Title help!

[lisamarie]

I'm writing a story about a married woman who has an affair. As she's contemplating leaving her husband for her lover, she find out about things her husband did in the past. I might not be explaining this well, but it's a suspense/murder story. Anyway, I am very bad at coming up with titles. Can you tell me if any of these would pique your interest?

Fight or Flight
Betrayed
Secrets That We Keep
Dirty Little Secrets
Dirty Secrets

Thanks!

[zagoraz]

Most of the titles you listed are pretty generic and make me think "straight to DVD" or "Lifetime." Coming up with titles is hard. I tend to write screenplays while listening to certain types of music, and then inevitably lyrics or song titles become my script title. You definitely want it to be memorable and original, and at the same time, relevant to the story. Are there any objects in the script that could be a metaphor for your story? The title of my last script was one line of a diary entry by one of the main characters. You probably have a killer title somewhere in your script already, you just have to find it.

[lisamarie]

Thanks. I agree. I think they're generic too. I'll keep working on it. I want something that pops.

[Sunshine13]

I'm with you, lakewriter. I'm in the middle of renaming my title, and I am no title namer. I suck at it. Best of luck!

[lisamarie]

I'm with you, lakewriter. I'm in the middle of renaming my title, and I am no title namer. I suck at it. Best of luck!
Thanks, you too!

[lisamarie]

How about Life of Delusion?

[cynicallad]

I actually read a script called FIGHT OR FLIGHT the other day. It was an adequate rip-off of 28 DAYS LATER. I wasn't wild about the title.

[Parkinsonsd]

Instead of focusing on a title that tells the story, you could simply pick a place the story happens, or arecurring event. Something more specific that may have a general connotation.

[zeprosnepsid]

I both don't think any of those are great and I am really really terrible at coming up with titles myself so I feel you.

But I'd work on a title that gives you more idea of what the script is about. As someone mentioned above, they read a script called Fight or Flight and it was a completely different genre. For a spec script it's helpful if you title is almost a mini-logline, really indicating what the reader is getting into.

Titles like "Fatal Attraction", "Raiders of the Lost Ark" or "History of the World Part I" make it pretty clear that they are erotic thriller, old style adventure, and a historical set comedy respectively.

You could also look at other movies in your genre (Suspicion? Unfaithful?) to get ideas...

[nmstevens]

Instead of focusing on a title that tells the story, you could simply pick a place the story happens, or arecurring event. Something more specific that may have a general connotation.


Actually, coming up with a place name that, in some tangential way reflects the events of the story is often a very interesting way of coming up with a title, and there actually are hundred of real towns and counties and lakes and mountains with remarkably vivid names.

We just drove through a "Stalker, PA." for instance, and there's a "Mount Deception" in Alaska.

So maybe you're looking for a title like "Deepwater County" -- it's the place where the story happens, but the title suggests the deep waters that hide all these secrets. Something along those lines.

NMS

[lisamarie]

Actually, coming up with a place name that, in some tangential way reflects the events of the story is often a very interesting way of coming up with a title, and there actually are hundred of real towns and counties and lakes and mountains with remarkably vivid names.

We just drove through a "Stalker, PA." for instance, and there's a "Mount Deception" in Alaska.

So maybe you're looking for a title like "Deepwater County" -- it's the place where the story happens, but the title suggests the deep waters that hide all these secrets. Something along those lines.

NMS

Thanks, that's a good idea!