I tend to admire simplicity in most things, and that extends to writing. I have a feeling that I underdescribe when I write, which I hear can be a good thing, i.e. leave things to the reader's imagination. Even the characters in my book follow my philosophy, with the best people always preferring a plain pommel or scabbard, while bad guys may have more ornate styles.
The title of my book -- The Shard -- reflects my style. I like it the way it is. To me it reflects the tone of my story, that of down-to-earth realism. However, I always see books in the stores with far fancier titles, so I wonder if I shouldn't consider changing it? The fancier title that I am thinking about is 'The Shard of Kathkalan'.
Kathkalan was the greatest elven hero, who roamed across all the lands dressed all in black while performing great deeds. When a terrible black dragon destroyed the eastern parts of the realm, Kathkalan decided to slay the dragon. He took the shard (a minor magical relic which you can read about
here) with him into the mountain lair of the dragon and was never seen again.
Some clever bard decided to write a song that suggested that the elven hero Kathkalan, dressed all in black, entered the mountain, and came forth again as the black dragon Kathkalan. Thus, everyone began calling the dragon Kathkalan. This wasn't terribly pleasing to Kathkalan's lover, Alvanaria (who is a major character in my story), but that's another tale. Anyhow, I had to tell you this so you would understand that the name Kathkalan refers to both the elven hero and the black dragon that plays a large role in my book. Also, the shard does appear to belong to both Kathkalans, as it is assumed that the elf died at the hands of the dragon.
So, what do you think is a better title -- 'The Shard' or 'The Shard of Kathkalan'?
Posts
The Shard - simple, strong, and easy to remember.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alex. I thought up this post because a couple of critters mentioned that my title was 'boring'.
ReplyDeleteI like The Shard. Simple. Your description of the other one, while informative, not so simple, which makes the longer title less simple. And suppose the shard comes into possession of someone else? Then does it not become that person's shard?
ReplyDeleteIt turns out that the shard never left the elf's possession. Our heroes find it on his body. You know how when some famous item has long been associated with some famous person? It ends up being called their item no matter how many other people eventually own it.
ReplyDeletedah! TED don't give up spoilers of the end!!! :)
ReplyDeletei vote for THE SHARD. i think this would appeal to those not so used to the genre of fantasy, AND those who are.
I like The Shard, it invokes an image of glass. But I think I like The Shard of Kathkalan better. It has a story behind it, who did it belong to, where did it come from, what is it. You know.
ReplyDeleteI vote for The Shard of Kathkalan, too. It portrays the genre of the work and, as Piedmont says, tell us that there is a story about it. It makes the reader want to know that story.
ReplyDeleteI like The Shard as a title, but it implies a different type of story to me. Perhaps something by Ayn Rand.
Ted,
ReplyDeleteI like simplicity as well. Voting for The Shard.
(My title is MYTH-- sweet and simple)
Your WIP sounds awesome! Best of luck
This is so interesting to me, as I am about to page 200 in your book and I've MET Alvanaria and heard whispers of her disappeared lover. I think you hit the descriptive level just about right, since the plot is very complex (simple plots can handle more despcription, complicated ones, not so much)
ReplyDeleteOn the TITLE--as adult fantasy, I think The Shard is better. If you ever decided to market it more toward youth, the longer one seems more appealing.
I'll have to get back to you when I'm done with it but my initial reaction is that more specificity is better. The Shard is a strong, broad title (like WM, which Simon thinks I should put a The in front of) but I think your genre is already pretty specific and I think The Shard (unless the cover clarifies things) might be a little ambiguous.
ReplyDeletePlus that's a pretty awesome name for a (2) character(s). Second only to the likes of Gil-Galad, Earendil, Ecthelion, Glorfindel, ... Luthien and so forth. I'd say that puts you in pretty good company.
ReplyDeleteThe Shard.
ReplyDeleteFar and away. :)
bru
I'll go with The Shard, too. I atually tend to like longer titles, but I'm not keen on fictional words in them. I mean, once I start reading the story, and learning some of this background, the Kathkalan title will seem interesting and appropriate. But simply stumbling on it in a bookstore? It doesn't really mean anything to me. And I'm a big sucker for titles; it's a title that will draw me to pick a book off a shelf. I try to think of titles with that in mind. I want something evocative that engages me. The Kathkalan title, I suppose, might make some readers curious to find out what or who Kathkalan is... but mostly it's just an empty word for me at this point. I usually want a title to invite me into a story - the title is the first thing I come across, usually, looking at the spine of a book on the shelf.
ReplyDeleteThat was all very wordy. Sorry. :)
The Shard. I'm all for Short, Sweet, Simple. Also, what Bryan said.
ReplyDeleteThere is something else you might want to consider. When you put a name in the title, you flag it. Your readers will be on the lookout for it and will pay more attention to anything that concerns the place or character.
Depending on how your plot is built, this may be a good or a bad thing. Just think about it when you make your pick.
Thanks everyone! I think the answers reflect what is true about the general population. Some really like more flowery titles while others like simple ones. I don't think there is a way to win this, so if I'm ever lucky enough to get an agent or publisher, they'll let me know what they think.
ReplyDeleteI like the "...of Kathkalan" version, sounds a little grander. But my preference is to the understated too.
ReplyDelete"Shard of Kathkalan" seems more descriptive to me. "The Shard" feels kind of generic and can be applied to any genre. At least the longer name gives you a hint of what you're in for.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd go with "The Shard of Kathkalan" because it's more description. As far as titles go, it's still short. If you want short, short, I'd go with just "Shard".
ReplyDelete