One of the things I like most about having this weblog is coming up with interesting titles for each of my posts. In fact, I won't make a post if I don't have an interesting or appropriate title to go along with it and I have titles worked up that I've got no idea what post goes along with them yet. If the same held true for my fiction, I'd be in pretty good shape. Instead, though, I usually have to struggle hard to think of a title for a project. Even when the title comes easy (as it did with Wolf's Rain) there's usually a complication in there somewhere (Wolf's Rain is apparently also the title of an anime).
That brings us to my first novel, which I started re-reading last night to get ready for writing my second draft. I finished the first draft about four months ago, and I spent seven months writing the novel. So, in 11 months, I've got no clue what I'm calling the damn thing. Part of what I've tried to do with the novel is depart a bit from the traditional European fantasy novel, and that should hold true with the title, too. Your typical European fantasy novel has a title somewhere along the lines of the following:
The (noun/adjective) of the (noun)
I'm sure you can think of just a few titles that fit the scheme.
I thought I'd depart from the European stereotypes and go with something more Chinese in flavor, as my novel was more Chinese in flavor. So, I turned to the classic Chinese literature that influenced me and found the following:
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms
The Outlaws of the Marsh
The Journey to the West
The Dream of the Red Mansion
I tell you, sometimes you just can't win.
Comments (6)
Ha! Now you understand my difficulties naming DnD characters.
Incidentally, your first novel should be named "The Further Adventures of Sir Foxworthy Butterfiddle, Knight of the Hoopak."
Don't worry about a complete lack of Foxworthy in the 1st book. You can write him into the second.
Posted by Marc | November 19, 2003 10:31 AM
Posted on November 19, 2003 10:31
Some other suggestions:
My Very First Novel
How I kicked Lu Bu's Ass
Wu-Zha Madness (sp)
Zhang Fei: A Life in Pictures
Chicken Soup for the Disembodied Vengeful Warrior Soul
Pikeman! The Musical
Everybody Dies
The Amazing Adventures of Dr. Wu and His Incredible Dragon Circus Humidor
Hope that helps.
Posted by Erik (the roommate) | November 19, 2003 1:46 PM
Posted on November 19, 2003 13:46
Actually, Erik, I've often debated the "My Very First Novel" issue. I mean, half of the musicians out there seem to have self-titled albums. Why the hell can't authors get self-titled books?
The "real" answer, of course, is that books are supposed to be about something and the book's title is supposed to give you a clue as to what that is. Albums aren't necessarily about anything and therefore their titles are more poetry than anything else.
The trouble, really, is that the Chinese titles are a bit of both and finding the right balance (and the right bit of poetry) isn't easy.
Posted by Jason | November 19, 2003 3:43 PM
Posted on November 19, 2003 15:43
So just name it "My first Novel" in Chinese.
Who's gonna know?
I wouldn't mind reading more about Foxworthy. I was quite entertained by the tale of his ultimate demise.
Posted by Bekah | November 19, 2003 9:19 PM
Posted on November 19, 2003 21:19
Foxworthy's story is... very much outside of my literary interests.
To say nothing of the intellectual copyright problems involved in writing about a kender or something resembling one. ^_^
Oh, and I can't name it something in Chinese - it'd have trouble selling with a title like that. ^_^
Posted by Jason | November 19, 2003 10:26 PM
Posted on November 19, 2003 22:26
Yeah. Besides, Chinese is a phoenetic language anyway. Even if you did somehow write it out in english, you'd totally lose something in the translation. "My first novel" would end up being "my last suicide" or something.
Posted by Marc | November 20, 2003 5:19 PM
Posted on November 20, 2003 17:19