p>Do you find plot easier than characterization?</p> It's funny, this question sta…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2014-06-16:537324:Comment:3914622014-06-16T21:53:27.826ZMartin Roy Hillhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/MartinRoyHill
<p>It's funny, this question started me thinking back on how I came up with my titles. With my first novel, about a serial killer aboard a submarine, I tried several possible titles dealing with dying in the ocean depths before I came up the final title. With my second, about a murder in the desert playground of Palm Springs, I played with several titles that were descriptive of the desert environment. For my sci-fi novella, now in production, and the mystery thriller I'm writing right now, the…</p>
<p>It's funny, this question started me thinking back on how I came up with my titles. With my first novel, about a serial killer aboard a submarine, I tried several possible titles dealing with dying in the ocean depths before I came up the final title. With my second, about a murder in the desert playground of Palm Springs, I played with several titles that were descriptive of the desert environment. For my sci-fi novella, now in production, and the mystery thriller I'm writing right now, the names came almost simultaneously with the plot ideas. More than a year ago, I started plotting another thriller, but it bogged down. Then I read something about the melting of the polar ice cap and zing! A new title popped into my head and I changed the locale. Now the plotting is coming along nicely.</p>