Insert Title Here
I love choosing titles.
My process is a bit wonky. They rarely come to me off the top of my head. I never know (except with a draft of something I’m working on called The Conspirators) what the title will be as I dive in.
My first book, When One Man Dies, was originally called Promises to Keep which really thrilled 8th grade me and my rudimentary knowledge of American poetry. But while it worked thematically it felt a bit… generic. Everyone knew “The Road Not Taken” and everyone knew the promises to keep line, so it felt… done already. I talked with my agent at the time as he was reading the draft and thought with should go with something from Donne, John Donne. We went with “When one man dies, a chapter is not torn out of a book, but translated into a better language.” It fit and it stood out.
My next books followed suit. Never had the title beforehand and had to start googling quotes.
So that’s what I do now. I don’t worry myself with a quote until I have a theme or character motivation. And then I google “Shakespeare quotes on drugs” for example. The initial title for the draft I’m working on was With a Kiss, I Die, the quote from Romeo and Juliet.
But, as I described in a previous newsletter*, I had to scrap that entire idea and draft. And then the title didn’t work anymore.
There I was last night, sitting on my couch, googling quotes. Quotes on death. Quotes on blood. Quotes on murder. I finally found a Shakespeare quote I really, really love that I think I’m using. It’s from King John, but I am hesitant to share more right now—until I really have it locked in stone.
Therefore, that’s my title process. If you’re a writer, I wonder how you do it. If you’re a reader, I definitely wonder what attracts you to a title. I spent this morning texting my non-writer friends for their opinions and 90% of them settled on the title I ended up choosing.
Maybe it’s catchy!
What I’m Into
I am really digging the podcast The Spiel right now. It’s a podcast by the guys who ran the Kingcast pod and it’s essentially the same thing—only this time it’s about the works of Steven Spielberg. Every episode is a fun deep dive into a movie he directed, wrote or produced. I am hooked. If you know me, you’ll know I’m a huge Spielberg fan—this is right up my alley.
In fact, if any of you have connections to Eric Vespe, please tell him I want to be a guest and talk about Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade—my all time favorite movie. I’m manifesting this—I really want it to happen!
Give the pod a listen.
*Marvel Style footnote: Go back and check out the “Been a While” ish for the full story. -Ed.