… Not the post–no, “untitled” is the title of the post, since I am bemoaning the subject–but the novel. After more than two and a half years, I still don’t have a title for my book. I’m nearing the end; I’m starting to think about beta readers and query letters and literary agent submissions.
I kinda need a title.
I’ve always had problems with titles. The pressure to find just the right moniker seems daunting. The title has to not only reflect what the novel is about, but it has to be unique, original and eye/ear-catching. It can’t be too common to get mixed up with other books of a similar name, nor too obtuse that no one–potential readers, especially–will understand it.
I started with Death Wish. That’s when all I knew of Lyra is that she had super cells–in my very first incarnation, she had always known she’s had them, and therefore always pushes herself to the limit–trying to find her limit. But my focus shifted over time; that’s not who Lyra is these days.
I have been banging my head against the proverbial brick wall ever since. My working title is the none-too-original name of the protagonist, Lyra. It worked for Shakespeare with Macbeth and Hamlet, but then, he was Shakespeare. But maybe the name Lyra is not common enough that it could actually work. But does it say anything else about the book besides that it’s named after the protagonist?
I think of the titles of books I teach. To Kill a Mockingbird is an insightful, lyrical, perfect title for a book about the symbols of innocence and the themes that illustrate the dangers of prejudice. The Great Gatsby, like the Shakespeare plays, is also named after a main character, but Gatsby isn’t the protagonist and the narrator’s perspective of Jay Gatsby–that, despite all his flaws, he turns out to be the most genuine, hopeful person in the novel–goes a long way in understand the novel’s themes about the illusion of the American Dream. I think of The Book of Negroes, a title based on a real historical document that caused controversy for its author Lawrence Hill, who had to change it to Someone Knows my Name in the American market to address cultural and racial sensitivities.
The power of a title.
So I think, what is my book about? Who is my character? I have answers (accepting religious differences without fear; an insular girl, the product of her culture, who learns more about the complexities of the world through intense circumstances), but how do I get a snappy, attention-grabbing title out of that? My story deals with religion; Lyra is asked to save the world. The Saviour or other derivatives came to mind, that’s too overtly religious.
Recently, my daughter traced a gorgeous drawing of a phoenix. That got me thinking: a creature who rises from the ashes, reborn anew. That may describe Lyra, who can survive the impossible. She rises up–literally–from the ashes and debris of her bombed out school. Yet nowhere have I referred to Lyra as a phoenix. It’s possible I can go back and add in clues, but even still, what would I do with “phoenix”? That word alone is too common. (And, for us Canadians whose lives are affected by the new, dysfunctional federal government public service payroll service, the name “phoenix” has anything but positive connotations).
So Lyra’s story remains unnamed for now. When my YA masterpiece hits the shelves and is flying off said shelves, however, then you’ll know I’ve cracked that nut.
“Nut”, “Nut”… Hmm…
Nope.
I got nothin’.