The following Words are hereby decreed Illegal in the Titles of Works of General Fiction and Literature:
- Bone / Bones
- Club
- Whisperer
- Dead
- Society
- Wife [when defining a Female according to the Occupation of her Husband, e.g. ,The Emperor’s Wife]
- A Novel [when preceded by a colon]
- [Any Deceased Author]
Furthermore, it is henceforth Forbidden to have as a Protagonist any sort of Writer, or other Practitioner of the Arts plainly substituting therefor.
The following Words are hereby decreed Illegal in the Titles of Works of Science Fiction:
- [blank]-World
- Effect
- Empire
- Zone
- Factor
- Chaos
- Hegemony
- Galactic
The following Words are hereby decreed Illegal in the Titles of Works of Fantasy:
- Chronicles
- Dragon
- Lord
- Quest
- Shadow
- Wizard
- Apprentice
- King
- Empire / Emperor / Empress
- Prophecy
- Doom
- Throne
- Sword
- Saga
- Rune
- Covenant
- Bane
- Mage
Further, the use of a Colon in the Title of a Science Fiction or Fantasy Work shall be by Royal Approval only, and shall never accompany an Unpronounceable Neologism (e.g., Sword of Prophecy: The Fyrblyngkan Chronicles).
Furthermore, for Works of Science Fiction or Fantasy, it is henceforth decreed that Writers must show Due Cause for any Narrative Exposition, or else remove such Offending Material from Public Scrutiny prior to Publication.
The following Words are hereby decreed Illegal in the Titles of Works of Horror:
- Dark
- Blood
- Death
- Moon
- Scream
- Fear
- Any gerund [word ending in ing, e.g., The Gnoshing]
Further, it is henceforth Forbidden to Invoke the Deity in the Banishment of any perceived Evil, unless Fair and Timely arrangement of adequate Payments of Royalty have been previously Arranged.
*Grin*
This makes me want to make a similar decree regarding Romance and Erotica. First words for the list are heaving, pulsate, throb and suckle.
Those show up in titles? Yeesh!
I refuse to read any books with a larger-than-normal unicorn quotient. 😉
Luckily my unicorn is not larger than normal, but average-sized.
Fun stuff. I think I would probably read at least the first few pages of a book titled The Gnoshing, though, just to see what it was. 🙂
I’m thoroughly enjoying the resurgence of Steve Boyett the writer. I loved the Myopia lecture you posted recently.
Aww but how am i suppose to get my book published now?
Its called “The Chronicles of the Dragon Lord: the Quest for the Shadow Wizards Apprentice” 😛
Afraid John Scalzi has you beat with The Shadow War of the Night Dragon: Book One: The Dead City, after Tor books published a list that was remarkably similar to mine. (Tor’s megaphone is a lot louder than mine.) In terms of how you made use of the words, I actually like your title better — that’d get published without anyone blinking. Sadly.