I've been thinking a lot about titles this past week. There's a particular kind of title that I think almost has its own genre. Or brand. Or some sort of categorization because they all sound similar. And they're all just as intriguing.
The first one I heard about was "The Time Traveler's Wife". I thought it was a great title and it's on my to read list. Then I read this article in Publisher's Weekly about trend spotting, and one of the comments listed other books with similar title structure: The Zookeeper's Wife, The Memory Keeper's Daughter, and my favorite, The Grave Digger's Daughter.
I have to admit that if I had known about all of those books, I probably would have found the trend annoying. But it sat in my mind long enough as a unique thing that I still like it. (Note: I haven't read any of these, nor have I seen The Time Traveler's Wife movie. Based on what I've read in reviews I don't think I'll go see it. Too much nudity for me.)
Got a creative twist on the formula? I'm excited to hear what you might come up with. Post in the comments what might make an intriguing title with "The Special Person's Near-Relation".
My contributions:
The Hacker's Daughter
or
The Florist's Wife
I think one reason these titles seem so intriguing to me is in three or four words, it introduces two characters and a relationship between those characters. The relationship immediately sounds mysterious and worth reading about. It begs the question from my reader's mind, "What about the Hacker's Daughter? Why is this relationship important enough to be in a title? It must be adventurous."
Edited: Wow. I totally wrote this post and then read my regular blogs again, and found this post by Cindy. Hehe.
Yay! Your still alive and blogging! I was worried you abandoned us for a while there. :) -But that was all cleared up on Sunday. Whew!
ReplyDeleteAll of those books are now officially on my "to read" list. I've also wanted to see "The Time Traveler's Wife", but I don't think it is still in the theaters. Oh well, maybe I'll watch it online.
Have you read or seen Blindside? I thought you'd like that one. :)
Lol, now I see what you're talking about!
ReplyDeleteYeah, titles like this have never bothered me. Like you said, it kind of gives you something to go by. A sort of image in your mind already about what you can expect. But I don't know if I've EVER thought of using a title like this for one of my stories. Hmm..
Oh, and btw, I came up with "The Plumber's Second Cousin's Roommate"
ReplyDeleteThe Writers Woman. It could be a love affair with a totally fictional character. Like Secret Window (Stephen King), only without the animal killing.
ReplyDeleteCool post Reesha.
When I did my Q&A post last night I tagged a few people to play along with a post of their own. I knew I'd miss a few favorites, and this morning, here you are to remind me what a wonderful opportunity the post would be for us to get to know you better.
If you want I'll add you to the list of people tagged. Let me know.
..........dhole
This theme is simply matchless
ReplyDeleteHey Gracia. I like that title! I haven't read or seen the Blindside yet. Probably will in the near future.
ReplyDeleteCindy, maybe it could be a writing prompt when you're stuck? :)
Thanks, Donna. Unfortunately I read your comment too late to participate. But thanks for the invite anyway. I pretty much let everything go until after Christmas since I had a lot to prepare for.
Anonymous, thanks for stopping by! Feel free to de-lurk or continue lurking. You're choice. :)