Is there a way I could make this work?

Forums: Titles, Fiction Writing, Credible Plotting
Email this Topic • Print this Page

I have a title for a book I have in mind which I really like. The dilemma I am having is that the title is based off of a slang term that was not coined until recently and my story is set in the 70's to early 80's.

I guess I can try changing the era to current times however I feel I have very compelling reasons to choose the pre-internet period. But I have noticed other authors/productions get away with this sort of thing. For example there might be characters that use words like "dork" and "butthead" even though story is set during the 60's/70's, and slang words such as these were not made up until probably the 80's...although I guess that is a little different from making these words the actual title.

The only way I have thought of to make this credible is to maybe give one of the characters some type of clairvoyant/foretelling ability that allows them to pick up on stuff from some 20-30 years into the future. I figure it might work because the story is peppered over with new agey stuff anyway...I dunno, if it sounds too silly I will save this title for a different story but I just wanted to see if anyone has other ideas.

Topic Stats
Top Replies
Link to this Topic

Type: Question • Score: 4 • Views: 571 • Replies: 5

No top replies

@FearlessDiva,

I think you could use the terms without problem. I think gifting your characters with clairvoyance would just be silly.

0 Replies

@FearlessDiva,

Try incorporating the term in a narrative given by a character who survives into the necessary date-time to use that slang. Maybe an introduction like "I'm going to tell you the story about bla bla..." or a short summation chapter at the end, setting up a quiet and peaceful location or atmosphere years later, when the character is reminiscing on the previous events , and find a place for the term there...

1 Reply

@Seizan,

Thanks, another thing I was thinking about was maybe just giving the character his own reasons for making up that particular word....which by pure coincidence just happened to appear in the online urban dictionary some 20-30 years later. I might incorporate my own unique meanings into the term, and explain how it personally resonates with me/my character(s), which might not necessarily be how our current slang dictionaries/today's generations define it.

1 Reply

@FearlessDiva,

Check etymyonline and make sure of the dates when these words were first seen in print. That should give you an idea of usage. Then you can probably figure a few years before would be the true coinage dates. This is because it can be a while before slang reaches print.

If it's a few years (say, the term is from 1980 and your story is set in 1978, you're probably fine. But a term only dating back to 1998 is going to be too far removed from 1971.

IIRC butthead was used in at least the 1985 Back to the Future film. If you're setting the story in 1978, then it's probably fine.

But check etymyonline first.

0 Replies

I just checked. Dork is from 1967.

0 Replies

Is there a way I could make this work?

Related Topics

Quick Links

My Account

able2know