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Pulp Librarian Profile picture
@PulpLibrarian
Jun 17, 2024 • 14 tweets • 9 min read • Read on X
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Are you writing a sci-fi or fantasy novel? Are you struggling to choose a title for it?

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

Come with me... Image
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' fantasy novels, the sort they like...


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...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.

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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.


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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. Good news for fans of world building...


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Fun fact: sci-fi and fantasy novels both seem to love the theme of darkness. 'Shadow' is always a very popular word for the title.
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Other popular words are 'night', 'darkness', 'twilight' and 'dark'. Gloomy is good for book titles!
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'Blood' is certainly a good word to drop into a dark fantasy title, but surprisingly 'death' is less popular (based on my sample of DAW book titles).
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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!
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'Time' is a popular title word for both fantasy and sci-fi books...
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...and 'sun' is also a popular title choice that works across both genres.
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When it comes to weather the most popular word is 'storm'.
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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.


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

More books another time... Image

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More from @PulpLibrarian

Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Dec 27, 2025
Today in pulp: how do you write a novel in two weeks?

Pulp writing that has to work within specific constraints, which in turn shape the nature of the story. And speed is the biggest constraint of all: you have to write quickly!

But there are ways to make it work for you... Image
Today a prolific author may write a book every year, but in the 1950s and '60s pulp writer sometimes had as little as two weeks to complete a 50,000 word story and have it ready for print.

That’s 25 novels a year: but at least they got Christmas off! Image
Writing that quickly is hard, but surprisingly liberating. Pulp writers had to go with their first ideas and had to make them work. There wasn’t time to ‘kill your darlings’ - instead you had to toughen them up and send them into battle! Image
Read 23 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Sep 26, 2025
Today in pulp I'm taking a look back at the Regency Romance series from Signet Books! Image
Signet's Regency Romance series started in the late 1970s and ran until 2006. Like its rivals Harlequin and Mills & Boone, Signet Regency Romance published a number of titles each month, often to the same formula... Image
Most (but not all) Signet Regency Romance covers were by Allan Kass, and I can heartily recommend Rhonda Whiting's wonderful blog about this artist, featuring hundreds of scans of his work allankass.blogspot.co.ukImage
Read 11 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Sep 14, 2025
Do you enjoy:
- rally driving?
- quizzes?
- touching stuff?

Then I have the magazine for you... Image
Electronic bagpipes. Everyday Electronics, May 1974. Image
Laugh simulator. Everyday Electronics, January 1972. Image
Read 9 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Jul 26, 2025
What are the pulp archetypes? Pulp novels are usually written quickly and rely on a formula, but do they use different archetypal characters to other fiction?

Let's take a look at a few... Image
The Outlaw is a classic pulp archetype: from Dick Turpin onwards lawbreakers have been a staple of the genre. Crime never pays, but it's exciting and trangressive!

Some pulp outlaws however are principled... Image
As Bob Dylan sang "to live outside the law you must be honest." Michel Gourdon's 1915 hero Dr Christopher Syn is a good example. A clergyman turned pirate and smuggler, he starts as a revenger but becomes the moral magistrate of the smuggling gangs of Romney Marsh. Image
Read 28 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Jun 30, 2025
Given the current heatwave, I feel obliged to ask my favourite question: is it time to bring back the leisure suit?

Let's find out... Image
Now we all know what a man's lounge suit is, but if we're honest it can be a bit... stuffy. Formal. Businesslike. Not what you'd wear 'in da club' as the young folks say. Image
So for many years tailors have been experimenting with less formal, but still upmarket gents attire. The sort of garb you could wear for both a high level business meeting AND for listening to the Moody Blues in an espresso bar. Something versatile. Image
Read 16 tweets
Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Jun 29, 2025
Time once again for my occasional series "Women with great hair fleeing gothic houses!"

Let's see what's in the library... Image
The Voice of the House, by Margaret Erskine (an Inspector Finch Gothic Mystery). Ace Gothic, 1973.

She'll fall over if she leans like that. Image
The Three Sisters of No End House, by Mona Farnsworth. Ace Gothic, 1972.

I said she'll fall over if she leans like that! Image
Read 10 tweets

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