Help wanted for the title of a Space Opera, enquire within.

[Fin]

*dusts of OotS Avatar and stumbles blinking into the light*

Wow, I haven't posted on these boards for a long time. Hello, everyone that was here when I was last around and hello to you to, newer people :smallbiggrin:

Now, why have I come back demanding attention and more importantly do I deserve it?

To the latter, unfortunately the answer is likely no but I will press on regardless. I am about to put ink to paper so to speak on a space opera I have been planning for a little while now. It's scope is pretty big, involving a number of systems across a sizeable galaxy. The issue I have isn't stopping me from proceeding but I know it will nag whilst I have no definitive answer.

I cannot for the life of me come up with a title I am happy with. Can you help?

I am aiming for something to adequately covey the scope of the project which covers a galaxy wide civil war (for the type of civil war I am talking about think more Game of Thrones than Star Wars, there are no rag tag rebels here really just solid armies,) however the story is very much character driven with a large (considerably more so than I originally planned) cast of POV characters who experience and affect the war in their own way. This is both on the political level (planetary leaders and their families/allies) to the more small scale (such as a treasure hunter falsely accused of smuggling due to technologies he finds on a planet believed long dead and the foot-soldier he convinces to help him escape.)

Also if it helps, there are many different humanoid and non-humanoid races present and faster-than-light technology is available.

Unfortunately, yes I know how stupid this may sound, I am yet to decide on how the series will end. I am embarking on this journey purposefully knowing that huge plot points are as yet undecided but I cannot keep planning this forever. I am starting before I put things off and procrastinate myself into achieving nothing. To this end I can think of no better source for inspiration on this title issue I am having than you, most esteemed play grounders.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

[Marlowe]

"The stars in their courts".:smallbiggrin:

[Red Wizard]

Hmm, so you want it to be relatively dark and gritty. The title should match. There's no perfect answer for this; I've been having title problems with my own work, myself. You have so many options, but of course you need the best of all of them. That can be hard to find.

What you can do is name the title after an item/artifact that will feature in the story. Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings does this.
You can name the title after a lead character. Upside: it's simple and easy. Downside: it tells little about the story unless the character has a title you can use (king, queen, admiral, etc.)
You can also take an important quote from the story and make it the title. Given its current relevance, To Kill A Mockingbird comes to mind.
You said you want the story to be huge in scope, so I think the title should imply how vast the story will be. Coupled with the civil war plot, my opinion is it should convey grandeur and fear.

I'll throw out some prospective titles. Maybe one will stick?

Stars United
Stars Scattered
Redshift
Encroaching Cold
Our Worlds Undone
A Galaxy Torn
Warp War
Chaos Theory
The Adventures of Captain McSpace and the Star Squad (no.)

Good luck on your journey.

[Marlowe]

War Pigs in Space?

[Thanqol]

Uppercut!: A Tragedy In Space

[Marlowe]

"The arms flow home to the core?"

[Artman77]

I like A Galaxy Torn, and Stars Scattered so far. I'll throw some out.

Through the Black
Galactic Thrones (yeah, it's a knock-off, but it would get readers)
Annals of the Galaxy
The Chronicles of Galaxy "X" (fill in the blank)
Galactic War I (implying there will be a II)
Galactic Struggle

If it's going to be a series, I would recommend a generic title like Galactic Struggle or Galactic War I and then have a cooler more specific subtitle like A Galaxy Torn or Through the Black. The first would be your logo/brand, the second would give potential readers a clue about what they are in for.

[Zmeoaice]

War Pigs in Space?

This has my vote.