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Pulp Librarian

27 Oct, 14 tweets, 9 min read

Are you writing a sci-fi or fantasy novel? Are you struggling to choose a title for it?

Well good news! I've just analysed the titles of 1,500 DAW sci-fi and fantasy novels, and I think I've found the secret!

Come with me...

It turns out the most commonly used word in a DAW fantasy title is... sword!

Well d'uh. But think about it: 'sword' is being used as a shorthand term rather than a descriptive term here, it tells the reader it's one of 'those' novels...

...much like the word 'dragon' does. Dragons are a shoo-in for any fantasy book title (assuming there is a dragon in the story!) because it clearly signals to the audience this is a fantasy novel.

For sci-fi books the most popular word seems to be 'star.' Again, it's not a descriptive term it's a signal - This is set in space.

Sci-fi novels also like to use the word 'world'; it indicates that the reader is going to be fully immersed in an alien setting.

Sci-fi and fantasy books do seem to love the theme of darkness. 'Shadow' is always a very popular word for the title...

...as are 'night', 'darkness', 'twilight' and 'dark'. Gloomy is good for book titles!

'Blood' is a popular word to drop in a dark fantasy title, but surprisingly 'death' is less popular (based on DAW book titles).

And when it comes to colours, the most popular one to put in a sci-fi or fantasy book title isn't black... it's green!

'Time' is a popular title word for both fantasy and sci-fi books...

...and 'sun' is also a popular title choice that works across both genres.

When it comes to weather the most popular word is 'storm'.

But far and away the most popular thing to put in a sci-fi or fantasy title is a compound word!

Creating a new term out of two common words is one of the most frequently used tricks to make a title stand out in these genres.

So for your next sci-fi or fantasy novel might I suggest calling it:
- Blood Of The Dragonsword
- Fireshadow's Moon
- Timeblood: Dark World of the Greenstar Dragon
- Swordstar: the dragonblood chronicles
- Sunblood: Darkness of the Storm World

Just a though...

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