Writing Tips and Reviews

Creating A Title

Now admittedly, I wish the Yukiohara titles all shared one title, but this is me we're talking about and I don't find out about stuff like this until much later. Let's just claim I'm doing something similar to the Marvel and DC creators and leave it at that.

Your title should always have a connection to the story. Something like "the magic book" would work if the story revolves, or at least features, a magic book. If it doesn't, then you've failed. Titles don't need to be eye catching or extremely long to be good, their purpose is to be an introduction of sorts. It's the beginning of what the reader is in for. Most of the time people say "don't judge a book by its title." Which is true. A story can be really good with the stupidest title. Or can have a good title but be really stupid. Depends on your preference.

If you're creating a story, fan fiction or otherwise, you need a title. My fan fiction "Tales of Zestiria: The World Beyond" features the Zestiria cast and those from another world, the Wonders of Mysteria cast, and some from another fan fiction, Vanessa's. It's a mix of many stories into one, but one arc is about the two worlds. So, the World Beyond. Tales of Zestiria itself comes from the Tales series (so starts with Tales of) and Zestiria comes from "zest." You can make connections yourself.

Wonders of Mysteria.

Wonder: a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable.

Mysteria: Mystery or the plural of mysterium, Any of various unknown elements thought to make up existing forms of matter, or a substance seen as an elemental or pure form of something else.

The names connect to the characters and story for both the Yukiohara series and the Tales series.

But what about western titles? Game of Thrones. A "game" of thrones, the families all fighting for the iron throne. Most cartoons go by the protagonist's first name, some books do the same. Romeo and Juliet, Faust, Antigone. All are connected to the story. All depend on the creator. These titles are different than those of the eastern titles. While titles like the ones Japanese games use, looking at you Hortensia saga, are made up words or a combination to give a Fantasy like feeling. Western titles are mostly grounded in reality, fantasy or not. This is just what I've seen of course.

No matter the type of title you want, it should be connected to the story and characters. It can be a made up word, a unique combination of words, maybe with one or all made up, or the protagonist's first name. It's an open book so as to say, you can do whatever you want with the only restriction of it having to be connected. If the title doesn't connect, then that's misleading. Maybe for comedy or satire, but I don't see it often. Even the worst of writers I know still make titles that connect to the story and characters. No matter how bad everything else is, the title is decent.

The more creative your title is, the better it will be for those looking it up. I admit Tales of Eylisia and Crystal of Fantasia (see what I mean when I say they don't share one main title?) can't easily be found since the third word is a real word or an easy play on a real word. Wonders of Mysteria and Ascensions of Celestia somehow escaped that. I guess combination was unique enough. I do want use completely made up names for my series going on. (Just looked up each of my series titles, only Eylisia and Fantasia don't show up first. Interesting. Crest of Aspira is just fine though. Don't know how that one got away.)