Title for an adaptation?

[Ireth]

I'm having trouble coming up with a title for my fantasy adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I'm not sure if I want to keep it similar to the original and just substitute the more important words to make them relevant to my story (i.e. The Werewolf of Leeds Parish Church), or come up with something completely different. Any thoughts on what I should or could do? I can post a more detailed synopsis if people need or want it.

 

[Anders Ämting]

I'd keep it snappy and just call it: "The Bellringer."

"The Werewolf of Leeds Parish Church" sounds kinda melodramatic, honestly.

 

[Ireth]

"The Werewolf of Leeds Parish Church" sounds kinda melodramatic, honestly.

That's a good word for it. :/ Reminds me of the Goosebumps book "The Werewolf of Fever Swamp". Not the kind of impression I'm going for.

Hm... "The Bellringer" could work. It's definitely snappy, and it would definitely evoke thoughts about the original story, which is good. I think I'll keep it as a working title for now and see what comes up in the future.

 

[Penpilot]

Titles are hard... darn it. I find that I usually don't find the title until the story is finished. I look for themes, lines of dialogue, events, characters titles or jobs, that maybe capture the essence of the book. Sometimes it's just a matter of what sounds cool. Maybe try different riff offs The Hunchback of Notre Dame like what you were doing. Maybe play off the words Hunch or Dame. But The Werewolf of Leeds Parish Church sounds very classical. It works.

 

[Caged Maiden]

I have the same problem... http://mythicscribes.com/forums/writing-questions/2816-title-suggestions.html

I don't like the word werewolf in a title... for several reasons. First it divulges something I like to find out in the story, and second because the word itself conjures the wrong images (to me).

I write about werewolves, and I have called them Sayan after their goddess. So my novel Sayan Soul is about a character who is a shape shifter, but no one knows it from the title..... it speaks about her soul... which is much more the subject of my book.

I think when you put in the word werewolf, people might think "bad horror movie" and since I have responded to your other thread, I am getting the gist of what you are doing... and I think you would do your story a disservice if you used the word werewolf in the title. Since it is a love story, and she is deaf, and being tortured for information, you have a load of other elements to play with. What about Silent Dream, or Hearts Toll..... I don't know. It would help to know more about the characters.

 

[Ireth]

I'm considering something like "Song for the Silent", because of the contrast between the two main characters: Diana being able to neither hear nor speak, and Vincent being a singer as well as a mage. Vincent's singing ability factors heavily into the plot, not least because it ties in with his magic; when he meets Diana he uses his magic to heal the most recent of her physical wounds caused by Martin. His singing is also what draws Martin to him at first and sets part of the basis for Martin's lust.

I could always write up more detailed character profiles for each of them and post them here if you're interested.

 

[soulless]

I'm considering something like "Song for the Silent", because of the contrast between the two main characters: Diana being able to neither hear nor speak, and Vincent being a singer as well as a mage. Vincent's singing ability factors heavily into the plot, not least because it ties in with his magic; when he meets Diana he uses his magic to heal the most recent of her physical wounds caused by Martin. His singing is also what draws Martin to him at first and sets part of the basis for Martin's lust.

I could always write up more detailed character profiles for each of them and post them here if you're interested.

I quite like "Song for the Silent" with the brief descriptions given