Book title workshop: let's walk through the process to create a new title

Charlie Holiday is maturing into his own. He needs a new title.

Book titles, that is.

As of this moment, there are three books in the series currently titled: Florence, Utrecht, and Chiang Mai. I knew the titles were placeholders, but I didn’t know how to replace them. Part of this is the Just Get it Published and Figure It Out Later strategy that I enjoy. Well, now it’s later.

There are 3 books in the series, but I see it going to at least 7 if not into the double digits. I really like the short format (novelette, short story, etc.) and the accompanying 1-hour-or-so audiobook.

The Foundation, Source, Anchor Word

I worked on this the other day with a fellow writer and we came up with:

Expect the Unexpected
Spot the Unexpected
Choose the Unexpected

It’s a good direction and could work. It’s just “unexpected” seems so clunky to me.

Let’s see if we can improve on it. Here’s a stab at that main word:

Unexpected
Chance
Dimension
Divine
Joy
Magic
Fantasy
Imagination
Unpredictable
Extraordinary
Fortune
Fate

That exercise, which took me all of 10 minutes with a thesaurus, brought Chance up to #2. As much as I like like the wonder and magic of the word “unexpected,” it’s clunky, three syllables, and has a negative prefix (un-) in there.

Here are a few definitions for “chance” (noun):

the absence of any cause of events that can be predicted, understood, or controlled: often personified or treated as a positive agency:
Chance governs all.
luck or fortune:
a game of chance.
a possibility or probability of anything happening:
a fifty-percent chance of success.
an opportune or favorable time; opportunity:
Now is your chance.
Baseball. an opportunity to field the ball and make a put-out or assist.
a risk or hazard:
Take a chance.
a share or ticket in a lottery or prize drawing:
The charity is selling chances for a dollar each.
chances, probability:
The chances are that the train hasn’t left yet.
Archaic. an unfortunate event; mishap.

OK, well, that’s settled.

I realize you’re reading along here with no paused, but I just found the title of my next several books!

Thanks for playing along.

See how that worked.

I opened it up for discussion, critique, feedback, etc.
I worked through it, thought about it, mulled over it–and it didn’t need to take long.
It came to me as I was focused on something else (namely, unexpected).

I think we’re done here. Maybe I’m not, but it’s an excellent start and it just feels right. I could be certain, or I could leave it up to … chance.

The Series

Now that I have the core, the foundation, the anchor term, I need to link the books together in a series that flows, grows, and shows. (Ooh, just made that up and I’m liking it.)

I want it to increase, to ascend, to climb, to grow. Charlie is at first lost, incredulous, not even really looking. He’s clueless. But he has a spark, a something that tells him there’s more. He doesn’t know what or how or when or what, he just knows, he hopes there’s something. Let’s play around with that.

Open (to the idea)
Learn (from it, study, “try”)
See (recognize, accept)
Seek (now that you “maybe believe” it, look for it)
Find (can you find it when you want it?)
Choose (actively choose it)
Conquer (too strong, but you’re now (somewhat) in control of it)
Master (you’re good at it)
Play (now things get fun)

Play on Words

I’m now over at a site that finds idioms for words. Whoa, this is way too much fun for a Sunday morning. ;-O Here comes a collection:

a chance in a million
a fighting chance
a one in a million chance
a snowball’s chance in hell
a sporting chance
an eye for the main chance
an eye on/for/to the main chance
as chance/luck would have it
as much chance as a wax cat in hell
at the last chance saloon
be in with a chance
blow (one’s) chance
Buckley’s chance
by any chance
by chance
chance
chance (one’s) arm
chance it
chance of a lifetime
chance on
chance on (someone or something)
chance upon
chance upon (someone or something)
chance would be a fine thing
chance your arm
chances are
Chinaman’s chance
dog’s chance
eye to the main chance, have an
fancy (one’s) chances
fancy chances
fancy your chances
fancy your/somebody’s chances
fat chance
fifty-fifty chance
fighting chance
ghost of a chance
give (one) half a chance
give (someone) a second chance
give (someone) another chance
Give me a chance!
give somebody half a chance
given half a/the chance
half a chance
have a dog’s chance
have a fighting chance
have an even chance
have an even chance of (doing something)
have an eye for the main chance
have an eye on/for/to the main chance
have an eye to/for the main chance
have Buckley’s (chance)
have no chance in hell
in the last chance saloon
in with a chance
jump at
jump at the chance (to do something)
last call
last chance (for/at/to do something)
leap at the chance (to do something)
leap at the opportunity
leave to chance
let the chance slip by
never give a sucker an even chance
no chance
not a cat in hell’s chance
not a chance
Not a chance!
not a Chinaman’s chance
not a dog’s chance
not have a (snowball’s) chance in hell
not have a cat in hell’s chance
not have a chance in hell (of doing something)
not have a ghost of a chance
not have a snowball’s chance in hell
not have a snowball’s chance in hell and not a hope in hell
not have a/the ghost of a chance
not have an earthly chance
not have the ghost of a chance
not stand an earthly (chance)
of a lifetime
off chance
on the (off) chance
on the chance
on the chance that
on the off chance
on the off-chance
on the outside chance
once-in-a-lifetime chance
one chance in a million
outside chance
risk of rain
slim chance
snowball’s chance in hell
snowball’s chance in hell, a
sporting chance
sporting chance, a
stand a chance
take (one’s) chances
take a chance
take a chance on
take chances
take one’s chances
take the chance (to do something)
take your chances
the chance, etc. of a lifetime
the last chance saloon
Tinker to Evers to Chance
You pays your money and you takes your chance

OK, fine, so I copied them all. There are some winners in here. Let’s scoop up a few.

There are many that lean negative, that take the side of the chance is small. That’s OK. The chance is small. The chance of rain tomorrow is truly 50/50: it’s either going to rain or it’s not. Sure, you can tell me it 20% or 80% but it’s still truly 50/50: it will or it won’t.

Ooh, this is getting fun and just way too much fun for the math guy that I am. I see dozens of book titles with chance in there. Let’s see if I can make a quick roll call of 7, ideally increasing in (statistical!) probability: