Tips for making a strong title for your novel?

[-K2-]

As I work with my table of contents this morning, let me add this as another suggestion to consider. As you write your story, consider giving each of your chapters their own title. Whether you use them or not is another thing (personally, I prefer individual chapter titles). In any case, it grants you some practice developing a title, and you just might find a real winner in the bunch for the story title.

Spoiler: As an example...

This is the ToC from one thing I'm working on. You'll note for an extremely dark dystopian novel, the titles are not all depressing themes...as they shouldn't be.

The Abolitionist
L... S... ~ G8

Table of Contents:
ii. Warnings and Cautions
iii. Enhanced Reading Options
War Pigs by Black Sabbath ~ Intro
1. Home Hell Again
2. Welcome Wagon
That Smell by Lynard Skynyrd
3. That Smell
4. Habitual Cruelty
5. Retrospection Wheel ***
6. Plus One
7. Do unto Others
8. Misericorde
Bullet the Blue Sky by U2
9. Harbinger of Rain
10. Peace
When the Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin
11. Southpaw
12. Welcome to Eden
13. Renewed Innocence
14. Innocence Lost
For Pete’s Sake by The Monkees ~ Pogue’s Theme
15. Crush of Humanity ***
16. That Which Was
17. Deliverance from Eden
18. Sowfilly Anew
Disparate Youth by Santigold ~ The White Tiger Theme
19. Liar’s Poker
20. Hermes Staff
21. Renaissance ***
22. When Monkeys Dance
23. Little Piggies
24. The Bob Knobs
Wicked Game by Chris Isaak
25. Judas Goat
Everybody Wants Some by Van Halen
26. A Just Harvest
27. When Hawks Cry
28. Weight of the Masses
29. Veterans Day
30. Benevolence of the Masses
31. Baptismal Justice
32. Agricultural System of Population Management ***
33. When Monsters meet Makers
34. American Cathedral
Breathe by Télépopmusik ~ Kae’s Song
35. Faces to be Forgotten
36. A Sinner’s Redemption
37. Shuttlecock
38. C-Chach Comfort
39. Of No Quarter Repute
Bad Reputation by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts ~ Ode to Mop Boy
40. Principal’s Office
41. Mop Boy
42. The Mad Clown ***
43. Cocked, Locked and Lunkheads
44. Future Founders of Freedom
45. To Raze a Fallen Star
Killing Strangers by Marilyn Manson
46. Chasing the Harvest
47. A Tiger’s Cubs
48. United We Stand
49. Delicate Flower of Virtue
50. Bitter Sailing
Streets of Philadelphia by Bruce Springsteen ~ Outro
Disparate Youth by Santigold ~ The White Tiger Theme ~ Post-outro

Appendices:
A1. Glossary of the Restored Constitution Federal Government
A2. Regional Maps
A2A. Preliminary CA vs. Finalized CASE Comparison
A2B. Consolidated America Sanctuary East
A2C. South Philadelphia Pre/Post-Sea Rise Comparison
A2D. South Philadelphia Unit-W, Sector-14 Pastoral Zone
A2E. North Philadelphia Unit-R, Sector-15/16 Pastoral Zone
A3. CASE Pastoral Pidgin Language and Primary Dialects
A3A. Pastoral Pidgin to English Glossary (Introductory)
A3B. South Philadelphia Pidgin Dialect to English Glossary
A4. Language Translations (by Chapter)
A5. Equipment of Reaper-379, Rokka-Kae (Rah’kuh-Kay)
A6. Music & Sound Credits
A7. Print Version ~ Removable Language Translations (by Chapter)

K2

 

[HareBrain]

Best titles for me as a reader are ones that suggest a question I then want answered. Sometimes that's because it contains an apparent contradiction (e.g. The Flowers of Evil by Baudelaire), sometimes because it doesn't make obvious sense, (e.g. Call For the Dead by le Carre -- what does that mean? Why would the dead be called?) What is a hobbit? How can someone be a lord of rings? Etc.