I was cleaning today and found an old list of possible titles I jotted down for what became The Start of the Majestic World.Here they are:
Thuban AM
Siege Mentality
Civilization Under Threat
Classicism and Decadence
Equally Jests
Concerning the Cancellation of Thuban AM
Upon What Meat?
Re-reading this, it’s clear to me that I made the right decision. Note that the last title on the list is from the same scene in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar that includes the phrase “the start of the majestic world”, which gives you some insight into how titles get selected.
Most are either quotes alluding to something else (I would have used the full quote for the epigraph), or else random things I thought sounded good. But yeah, none of them “fit”.
Coming up with a good title is very hard. It seems to be best if you can get a formula for titles and stick to it. For example, George R.R. Martin’s books are often “A [Y] of [X]”. Tom Clancy’s titles were usually two or three memorable words.
"[G]reat descriptions, sympathetic characters... The atmosphere with the hint of the supernatural…"-Barb Knowles of saneteachers.wordpress.com on "The Start of the Majestic World"
It’s a good title, the others don’t convey the meaning of your work.
Most are either quotes alluding to something else (I would have used the full quote for the epigraph), or else random things I thought sounded good. But yeah, none of them “fit”.
Coming up with a good title is very hard. It seems to be best if you can get a formula for titles and stick to it. For example, George R.R. Martin’s books are often “A [Y] of [X]”. Tom Clancy’s titles were usually two or three memorable words.