Does anyone else collect possible titles for things they haven’t written and may never try to write?
Titles for any and all genres, for series or stand-alone, that instantly inspire elevator pitches and make you catch your breath, envision cover art, or at least snort really loudly?
If you do, and your list is like mine, most of them wag the plot in directions you know you’ll probably never go, barring a major life change or Nanowrimo, but some of them actually seem like they might work . . .
The Obsidian Turkey
Epic Viscoelasticity (also suitable for an indie-rock group)
Song of the Echolocator
Languishing, Lingering Linguistics: A Provocative Study of Erotic Alliteration and Assonance through the Ages
The Curious Epitaph of Eleanor Mackelbee
Taking a Leek in Public: Thoughts on Irreverent Vegetarianism
And, for that coming-of-age series I mean to write someday about a teenage wereduck:
Quacking Up
Winging It
Swimming in Circles
Duck!
BeWere*
Even if I’m the only one who does this, it’s a fun exercise. And you never know—Rapture of the Kumquats could prove useful someday in a bizarre set of circumstances—and plot points—that will make the book fly off the shelves.
Anyone else have any favorite titles for unwritten works?
Titles for an unwritten series?
Comments on possible stories for any of the above?
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*I’ll bet this one has been used already and gave the copy editors and library catalogers fits.
(The image from Wondermark is made possible by the genius and generosity of David Malki!)
Earful of Cider 
Taking a Leek in Public: Thoughts on Irreverent Vegetarianism. That is hilarious! Here are some from my list:
An Ode to Martha
Cornered: Living on the Edge
The Bunyan Files
Circular Reasoning: An Endless Cycle
Three Peas in a Pod
Circular Reasoning is terrific, but there’s something about The Bunyan Files that makes me go, “Hmmm . . .”
You said ass! Hehehehe…hehe
You bypassed kumquat for assonance? Really? I’m getting the thermometer.
You know I’m desperate to read about the wereduck. But I’d totally read The Curious Epitaph of Elenor Mackelbee.
Here’s one: the Linguistic Ravings of a Feverish Mind (simply because I’ve been feverish a lot lately and worry about stupid things like why is it a pair of pants and not a pair of shirts).
What the Misspellings of a 4th Grader Can Teach Us About English (I’m on a linguistic track mind at the mo)
Or why fashionistas are always looking for “a good shoe,” instead of a pair?
They’re fashionistas – they don’t speak English, they speak trend. And let us not get into why the word “fashionista” is just so very – blech.
i picture them in black leather coats with their hair tightly pulled back so their long noses have that flared tilt, just so . . . holding The Latest in designer coffees and wearing killer shoes that cannot be walked in for more than one or two steps by someone of purely human physiology.
But that’s okay, because they never walk. They only vogue.
How to Eat a Grapefruit with a Paperclip- I’ve had that title in my head for years and want to write an entire novel just so I can use it.
As for shoes, well, I’m infamous for walking two steps and count on the logic of the man who knows how optimistic I can be to pull flip flops out of the car. He’s a good man. I have a problem with pretty shoes that I know I can’t walk in. It’s an addiction. Or perhaps just eternal optimism…
Write it, Lyra! i want to read the novel that goes with that title.
Killer Shoes and Flip Flop Girl would be a good title, too . . . 😀
Some day I’m gonna write ‘Born(e) Among the Rude’. Of course, I’ve been saying that for 20 years now!
Start with chapter one and keep going, Odie!
And let me beta, of course. 🙂
Love “Swimming in Circles.”
Is it totally lame that coming up with a blog title for today’s post is as creative as I can get at this moment?
Nope.
Believe me, “Bananas of Lust” was a godsend.
I love thinking up inappropriate picture book titles. It’s become a sort of hobby. My favorite: “The Sluttiest Mennonite.”
Diet Pepsi, right up my nose. Ow! 😀