Naming a book

Maybe you noticed that I changed the title of book 3 already from A Full Cold Moon to A Full Harvest Moon. One of the hardest things to do is to come up with a name for a book. There are several ways to do it: 1.) Start with a name from the beginning and then write with the name in mind, or 2) write the book and then draw the name from what you have written. In the first case the name drives the story, in the second the story creates the name. I have used both methods and I'm not sure which one works best. Currently I like the first process.

Before I start to write I picture the storyline in my head and from that brief outline try to find several words that reveal the spirit of the book. Cooper's Moon started out as Miami Blues, then morphed into Hunter's Moon, and then finally into Cooper's Moon.

Blood Moon, started out as Harvest Moon. I finalized the name about halfway through the writing of the book. And so it may be with A Full Harvest Moon. That name may change as well.

Whatever happens, the name of a book is important, just as important as the names our parents have given us. Our name tells us who we are. The name of a book tells us who the book is; it is its identity.

Connie