Writers in the Storm

By Margie Lawson

Titles may make books bestsellers or doom them to be shelf-dwellers.

Aack! Feeling the pressure to create a winning title?

I’m here to help. I’ll cover:

• What Could Sabotage Your Title?
• Titles and Traditional Publishing
• The Evolution of a Title
• Margie’s Top Six Tips for a Selling Title
• Two Stories of Before and After Titles
• The Challenge of One-Word Titles
• The Power of Linking Series Titles

What Could Sabotage Your Title? The Great Oz Effect

I deal with this effect when I’m deep editing with authors on Zoom. It’s that all-too-common dynamic of a writer having a tough time separating all they know about their story from what little the reader knows. Sometimes motivations and explanations are missing.

You know evvv-ry-thing about your book. You may think your working title is OMG perfect. And it is, for you.

You’re the Great Oz, an omniscient Oz for your book, and your title may elicit amazing associations for you related to your story.

Critique buddies may love the title. They’re godparents for your book. They know too much too.

But for readers who don’t know the story, the title just sits there like a bullfrog on a stack of pancakes. Not enticing.

How’s that for a clear visual?

Titles and Traditional Publishing

If you’re pursuing traditional publishing, you know the publisher chooses your title. But if you give them a great one, or several strong options, a title you created may stick.

Plus – If you’re pitching to an agent or editor, you want to wow them with everything they read. Right? Give them an amazing title. If they keep it, fabulous. If not, you’ve still impressed them.

The Evolution of a Title

I asked Jenny Hansen what title she came up with for her book about a nun whose sister ran a medical clinic for sex workers. Here’s what she sent me.

We were all in Immersion up on your mountain and I mentioned that I usually just called it The Nun Book in my head because titles give me the hives. I had A Sister in Need in the wings, but I didn't really love it. We'd already critiqued my work and the consensus was that the madcap funny-factor wasn't in evidence with the current title, and my Immersion sisters started throwing things out while I scribbled as fast as I could.

We wanted four words and we wanted to show the funny. And when we started throwing out the weirdness, that's when this one came up, about 15 titles in: Rosaries Make Bad Thongs. I can't remember if it was Tiffany, or me, or someone else, but I remember saying, "It's too bad we can't use that one," because I LOVED it.

Fast-forward a few years of having used A Sister in Need and I was still haunted by it, so I recently decided to change it. I like that the nun’s book could be Rosaries Make Bad Thongs and Thea's story could be Mamas Make Bad Matchmakers.

The first working title, A Sister in Need, could be a sweet story about a woman who helped her sister get through cancer. Rosaries Make Bad Thongs sounds in-your-face funny with a wacky Catholic twist.

Margie’s Top Six Tips for a Selling Title

This isn’t a check-every-item list. If your title hits several of these points, you’re good.

That said, I think every title needs to include the first three: Captures Attention, Shares a Truth, Carries a Compelling Cadence.

1. Captures Attention

How? Any way that makes sense for you. Unique. Power words. Play on words. Humor hits. A rhetorical device. A spoof. Cliché twist. Incongruous. Other ideas.

Jenny Hansen’s working title -- Rosaries Make Bad Thongs – captures attention, has power words, slams you with humor, carries a compelling cadence, and it’s incongruous. And it shares a truth too, in a makes-you-snicker way.

Here are some titles that captured my attention lately.

• I Speak Boy
• The Evaporation of Sofie Snow
• A Madness So Discreet
• The Sometimes of Second Chances

On the funny, punny side:

• The Five Grannies Go to the Ball
• The Day the Roomba Died
• The Fetch Connection
• To Have and to Howl
• The Rogue Not Taken
• Still Knife Painting
• Live and Let Chai
• A Scot in the Dark
• Tequila Mockingbird

2. Shares a Truth

These titles by Immersion Grads share a truth about the book.

• The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin
• Wild Women and the Blues by Denny S. Bryce
• The Marriage Lie by Kimberly Belle
• Stranger in the Lake by Kimberly Belle
• Island Queen by Vanessa Riley
• This Heart of Mine by C.C. Hunter
• Lovers & Monsters by Lashell Collins
• The Darkest Lie by Pintip Dunn
• Days Made of Glass, Laura Drake
• The Road to Me, Laura Drake
• The Devil Pulls the Strings by J. W. Zarek
• Off Planet, Aileen Erin

3. Carries a Compelling Cadence

Most titles have a nice cadence. Titles that have a compelling cadence are stronger.

I’ve been addressing book titles. But titles for blogs and webinars and everything social-media driven need to be super strong too.

Let’s look at the title of this blog:  Tips to Create a Bestselling Title

My first title: Create a Bestselling Title

Second title: Creating a Bestselling Title

Final title: Tips to Create a Bestselling Title

Read them out loud. You’ll hear the difference.

The cadence for the second one was better, but not nearly as compelling as the final version.

I’ll share a few of the titles from my monthly Digging Deep Webinar Series. They carry a compelling cadence.

• Expand Time, Intensify Power
• Touché Cliché and Cliché Play
• Game-Changing Power: Sharing Impact on the POV Character

(If that last title ended with POV, the cadence would be off.)

• The Power of Touch:  From Benevolent to Malevolent
• Power Words, Backloading, and Words that Steal Your Power
• Making Silence Boom!  -- Happening this month!

I’ll play with cadence again in the section on Shares a Hint About the Genre.

4. Not Too Long

You want a title that’s not too long. Shorter titles are easy to remember and easily fit on the cover and spine of your book.

But sometimes a long title is memorable, hooky. Like the title for the recently released miniseries: The Woman in the House across the Street from the Girl in the Window.

5. May Include a Rhetorical Device

Alliteration is a frequent flyer in titles.

Excuse the cliché, but I couldn’t resist the alliteration. And it’s true.

Alliteration – Words that start with the same letter in the same sentence.  

Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt

Dervishes Don’t Dance, Kim McDougall

The Sometimes of Second Chances, Erin Parisien

Look at these alliterative titles by Janet Evanovich:

1. Sizzling Sixteen
2. Smokin’ Seventeen
3. Explosive Eighteen
4. Notorious Nineteen

Assonance -- Rhyming vowel sounds

Rhyming titles are just as memorable.

Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Marry, Elizabeth Essex

A Good Day for Chardonnay, Darynda Jones

Lean Mean Thirteen, Janet Evanovich

6. Shares a Hint About the Genre

It’s smart to have your title indicate the genre. Readers know if it’s historical or paranormal, women’s fiction or magical realism, young adult or erotica, inspirational or thriller.

I think the next title nails the genre.

The Second Virginity of Suzy Green by Sara Hantz.

Did that title grab you? Did it make you want to read the blurb? Did you guess Young Adult?

I read that title in 2008 when I was researching books by authors attending my full day master class in New Zealand. And I’ve remembered that title for fourteen years.

I’ll never forget it.

Why?

It’s fresh. It’s incongruous. It’s funny. It’s hooky!

About Compelling Cadence…

The Second Virginity of Suzy Green -- has a compelling cadence.

The Second Virginity of Sue Green -- does not.

The Second Virginity of Adriana – still sounds like it’s missing some beats, it needs another word at the end. The Second Virginity of Adriana Woods – sounds good.

The Second Virginity of Suzy Green – sounds just right.

Does the name Jack Reacher grab you? Have you seen any episodes of the Jack Reacher series on Netflix or Amazon Prime?

They’re based on thrillers by Lee Child. Check out his suspense-themed titles. I’ll share 5 of the 27 titles in the Jack Reacher series.

1. Killing Floor
2. Die Trying
3. Persuader
4. The Enemy
5. One Shot

Two Stories of Before and After Titles

Emily Giffin

NYT Bestseller Emily Giffin’s debut novel was originally titled Rolling the Dice. But before it was published, St. Martin’s changed it to Something Borrowed. It became a bestselling novel.

Rolling the Dice sounds edgy.

Something Borrowed sounds sweet.

Smart St. Martin’s.

Something Borrowed was followed by Something Blue. The title of her third novel?

Baby Proof.

Emily Giffin’s life influenced that book and title. When she was writing Baby Proof her twins turned one.

Kimberly Belle

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of Kimberly Belle’s fourth book with a big sticker of the new title stuck on the cover.

The original title was on the spine, Little Boy Lost.

The title on the sticker, Three Days Missing.

And under that new title were these words:

Stunning, dazzling, restyled cover coming very soon.

Compare Little Boy Lost to Three Days Missing.

Sheesh! They’re a galaxy apart. Smart to change the title for this thriller.

The Challenge of One Word Titles

One-word titles don’t share much, but they work well for mega-successful authors.

Truth? Their readers will buy their books with any title. The author’s name sells the book.

The book with the grabbiest one-word title for me is by Stephen King. Misery

The story, the characters, the title. All unforgettable.

Some One-Word Titles from Dean Koontz, International Bestseller:

1. Breathless
2. Velocity
3. Watchers
4. Strangers
5. Phantoms
6. Devoted

The Power of Linking Series Titles

Linking titles in a series is smart. Sell-more-books smart. Give-your-career-a-big-boost smart.

You’re probably familiar with Janet Evanovich’s numbers series featuring Stefanie Plum.

The first four books are: One for the Money , Two for the Dough, Three to Get Deadly, Four to Score . Notice the play on cliches in books two, three, and four.

Sue Grafton claimed her fame for her Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Series. I’ll share the first five titles.

1. "A" is for Alibi
2. "B" is for Burglar
3. "C" is for Corpse
4. "D" is for Deadbeat
5. "E" is for Evidence

Elizabeth Essex, Multi-Immersion Grad, Scandal Series

1. Almost a Scandal
2. A Breath of Scandal
3. After the Scandal
4. A Scandal to Remember

Diana Munoz Stewart, Multi-Immersion Grad, Black Ops Confidential Series

1. I Am Justice 
2. The Price of Grace
3. The Cost of Honor

Abbie Roads, Multi-Immersion Grad, Fatal Dreams Series

1. Race the Darkness
2. Hunt the Dawn
3. Never Let Me Fall

Darynda Jones, Multi-Immersion Grad, NYT Bestseller, Grave Series

I’ll share the first five titles of her 13-book series.

1. First Grave on the Right
2. Second Grave on the Left
3. Third Grave Dead Ahead
4. Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet
5. Fifth Grave Past the Light

Jenn Windrow, Multi-Immersion Grad, Alexis Black Series

1. Evil’s Unlikely Assassin
2. Evil’s Ultimate Huntress
3. Evil’s Avenging Angel
4. Evil’s Deadly Divide

If you’re writing a series, link your titles!

I hope these tips will help you write titles that are bestseller strong!

Please, please, please share some of your favorite titles in a comment.

And if you’ve taken a class from me, or from Lawson Writer’s Academy, chime in!

Let me know which class and how you’re doing.

I’d love to hear from you!

Can you tell I love teaching?

If you’d like to learn more about what I teach and Lawson Writer’s Academy, drop by my website, www.margielawson.com .

Here’s what’s coming up soon:

My next webinar:  Making Silence Boom!

Each of my webinars are offered twice:

Feb 17^th, 12:00 p.m. Mountain Time

Feb 18^th, 7:00 p.m. Mountain Time

Can’t make those times? Register and catch the recording later.

The March Line-Up of Classes from Lawson Writer’s Academy

1. Empowering Characters’ Emotions
2. Fairies: The Old Gods
3. Killing People and Other Writerly Pursuits
4. Submissions That Sell
5. Dazzling Developmental Edits
6. Crazy-Easy Social Media for Authors
7. How to Write Believable Alternate History Fiction
8. Mentorship with Rhay Christou
9. How to Speak Legalese: Deciphering Literary Contracts
10. Fab 30: Advanced Deep Editing, A Master Class

I’m teaching the last one, Fab 30. It’s 3 months of dig deep fun.

Can’t wait to see the titles you share!

If you have questions, ask!

ONE MORE THING:  My next GET HAPPY Virtual Open House is March 8^th!

Mark your calendar! Drop by my website between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8^th.

Click on the GET HAPPY meme, and you’ll be in my Zoom room.

It’s a chance to hang out with writers. No agenda. Just chatting and laughing and getting to know each other. Hope to see you there!

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About Margie

Margie Lawson left a career in psychology to focus on another passion—helping writers make their stories, characters, and words strong. Using a psychologically based, deep-editing approach, Margie teaches writers how to bring emotion to the page. Emotion equals power. Power grabs readers and holds onto them until the end. Hundreds of Margie grads have gone on to win awards, find agents, sign with publishers, and hit bestseller lists.     

An international presenter, Margie has taught over 150 full day master classes in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and France, as well as multi-day intensives on cruise ships in the Caribbean. Pre-COVID, she taught 5-day Immersion Master Classes across the U.S. and Canada and in seven cities in Australia too. 

COVID Update: Immersion Master Classes are now virtual, taught through Zoom. Virtual Immersion classes are limited to six writers. They're two full days or four half-days—and as always, writers get one-on-one deep editing with Margie. 

She also founded Lawson Writer's Academy, where you’ll find over 30 instructors teaching online courses through her website. To learn more, and sign up for Margie’s newsletter, visit www.margielawson.com.

Top Image by Peter Olexa from Pixabay

by Ellen Buikema

Using the power of taste in writing evokes emotions that may send readers all over the emotional map, from disgust to delight. It's the combined experience of what we see with our eyes, taste with our tongue, and smell with our nose.

Why is it important to have our characters experience taste in our stories?

Taste transports us as it engages more of our senses. A delicious meal or piece of chocolate melting on the tongue can make us feel relaxed and happy.

“The children bit into a piece of heaven, munching crispy crust, finding soft apple with a crunch of nut and sweet raisin. Cinnamon and sugary fruit oozed out of the pastry, making sweet puddles on the dessert plates.”

Like smell, taste can serve as a trigger for memories. Here’s an example of a husband remembering his recently deceased wife.

“Papa’s eyes misted when he crunched the burnt biscuits. Mama had always overcooked them.”

Taste in History

In Jean M. Auel’s meticulously researched Clan of the Cave Bear, she describes the method the ancients used to test for new foods. The clan women tasted a small portion of a newly discovered plant. If it didn’t make them ill, they tasted increasingly larger amounts.

When deemed safe, the new plant became a new food for the clan. Bitter plants, known from past trials for causing illness or death, were spat out.

Those experiences, passed down from generation to generation as humankind learned what foods to avoid in order to survive.

A Tasty Writing Prompt

Wander into your kitchen and find something to eat that has some texture.

• Close your eyes, take a bite.
• Focus while you chew, as the food rolls around your mouth, over your tongue, and down your throat.
• How does it taste?
• How does it make you feel?
• What would your characters think and say about the bite of food?
• Try adding this or similar sensory information in your WIP.

A great way to find sense of taste examples

Pick up your favorite book and highlight any sentences or paragraphs that use taste. This will give you a sensory details bank of examples whenever you need them. Do the same for all the senses.

Writing Taste in Different Genres

Taste in Horror

“Blood is really warm,
it's like drinking hot chocolate
but with more screaming.”

― Ryan Mecum, Zombie Haiku: Good Poetry for Your…Brains

“As his mouth flooded with that horrible sweet purple taste, he could actually see those grapes dull, dusty, obese and nasty, crawling up a dirty stucco wall in a thick, syrupy sunlight that was silent except for the stupid buzz of many flies”

― Stephen King, The Talisman

Taste in Humor

“Oh, how good everything tasted in that bower, with the fresh wind rustling the poplar leaves, sunshine and sweet woods smells about them, and birds singing overhead! No grown-up dinner party ever had half so much fun. Each mouthful was a pleasure; and when the last crumb had vanished, Katy produced the second basket...”

― Susan Coolidge, What Kati Did

“No,” Arthur said, “look, it’s very, very simple…. All I want… is a cup of tea. You are going to make one for me. Now keep quiet and listen.”

And he sat. He told the Nutro-Matic about India, he told it about China, he told it about Ceylon. He told it about broad leaves drying in the sun. He told it about silver teapots. He told it about summer afternoons on the lawn. He told it about putting the milk in before the tea so it wouldn’t get scalded. He even told it (briefly) about the East India Trading Company.

“So that’s it, is it?” said the Nutro-Matic when he had finished.

“Yes,” said Arthur. “That is what I want.”

“You want the taste of dried leaves boiled in water?”

“Er, yes. With milk.”

“Squirted out of a cow?”

“Well in a manner of speaking, I suppose…”

“I’m going to need some help with this one.”

― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Taste in Mystery/Thriller

“He could still taste her lips from when he’d kissed her in the restroom. He’d never forget it. The sweet sourness of Red Bull, coffee, and the bacteria on her teeth. The humility of it, the realness of a pretty girl with bad breath.”

― Taylor Adams, No Exit

Using sensory details helps your readers immerse themselves in the story and experience the characters’ feelings.

Further Reading

• 300+ Ways to Describe Taste: A Word List for Writers

• 20 Words To Describe Specific Tastes And Flavours – A Resource For Writers

How do you use the sense of taste in your writing? Do you have any examples of writing using the taste you’d like to share?

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About Ellen

Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents and a series of chapter books for children with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Works In Progress are, The Hobo Code, YA historical fiction and Crystal Memories, YA fantasy.

Find her at https://ellenbuikema.com or on Amazon.

Top Image taken by Ellen Buikema at Nando's in Mazatlan.

By Eldred Bird

As part of the research for one of my current works in progress (I have about a dozen at any given time…don’t judge me), I’ve been digging into the world of investigating serial killers to build a better villain.

My protagonist is a deep, well rounded, and well-thought-out character. He has real substance. But my antagonist? Not so much. I came to the realization my villain lacked what he needed to pose a true challenge to this brilliant, no-nonsense investigator. I needed someone just as capable but bent in the opposite direction. Thus began my quest.

My search took me deep into the dark underbelly of the Internet where the ever-present A.I. algorithms threw suggestions into my path. I followed the links until one of them reached up and hit me in the face like a Mike Tyson left-cross. It was a video about the F.B.I. Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) and how they go about building a profile to help identify who committed a specific crime or series of crimes.

The detectives of the BAU developed a set of criteria designed to construct what usually turns out to be a fairly accurate picture of the perpetrator when the law finally catches up to them. My first thought was why not reverse engineer the process and use the same criteria to build a serial killer? Brilliant, right?

The Five Criteria

FBI agents spent years going into prisons to interview murderers and serial killers. They collected information not only about their crimes, victims, and motivations, but also their childhoods, as well as behaviors before and after committing their acts. According to retired FBI profiler Jim Clemente, the BAU agents ended up determining five main areas of focus when building a profile. These are:

• Victimology – Why this particular victim?
• Location – Physical or geographic location of the body.
• Crime Scene – Details of the actual crime scene and evidence left behind.
• Organization Level –Does the killing appear to be planned or unplanned?
• Pre and Post behaviors – What behavioral changes are likely to be displayed by the perpetrator?

So, what does all of this mean to us as writers? Let’s dig into each of the criteria and see how we can apply them to our own villains.

Victimology

Like the name says, victimology focuses on the victim of the crime. Who are they and why was this particular victim chosen? Were they just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or targeted for a specific reason? If this is a series of murders, what do the victims have in common? Does the killer have a type? Maybe the victims are surrogates for someone in the killer's past. 

We can use this information to build a back story for our killer. Were they abused by a parent or other relative? Maybe they were rejected by someone they desired. Our villain may be working up to confront the real object of their anger. Or maybe their first victim was the true target and now they’re haunted by the image and are devolving.

Location

Where a victim is found can tell the BAU agents a lot. Is the area hidden and remote, or public and easily accessed? Many serial killers have a preferred hunting ground. Others may have a favorite dump site. The geographic location of a body may point to the killer’s comfort zone—an area they are familiar with and feel safe operating within. The killer may even live nearby.

The location of the body may be a secondary crime scene, with the actual killing taking place somewhere else. The location of the primary and/or secondary scene may also hold some significance for the perpetrator. Is it the site of their first kill? Maybe this is where they experienced the trauma that sent them down their dark path.

Trying to hide the victim may indicate our antagonist has shame or remorse, whereas leaving them in full view could be a sign of brash confidence. This criterion can help us establish some of the psychological elements of our villains.

Crime Scene

Crime scenes not only yield physical evidence, but also give the agents a look into the mind of the killer.

• How long did they remain at the scene?
• What was their level of sophistication?
• Did they try to clean up the scene?
• Was the body moved, posed, or left where it fell?
• What kind of weapon, if any, did they use?
• Did they leave the weapon behind?

Using the method chosen to kill gives us a chance to draw out specific details about the psyche of our villain and what fuels their killing machine. The use of a gun, especially a rifle, may show that they prefer to kill from a distance, while wielding a knife is more close-up and violent. And barehanded killings like beating or choking? These types of murders take time and great physical effort. They are usually very personal and may show a strong connection between our victim and our killer.

Organization Level

Organized killers plan ahead. They think things through, bring whatever they need to commit their crime, and leave little or nothing behind. For them it may be just as much about the lead-up to the act as it is the act itself. On the other end of the spectrum, unorganized killers are messy, impulsive, and may use whatever they can grab at the scene to help them complete the task at hand.

The truth is most killers fall somewhere on the scale between the two extremes. They may even move up and down the scale over time. We can use these changes in the level of organization to indicate the evolving mental state of our villains. They may start out lower on the scale and move up as they hone their skills or become more scattered and careless as they devolve.

Change in organizational level is a great tool for adding tension to the arc of the narrative and creating a complication for our hero to overcome by making it difficult to link the crimes.

Pre and Post Behaviors

Pre and post crime behaviors can tell the BAU a lot about criminals. Organized killers have likely done some surveillance and pre-work before committing their crime. This kind of planning can leave a trail to follow backwards to help in identifying the perpetrator. Behavioral changes after a crime can send up a red flag, narrowing down the suspect field.

With the proliferation of cameras and electronic devices in today’s society it’s hard not to leave a pre-crime trail. In addition to security cameras found in businesses, traffic, doorbell, and home security cams are everywhere. Cellphones can be traced to a degree even if you turn off location services. Is our villain smart enough to avoid these traps? The act of avoidance itself may be a telling pre-crime behavior.

After committing a crime there may be shifts in personality or heightened paranoia noticed by friends, family, or coworkers.

• The killer may be quicker to anger or sheepish and withdrawn.
• They may come up with an excuse to leave town for an extended period while things cool down.

If we want to build a higher functioning villain, they’re going to need to be aware of these behaviors and try to avoid them. Of course, we also need them to slip up so we can solve the crime, but not in a way that is too obvious.

Putting It All Together

Now that we know the five criteria, it’s time to put them to use. If our hero is intelligent, focused, and a student of human nature then it stands to reason that our villain should be as well if they’re going to present any kind of a challenge.

Think about how their personality traits and physical actions fit into the BAU matrix. What traits might the villain be good at hiding and how might they slip up?

For more information on building better villains, check out these WITS posts by Lisa Hall-Wilson and Ellen Buikema.

What’s your best advice for building better villains? Do you have specific criteria that you use? Let us know in the comments!

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About Eldred

Eldred Bird writes contemporary fiction, short stories, and personal essays. He has spent a great deal of time exploring the deserts, forests, and deep canyons inside his home state of Arizona. His James McCarthy adventures, Killing Karma, Catching Karma, and Cold Karma, reflect this love of the Grand Canyon State even as his character solves mysteries amidst danger. Eldred explores the boundaries of short fiction in his stories, The Waking Room, Treble in Paradise: A Tale of Sax and Violins, and The Smell of Fear.

When he’s not writing, Eldred spends time cycling, hiking, and juggling (yes, juggling…bowling balls and 21-inch knives). His passion for photography allows him to record his travels. He can be found on Twitter or Facebook, or at his website.

Top Image https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/