About how I created the title

Titling a literary work is complicated for most authors. For me is very difficult, and I have finished more than one novel or short story without having found that sentence which will express the essence of the story that I am going to tell.

Things were easier than expected for Sails in the distance, since I only needed six months, from the moment in which I started to work in the story. As a help for other authors with similar problems, and just as a matter of interest for readers, I will talk a bit about how the title came to my mind.

Everything started when I reflected about the setting. The novel takes place in two countries: The Republic of Hakol and the Kingdom of Govria. Reflecting about the past of both countries, I started to write about the process in which Govria conquered Hakol territory along three centuries. And as the Republic did not stop losing battles, I came to the conclusion that, a century and a half ago, Hakol people split. One half resolved to leave the Republic and look for another land with no Govrians. The other half were the ancestors of those who insisted on offer resistance behind Bukret's Dyke, the last defensive structure that the Republic built.

That massive migration is the male protagonist's reason for starting his adventure, so the title should be related with that "exodus". I needed an image capable of depicting that event, a image that could last in the memory of the ones who remained in the Republic. As both countries share an island, that migration had to be carried out by ship. So, I needed an image connected with the sea or with sailboats.

And I imagined the picture of hundreds of sails, that were becoming smaller and smaller for the thousands of Hakol who, with broken hearts, saw as their brothers departed. When that image was in my mind, the title came to me very fast.

If you are a writer, comment below your tricks for finding titles.