What's harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names?
By far (at least for me), it's harder to come up with a book title. Usually, I agonize over it. Then I google it to see what other kinds of things might come up in a search. I look to see if there's strange search results, etc. As for character names, these just seem to flow more naturally from my head. But I have no idea if any of the character names I came up with over the years really irritate anyone out there. And it's my opinion that character names rarely have the same kind of impact as a book title does with regard to any bottom line considerations.
Any of you out there in disagreement? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. :)
Nope, I totally agree. And smart to do a search for it.
ReplyDeleteTrue dat.
ReplyDeleteTitles are easier for me. A lot easier.
ReplyDeleteNames both can't be too generic or to weird; finding that balance for me is difficult.
Then, maybe, I put too much emphasis on my character's names, but they all mean something, so I'm okay with that.
I really hate coming up with names. I obsess over them to make sure they fit the character then make sure they're distinct enough from other characters to not confuse the reader. Book titles are certainly more important in the grand scheme but they usually come to me organically during the writing process.
ReplyDeleteTitles are much easier for me. But then, I probably overthink the names.
ReplyDeleteSo far, all the blogs I've seen agree with you. As do I. Perhaps the fact that I follow more people with title issues might say something about who I follow...
ReplyDeleteI've searched for a couple authors' book titles on Amazon and am surprised by how many exact or very similar titles pop up. Which means these authors didn't do a similar search,which ain't smart.
ReplyDeleteNames can mean so much. Did you know Margaret Mitchel was going to name Scarlet O'Hara Pansy instead. Now there's a name with no heft or resonance!
I definitely prefer Scarlet O'Hara.
DeleteSo far I've loved your character names. Mine come easily to me. The title can take all the way to the story being published; there has to be a title to submit it, lol.
ReplyDeleteThanks! That's a nice thing to say.
DeleteI agree. Titles are WAY more difficult.
ReplyDelete