Naming Things in Fiction Is Hard, Actually

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I recently came up with a name for the next novel I’ll start writing after I finish my PhD creative project, and it felt weirdly monumental. For nearly a year and a half, I’d been referring to it exclusively as Olympians (Working Title) — which, to be fair, was accurate, if uninspired. It’s a contemporary reimagining of the ancient Greek pantheon, with a particular focus on the goddesses of Olympus. But a few weeks ago, after a lot of reading and poking around, I finally landed on a title that feels right: She of the Heights. It’s taken from Akraia, an epithet given to goddesses who had temples on high hills. On paper, that detail might seem trivial compared to the plot or themes of the novel itself, but for me, titling a book is often almost as difficult as finishing the book at all.

This is because I am, frankly, terrible at naming things in my writing. Projects, characters, locations… If it needs a name, it will probably spend a long time being referred to as something deeply unhelpful and temporary. More often than not, the entire novel has already been written and rewritten several times before I manage to find a title that doesn’t make me…