The story, essentially, is this:
In the late 1800's, a train on its way from Chicago to San Augustin, California is swarmed by otherwordly monsters. With the crew dead and the train careening faster and faster toward a monstrous and derailed doom, it's up to a small group of determined individuals to save the train and all its passengers before it derails, releasing the monsters onto an unsuspecting and unprepared world.
I already have the main characters in mind. Some of them will be familiar names, ancestors of characters I have already written about. I'm planning adventure, intrigue, romance, and a host of Lovecraftian beasties ready to suck out souls and feast on the unfortunate living. It's going to have more cliches than a George Lucas film, but I'm okay with that.
Anyway, I'm stumped for titles, both for the novel itself and the chapters within it, so I'm asking my online friends to help me out. Just to make it more exciting, if you give me a title I will happily kill you off in the manner of your choosing in the chapter titled with your suggestion. You can be a crew member, a passenger, a hapless bystander, whatever. Or you can have no preference and I'll use my imagination. Don't feel like you have to be confined to being eaten by a spawn of Cthulhu or slain by the wizard or something like that.
Any help at all would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
Originally published at Bloginomicon. You can comment here or there.
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Comments
That give you some ideas?
like the "4:15 train of DOOOOOM"...
or for a HPL take on it
"The Tracks Man was not meant to Travel"
spin as you will.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Jone
"The Great Brain Robbery"
- This Train is Bound for Gory (This Train is bound for Glory)
- Hobo Bill’s Last Ride (real song title)
- Hats, Splats and Harrow Callers ("from" Putting on the Ritz)
Also, makes me think you could incorporate the song:"City of Chicago"
http://songsandstories.net/myblog/2
"A Fistful of Monsters"
"For a Few Monsters More"
"The Dead, The Bad, and The Ugly"
"Support Your Local Wizard"
"Stageroach"
"Mage Cassidy and the Sundance Bid"
"The Great Slain Robbery" (but I like the Great Brain Robbery better)
"Telegraph of Cthulhu"
"Slain"
"Once Upon a Crime in America"
"Every Which Way But Dead"
Five minutes in the Western section of your video store will give you more inspiration than you can shake a byakhee at.
Chapter: In, Out, Between
Chapter: Nor Rage like A Woman Scorned
Chapter: Windy Departures {chicago}
Chapter: Twister Turnabout {kansas}
Chapter: Rocky Desperation {rocky mountains}
Chapter: The Stars are Out
The Horrient Express
A Speeding Train, A Broken Bridge, And Other Cliches
Steam Powered Doom
The Clockwork Corset
Fist Full of Coal, Brain Full of Tentacles
Derailed Derangements
Manwhile, Back at the Caboose...
More later after lunch.
Locomotive Death.
(With nod to Jethro Tull.)
Definitely sounds like a novel I'd read.
(Total shoutout.)
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Going off-topic... for your SotW, I would love to see what you can do with this opening sentence: "The streets ran white with milk."
"Otherworld Express"
"Union Horrific"
"Train 666 from Chicago Has Been Delayed Further" (or "indefinitely", or "will not be arriving"...there are lots of possibilities)
"Chicago-Omaha-R'lyeh"
"This Train Stops Nowhere"
and of course...
"Fright Train"! (which appears to be the title of a silly song, some railway exhibit, and 2 other books)
I'd like to be blown up, gassed, crushed, electrocuted, etc. while showing other passengers how to use the awesome chemicals/artillery/bizarre 19th century device I was going to use against the monsters.