tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post6950991761856755806..comments2024-03-18T19:00:03.047-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love Very Long TitlesLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-61175263323426131062019-08-05T12:24:15.381-04:002019-08-05T12:24:15.381-04:00All RIGHT! Thanks, Josh, for the info and the lin...All RIGHT! Thanks, Josh, for the info and the links.<br /><br />I love this kind of stuff.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-87103333701740841832019-08-05T10:53:34.689-04:002019-08-05T10:53:34.689-04:00Swept Away was remade in English in 2002 as, simpl...<i>Swept Away</i> was remade in English in 2002 as, simply, <i>Swept Away</i>, starring Madonna. The Italian version, directed by Lina Wertmuller, was infinitely better. You can watch it for free, subtitled in English, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGKBKT91KIU, or (ugh) dubbed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzAEF5g35uw<br /><br />And, if we're gonna move on to song titles, there's also "The Boy From Tacarembo la Tumbe del Fuego Santa Malipas Zacatecas la Junta del Sol y Cruz," lyrics by Sondheim, music by Mary Rogers (daughter of Richard Rogers, as in Rogers and Hart and Rogers and Hammerstein). The song was performed by Linda Lavin in <i>The Mad Show</i>, which I was fortunate enough to see several times during its Off-Broadway run in 1966. The title is generally shorted to "The Boy From," and in the show's program the lyricist is listed as "Nom de Plume." Listen to LL sing it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdNkvByFVvIjoshpachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123432071405643210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-65804881284946317802019-08-05T10:30:58.122-04:002019-08-05T10:30:58.122-04:00Josh, I'd never heard of that movie! What a g...Josh, I'd never heard of that movie! What a great title. <br /><br />And yes, I missed a great opportunity, not exploring song titles. One that comes to mind is "Drop Kick Me Jesus Through the Goalposts of Life." Others (that I'm not sure were REAL titles): "I Get Tears in My Ears When I Lay on My Back and Think About You" and "The Creek's Washed Out and I Can't Swim and My Baby's on the Other Side." (Thank God for Country Music.)<br /><br />I love the Hoagy Carmichael title. I'll have to remember that one.<br /><br />Thanks!!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-1039683516208769682019-08-05T08:09:03.246-04:002019-08-05T08:09:03.246-04:00Just checked: it was a Hoagy Carmichael song, and ...Just checked: it was a Hoagy Carmichael song, and the title was "I'm a Cranky Old Yank in a Clanky Old Tank on the Streets of Yokohama with my Honolulu Mama Doin’ Those Beat-o, Beat-o Flat-On-My-Seat-o, Hirohito Blues," and the Website That Shall Not Be Cited says it holds the Guinness record for longest title of a commercially published song....joshpachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123432071405643210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-60043292626145383032019-08-05T08:05:25.267-04:002019-08-05T08:05:25.267-04:00Swept Away... by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Se...<i>Swept Away... by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August</i> was a great Italian film starring Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato (original title <i>Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto</i>).<br /><br />My stories almost always start with a title. So far, my shortest have been three letters ("SOS" and "ASU"), and my longest has been eight words ("Last Call at the Bar of Invariable Length"). I seem to have a preference for titles that follow the pattern "The (Noun) of (Noun)," which I've used quite a few times: "The Tree of Life," "The Sword of God," "The Night of Power," and several others, including "The City of Light," which is forthcoming in EQMM.<br /><br />Fun post! (But you left out song titles! "The Talking Green Beret New Super Yellow Hydraulic Banana Teenybopper Blues," "The I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag," and wasn't there a WWII song called something like "I'm a Cranky Old Yank in a Clanky Old Tank, and I Want to Go Home to My Yokohama Mama Real Soon"?...)joshpachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123432071405643210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-75015648895250944552019-08-04T08:28:54.620-04:002019-08-04T08:28:54.620-04:00Good one, Jeff. I saw that movie when I was in co...Good one, Jeff. I saw that movie when I was in college--if I remember, it was sort of a Candid Camera deal, with Allen Funt.<br /><br />I'd heard of that last movie, but I've never known anyone who saw it. (I don't think I'd want to.)John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-1032761761719982802019-08-03T23:27:07.806-04:002019-08-03T23:27:07.806-04:00Oh, those are good! I'd never heard of that la...Oh, those are good! I'd never heard of that last one! Someone mentioned a movie I hadn't thought of in years: "What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?"Jeff Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00316081079528920123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-37223796411138136072019-08-03T19:16:43.682-04:002019-08-03T19:16:43.682-04:00O'Neil, I'd never heard of that, or though...O'Neil, I'd never heard of that, or thought of it. Good point! <br /><br />Once again, I do wonder if some long titles are chosen JUST because they're different. And--who knows--I guess that could be a good thing. I, for one, almost never choose a long title, certainly not longer than half a dozen words. Maybe I'm just not imaginative enough.<br /><br />Thanks for that advice, O'Neil.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-35798932237206367112019-08-03T17:54:03.909-04:002019-08-03T17:54:03.909-04:00Want to add – I like long titles but I've resi...Want to add – I like long titles but I've resisted in giving my novels and short story collections a long title because the titles are hard to read in thumbnails online. It can be done. Just a thoughtO'Neil De Nouxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03142721824657611738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-64326447259731487242019-08-03T12:28:52.080-04:002019-08-03T12:28:52.080-04:00Can't wait to see that one, Larry!! Thanks.Can't wait to see that one, Larry!! Thanks.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-84875112261338369152019-08-03T11:58:07.605-04:002019-08-03T11:58:07.605-04:00Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. A great film worthy...Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. A great film worthy of its longish title.Lawrence Maddoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03057386966178865691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-3125792716921581852019-08-03T11:06:39.298-04:002019-08-03T11:06:39.298-04:00Something I haven't mentioned: I wonder if som...Something I haven't mentioned: I wonder if sometimes authors choose very long titles just for the purpose of being different, and maybe hoping to attract attention the title wouldn't otherwise get. But something I never thought of was the point that Steve mentioned: fitting a very long title onto the cover of a book could, I guess, cause problems.<br /><br />Just some afterthoughts.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-47762947857295968432019-08-03T11:03:12.287-04:002019-08-03T11:03:12.287-04:00Hey Don--thanks for stopping in. Actually, one of...Hey Don--thanks for stopping in. Actually, one of my strange rules was not to include in the main list any titles with a colon or an "or," because those are almost always very long. I did mention it, though, because it is a cool title (and one that almost nobody seems to know).<br /><br />Of those that DO include the word "or," I think my favorite title is Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines, or How I Flew From London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes. And it's a good movie, too.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-20515813207385415602019-08-03T10:30:41.011-04:002019-08-03T10:30:41.011-04:00Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying...Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the BombDon Coffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07198988872512792834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-16557683684006236622019-08-03T09:51:27.520-04:002019-08-03T09:51:27.520-04:00Steve, two of your titles--Dark Gonna Catch Me Her...Steve, two of your titles--Dark Gonna Catch Me Here and Oh Lord, Won't You Steal Me a Mercedes Benz--are winners right off the bat. When you choose a great title like that, beforehand, I think it almost serves as a confidence-builder (and security blanket, maybe) to the writer as you construct the story/novel.<br /><br />I also like it when there's a "rhythm" to these long titles, when they just roll easily off the tongue. An example of that in a novel title, one I didn't put in the list because it's not eight words in length, is The Fabulous Life of Diego Rivera. It's just easy to say, and remember. I don't think that one was ever adapted into a movie. Another title with exactly that same rhythm is the Peckinpah movie Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. (Those titles might not have a lot of words, but they sure have a lot of syllables.)<br /><br />And yes, I too go through a LOT of working titles before I come up with the one I'll use for a story.<br /><br />Another great novel title that didn't make it into my list, because it's only seven words, is The Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker. By Ed McBain, I think.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-14002377188100801202019-08-03T08:53:20.791-04:002019-08-03T08:53:20.791-04:00Fun post, John. I agree with everyone who says an ...Fun post, John. I agree with everyone who says an evocative title is a joy to be read.<br /><br />I also like it when the title works into the text of the story somewhere. I did that on Dark Gonna Catch Me Here, which is a line from the Robert Johnson song "Crossroad Blues." Hit Somebody is a catch-phrase that the derby girls often use in that book, too.<br /><br />My cover designer prefers short titles so he can maneuver the text around whatever graphics he comes up with, but I have a long title we both love. We discarded several earlier (and shorter) titles that didn't quite work before my wife came up with the winner: Oh Lord, Won't You Steal Me a Mercedes Benz.<br /><br />That said, I often go through several working titles before I find one that really works.Steve Liskowhttp://www.steveliskow.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-48868443826853445032019-08-03T08:23:49.403-04:002019-08-03T08:23:49.403-04:00Hey Paul -- Yep, I too like it when the title is p...Hey Paul -- Yep, I too like it when the title is part of the text of the story, and the reader/viewer doesn't realize it until later. (Like To Kill a Mockingbird, etc.)<br /><br />I have made a note that you are not a robot.<br /><br />O'Neil, I can't believe I forgot The Spy Who Came In From the Cold. And I love the Harlan Ellison title.<br /><br />I should've done a quick list of one-word novel titles, too. (You're right that Elmore Leonard did a lot of those.)<br /><br />Thanks, guys, for the comments.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-85983759445993325522019-08-03T05:54:45.566-04:002019-08-03T05:54:45.566-04:00Elmore Leonard gave us some good one word titles: ...Elmore Leonard gave us some good one word titles: GLITZ. KILLSHOT, SWAG, PRONTO, STICK<br /><br />A few movie more long movie titles:<br /><br />THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD<br /><br />INVESTIGATION OF A CITIZEN ABOVE SUSPICION<br /><br />I remember some cool long science fiction short stories titles:<br /><br />"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman by Harlan Ellison<br /><br />"The Doors of his Face, The Lamps of his Mouth by Roger Zelazny<br /><br />"I See a Man Sitting in a Chair and the Chair is Biting his Leg" by Harlan Ellison and Robert Sheckley<br />O'Neil De Nouxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03142721824657611738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-86303867772554631232019-08-03T04:03:41.381-04:002019-08-03T04:03:41.381-04:00John, titles can be long or short, but I like them...John, titles can be long or short, but I like them to be evocative. Sometimes it's kind of cool when the title phrase is slipped into the text of the story. And you mentioned one of my childhood movies, horrible, but fun, and some of it takes place at the Long Beach Pike so that gives it an extra couple points in my book: The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies.<br /><br />I am not a robot.Paul D. Markshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.com