Looking at the list of Hugo Award winners and nominees shows why titles matter to stories. Right off the bat, let me point you at a piece of evidence more compelling than any argument I could muster: the list of short story Hugo winners on Wikipedia. Look at that first one, Eric Frank Russell’s winning “Allamagoosa” in 1955, starting us off with a quirky bang. It’s worth going through that list to see how consistent the quality of the titles is.
Arthur C. Clarke’s “The Star” (winner in 1956) actually violates what I tell my students. It’s the sort of name, an article and common noun, devoid of verb that I would circle on a paper. But it’s such a classic story of its time, shamelessly yanking out every emotional stop, and so it’s pretty easy to see why it was that year’s winner.
Past that, others bear out my thesis. Avram Davidson’s “Or All The Sea With Oysters” (winner in 1958) is a stylish killer of a title, carrying a whiff of Caroll-esque steampunk long before its time. Robert Bloch – “That Hellbound Train” (winner in 1959) (What train, the reader wonders, what is it like, who are its riders?); Anton Lee Baker – “They’ve Been Working On…” (nominee in 1959) (Who are they? What are they working on, and why does the author give us that trailing off, that textual pause of the …?); Alfred Bester – “The Men Who Murdered Mohammed” (nominee in 1959) (Murder’s a sinewy lump of a word that sometimes overpowers the rest of the title, but here it’s effective as can be.); Algis Budrys – “The Edge of the Sea” (nominee in 1959) ( plain language in a poetic construction, which manages to pull it off given that Bester is usually a guarantee of decent quality that will justify it); C.M. Kornbluth – “The Advent on Channel Twelve” and “Theory of Rocketry” (both nominees in 1959) (simple but powerful); and then Fritz Leiber’s audacious and (imo) funny as hell “Rump-Titty-Titty-Tum_Tah-Tee” (nominee in 1959).
Look at the more recent stuff if you don’t have time to delve lovingly through that list (which I think would be a useful exercise for any writer, I plan on doing it myself), which continues to support my claim. There’s Michael Swanwick’s “The Very Pulse of the Machine” (winner in 1999), “Scherzo with Tyrannosaur” (winner in 2000) and “The Dog Said Bow-Wow” (winner in 2002), David Langford’s “Different Kinds of Darkness” (winner in 2001), Neil Gaiman’s “A Study in Emerald” (winner in 2004), David Levine’s “Tk’tk’tk” (winner in 2006), Elizabeth Bear’s “Tideline” (winner in 2008) (short and sweet and powerful), Ted Chiang’s “Exhalation” (winner in 2009), and most recently Will McIntosh’s “Bridesicle” (winner in 2010).
The writer can’t afford to throw away the possibilities of the title, there’s just too much chance to set the hook in the reader there with the right cast. Make your lure beautiful, jingly with poetic principles, flashy or intricate or if you’re among the most daring, something so simple and beautiful in its form that it’s irresistible. Load it with the sensory or weight it with muscular verbs, but make it pull the reader in so your first three paragraphs can render them helpless and absorbed and yours for the story.
A title’s often the last thing I add to a story in completing it. I may go hunting through books of poetry to find something suitable, or listen to song lyrics, or even just daydream about verbs. I may comb through the piece looking for images or particularly lovely lines, particularly ones that occur in moments of high tension, revelation, or in the last few paragraphs.
What’s your favorite title – either your own or someone else’s?
One of my SF titles, “Touching from a Distance,” came from the lyrics of a song that was very inspirational to the work itself (“Transmission” by Joy Division). I think it’s pretty simple, but has a nice poetic ring to it, as well.
In recent memory, my favorite titles are probably “I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno” by Vylar Kaftan — definitely hooked me with that one — and Joe Hill’s “You Will Hear the Locust Sing.”
Great titles, like a great opening paragraph, throw questions at the reader; those questions serve as the hook. When I was still a member of Critters, at least one reader told me that they chose to critique my story solely because she liked the title — so yes, they’re very important.
“Vaster Than Empires and More Slow” – title of an Ursula K. Le Guin sci-fi stands out. So does “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “A River Runs Through It.” What’s the ‘it’? Ah, so hooky.
I’m terrible at titles myself. And I’ve not yet found great advice on selecting them, so thanks for providing your insights!
I think they’re hard to do, and one of the reasons it’s useful for writers to learn something about poetry. I jot down ones that occur to me whenever they appear. I find if I harvest them that way they tend to keep growing back in new forms.
I love “That Hellbound Train” as a title. And “Vaster Than Empires and More Slow” is even better.
I think my favorite title of my own is “Scatter and Return, the Eyes of the Princess”. Partially because it took me a longer time and more work to come up with than any other title. I started off with something really boring like “The Princess and the Golem” and kept trying out different variations like “Heart of a Golem, Eyes of a Princess”.
I think both of my published book titles: “Discarded Faces” (dystopian sci-fi) and “Mistress of the Topaz” (epic fantasy based on Middle Eastern culture) are good titles. I thought long and hard about them, especially the first.
My favorite title of a short story that I’ve written is “The Ruin Of Avalon” because it’s not only evocative, but as you read the story you realize that the title has at least three equally valid meanings…
There Will Come a Hard Rain by Ray Bradbury, and a title by Harlan Ellison I wish I could use as the final line in one of my own stories, I Have No Mouth but I Must Scream.
Also, a story I sold in 2000 to Dark regions: “A Gift for the Chosen” was not the first choice. The original was “Shades ad Shadows”. The editor suggested I try others. That was about the fifth effort.
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Playing at Being Motivated: Habitica for Writers
One thing that was fascinating about this year’s Nebulas was the chance to meet so many people in the publishing industry, including a couple of the founders of Habitica, Vicky Hsu and Siena Leslie, who were on a panel about avoiding distractions – a key skill for a writer.
Habitica is a motivational game. It lets you gamify your daily tasks and to-do list, turning them into challenges you face in the game. As you complete tasks, you gain levels and items in the game, giving you an extra push to get things done. You can also set it up so you lose points for doing things, if there’s habits you want to avoid. There’s a social aspect; you can join parties and guilds in order to share your progress with friends.
I am always on a quest for a method that will help me stay organized. Various systems have come and gone, some more successful than others, and I’ve learned a few things about how to make such systems more effective. As I share how I am using Habitica, I’ll include some insight into how that knowledge shapes that use. I’ve been logging into it consistently for two weeks now, and I believe it’s going to stick, because I’m finding it very effective for a) nudging me to do things, b) helping me remember stuff, and c) motivating me to use free time and options (like snacks) better.
Core Component: Dailies, Habits, and To-dos
The key to Habitica is its tasks, which fall into three categories: dailies, habits, and todos.
Dailies are a key component. For people familiar with MMORPGs, this concept will be very familiar. They are things you can do once a day that earn you experience. These are effective because “” for me at least “” I get more done doing small chunks consistently than with sporadic sustained bursts. For example, someone learning to play a musical instrument is going to do better with shorter, more frequent practice sessions than one long sustained session. You can get complicated with dailies, but the only things I actually use much is difficulty settings (trivial/easy/medium/hard). The harder the task, the more experience /gold it yields. And they are mandatory – if you miss a daily, you lose hit points.
Here’s my dailies:
Checking the calendar and planning my day. This means looking at the calendar on my PC as well as Google calendars for the various roles I’m currently juggling. One reason I’ve implemented this is that in the last half year I’ve missed a bunch of stuff because I wasn’t in the habit of doing this. With it as a morning task, it’s something I can do quickly and get checked off. This is probably one of the smartest habits anyone can get into, and so making it a regular part of my memory makes me much more effective.
Writing. My goal of 2000 words is set to HARD difficulty level because it’s a top priority plus, well, it’s hard. At the same time I’ve got an accompanying habit set up as trivial: 250 words. Each time I get a chunk of words done, therefore, I can achieve a pellet’s worth of gratification without feeling like I’m padding my count too much, and build towards (hopefully) being able to check off that 2k word goal. This also means even if I don’t hit my goal, I do get some reward for getting partway toward it. This was originally 500 word chunks, which wasn’t as effective was I’d hoped, so I’ve changed it to 250 words. This is much more doable, and is an example of how you can “chunk” your work in order to make it more manageable. I’m more likely to sit down and knock off a few hundred words than 2,000 in one sitting. Doing it this way means I have some reward for my effort even on days when I don’t hit the 2k target, while I have additional reason to hit that goal (and even some to go past it.)
Basic self care stuff. People suffering from depression know that it’s easy to mope around and forget to do some of the stuff that will help you feel better, like food, showers, and getting out into the sunlight. I’ve got one task here, easy level, with the basics that I must hit as a checklist. I’ve pulled out “Take my medicine” as a solo easy level task because this is something I am perpetually bad about and I really want to get on the stick about it. This has been surprisingly successful.
30 minutes of housework. Like the words, I’ve split this into smaller chunks, because I am much more likely to go work in the kitchen for 5-10 minutes if I can get some points for it, and thus I pick away at the overall task. As I continue fine-tuning this, I may add a checklist that will remind me to do quick decluttering sweeps and anything else that really should get done every day, but since the house is usually pretty clean, it’s just a matter of staying on top of it. Can I run the household effectively on 3.5 hours a week? Undoubtedly not and I’ll end up putting in two or three times that, but this means that I keep on top of things on a daily basis.
Exercise. Each of the components of my routine is a separate task, medium level, which I think I will drop to easy at some point. Mainly I want to make sure I get my daily walk in, do some stretches (Steven Barnes turned me onto this great book), and a little strength training, because I am a big wimp, and would like to be less of one.
Self-improvement, mainly 10 minutes of language drill each in Spanish and Mandarin. I know from experience that doing it daily will work while cramming isn’t particularly effective (or likely). At the same time extra practice set up as habits in order to encourage me to do more than the basic daily allotment if there’s time. I use Duolingo for Spanish drill, combined with reading fiction in Spanish; for Mandarin, I’ve got Rocket Chinese and an iPad game. And an additional 10 minutes of practicing at something to build my dexterity.
Something outside my comfort zone. This doesn’t have to be big, although the recent shark cage dive was definitely a good example. But it can mean initiating an interaction I’ve been avoiding. It does have to be outside my normal comfort zone, though. For example, while smiling at or saying hi to a stranger might be a good one for my shyer friends, it’s something I do anyway. Pick things that you need to be reminded to do.
Habits are things you should do more but a, don’t necessarily need to do every day and b, might do more than once. For example, here’s some of mine:
Eat a fruit/vegetable. This makes me more likely to grab a healthy snack rather than chips or candy.
Promotional tasks. I’ve got reminders to promote my Patreon, the Rambo Academy, and my live classes. This nudges me to be better about tweeting, posting on FB, and other social media venues.
50 pages of nonfiction reading. This nudges me to get through a particular section of my to-be-read pile and not just read novels.
The aforementioned 250 words written (this must be fiction), which kicks me to be productive even after I’ve knocked off my requisite 2,000.
I’ve included some other tasks to encourage me to do them on a regular basis, such as posting for Patreon supporters, clearing emails, sending out submissions, editing 50 pages, etc.
Watching television is a negative habit (because I want to trim down on how much I watch), so each half hour costs me experience and points.
Todos are one-time tasks. This functions for me as a combo of todo list plus kick in the butt to get those items knocked off the list. Right now the list has a couple of appointments I need to make (due by the end of this week), two manuscripts I should read, a blurb to write, and several SFWA projects that I need to nudge along. One of the habits I’m working at is, when looking at an e-mail, either answering it immediately or turning it into a todo here that has an expiration date. This does nothing to address the pile of past todos, but one useful to-do, due Sunday evening, is looking over the week to come and setting up todos for things that I want to get accomplished that that week that aren’t already covered by a daily, habit, or existing to-do.
Why Habitica Works For Me
First and foremost, it’s a game, and I am a game addict. Gamify just about anything and I’m there. Habitica has random little rewards as well as reward for steady effort, set up in an addictive and gratifying way. It’s fun. Because I’m at the keyboard so much, Habitica is easy to access, but even when I’m not, there’s a mobile app that I’ve installed on my phone.
The game rewards me with coins that I can spend in the game or that I can spend outside the game on rewards I’ve decided for myself, such as buying a new book, which costs me ten gold on Habitica.
It also gets me to create reminders to myself in the form of todos, as well as provides options for odd moments. Since I work at home, I often get up and roam around the apartment, thinking about a story. Habitica encourages me to spend that time in the kitchen doing 5 minutes worth of tidying up, or taking a break for language drill.
There’s a strong social aspect to Habitica, including being able to group up with people and undertake quests in order to find additional items and pets. This encourages accountability; one of the things I’ve found about these systems is that if you know other people can see your progress (or lack thereof), you are more likely to follow through.
One thing I’ve been cautious about is overloading the game and tracking everything obsessively. So each week, as part of that planning session, I look to see if there’s anything I’m not doing. If so, do I need to make the reward greater? Or should I just remove it from my slate if it’s something optional? After that, I can add one, and only one, thing. This week I’ve thinking I’ll add a habit of taking a book or three out with me on walks in order to put them in some of the local Little Free Libraries; that will encourage me to do some mild decluttering and to work through my massive physical To-be-read pile.
Is Habitica going to work for everyone? Obviously no solution fits all. I’ve found it effective, and people with the same flaws I have (distractible, forgetful, and prone to procrastination) may do so as well. If you do and you’re an F&SF writer, there’s an Inkslingers Guild on there that’s fun, run by Mary Robinette Kowal. And feel free to let me know if you’re there so I can invite you to join my party – right now Sandra and I are questing to kill the Feral Dust Bunnies.
Sometimes what feels like a sledgehammer blow of information to the writer may be just a gentle tap for the reader.One of the things we spend some time on in the Writing F&SF class is how to explain things to the reader. As part of this, I usually give them the Expository Lump exercise from Ursula LeGuin’s excellent book on writing, Steering the Craft.
Many of us know the term “infodump,” where a whooooole bunch of information necessary for understanding the story gets thrown at the reader, sometimes in the form of dialogue, sometimes outright chunks of books, or some other form. We want to avoid these because they’re usually dry and a little boring, and because they put readers off.
But at the same time, there is information we -need- for readers to know. And sometimes we may not realize it. If we don’t give it, then events may seem unlikely or heavy-handed or even incomprehensible.
I’ve been reworking a novel for the final time, and one thing I’ve realized in doing it is that the progression of scenes in the last section is not clear. I needed to spend more time being clear that the characters were moving from one place to another so readers could understand where they ended up. And I’d been coy about it, to the point where the reader just wasn’t getting that information.
This is where getting someone else to read a piece is crucial. Because that progression is so clear in the writer’s head that we cannot perceive what’s missing for the reader. One of the most important questions you can ask a reader is “What questions did this leave you with?” or “What didn’t you understand?” Because it’s just as easy to be too subtle — perhaps even easier — than to be overt, since what feels very obvious to you may not be a fraction as apparent to your reader.
And holy cow, how is it that in this version, which I had sent out to my agent already, that I found this on one page: “(insert description later)”? ARGH.
16 Responses
One of my SF titles, “Touching from a Distance,” came from the lyrics of a song that was very inspirational to the work itself (“Transmission” by Joy Division). I think it’s pretty simple, but has a nice poetic ring to it, as well.
In recent memory, my favorite titles are probably “I’m Alive, I Love You, I’ll See You in Reno” by Vylar Kaftan — definitely hooked me with that one — and Joe Hill’s “You Will Hear the Locust Sing.”
Great titles, like a great opening paragraph, throw questions at the reader; those questions serve as the hook. When I was still a member of Critters, at least one reader told me that they chose to critique my story solely because she liked the title — so yes, they’re very important.
Favorite of mine: “The Vessel Never Asks For More Wine”
Favorite title (Harlan Ellison): “The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore”
“Vaster Than Empires and More Slow” – title of an Ursula K. Le Guin sci-fi stands out. So does “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “A River Runs Through It.” What’s the ‘it’? Ah, so hooky.
I’m terrible at titles myself. And I’ve not yet found great advice on selecting them, so thanks for providing your insights!
I think they’re hard to do, and one of the reasons it’s useful for writers to learn something about poetry. I jot down ones that occur to me whenever they appear. I find if I harvest them that way they tend to keep growing back in new forms.
I love “That Hellbound Train” as a title. And “Vaster Than Empires and More Slow” is even better.
I think my favorite title of my own is “Scatter and Return, the Eyes of the Princess”. Partially because it took me a longer time and more work to come up with than any other title. I started off with something really boring like “The Princess and the Golem” and kept trying out different variations like “Heart of a Golem, Eyes of a Princess”.
I think both of my published book titles: “Discarded Faces” (dystopian sci-fi) and “Mistress of the Topaz” (epic fantasy based on Middle Eastern culture) are good titles. I thought long and hard about them, especially the first.
My favorite title of a short story that I’ve written is “The Ruin Of Avalon” because it’s not only evocative, but as you read the story you realize that the title has at least three equally valid meanings…
Andre Norton’s “The Stars Are Ours” seized my imagination when I was a kid. For my own titles, I’d say “A Kiss For Damocles” (WiP) is my favorite.
There Will Come a Hard Rain by Ray Bradbury, and a title by Harlan Ellison I wish I could use as the final line in one of my own stories, I Have No Mouth but I Must Scream.
Also, a story I sold in 2000 to Dark regions: “A Gift for the Chosen” was not the first choice. The original was “Shades ad Shadows”. The editor suggested I try others. That was about the fifth effort.