A title, a quandary, a question

[desperance]

As you may know, I like to write to a title; it's usually what I start with, before I have any notion of character or setting or plot, or even a first line.

I love the way a book will build around its title, embedding that at the heart of what it is. And I hate the converse, having to apply a title to a finished work like a transfer lacquered on, a surface touch.

I have this book, this novel-length novella which I'm writing. It is about Kipling, on Mars. In tribute to that whole school of Victorian/Edwardian travel writing, I meant to call it With Kipling on Mars. But it occurs to me that current and future generations of readers probably have small notion of Victorian/Edwardian travel writing, and without that background of leather-bound stacks on library shelves, the title may seem prosaic or even dull.

So I am playing with alternatives in the back of my mind. Still holding to that seed, but.

Thus far, the candidates are:

With Kipling on Mars

With Kipling in Mars

With Kipling in Mars Beneath

Mars Beneath

- and in the firm understanding that art is not a democracy, I am open to responses.

Comments

[movingfinger]

Use the title you want to use. Do not speak down to readers, even in a matter of title!