Tuesday Tips: Naming your fic babies!

[thtwzjustadream.livejournal.com]

With apologies to those for whom it's already Wednesday, here's our latest weekly tip! This time, thoughts on a topic we've discussed briefly before: Titles!


It used to feel like a chore, but I've started to enjoy coming up with titles. When I don't it's usually a sign I'm not all that happy with a particular piece. Often, a title will come to me about half to two thirds of the way through a story and will either be a line from it or a play one one of the lines.

I also have the habit of using song lyrics. I used to feel a little bad about that - like it was a lazy habit. But I noticed when I started watching Supernatural how the writers of that show do so like crazy! And if you think about it (and keep an eye out for it) various shows use allusions to songs, novels, movie names and catch phrases in their episode titles. It makes sense in a way - music is about emotion, and if a lyric is strong and creates emotion (happy, sad, angsty, whatever) it's likely to resonate with your reader, too, even if they don't know the song you're referencing.

Here are three tips I've culled from the links below, that might help if you're stuck coming up with a title some time:

- Great titles can both preview what's coming, and gain meaning as the reader goes along. They capture the mood of a story and become its 'brand' in a way. For some examples, see this list of famous books, and what the author's originally considered going with.


- Use verbs and strong nouns, i.e. 'power words'. Some examples of titles with power words (and what they might read like if watered down):
*Desire under the Elms (Love under the trees)
*From here to Eternity (Now and Forever - although I kind of like that, too).
* The African Queen (A Man and his Boat)
* Dune (A World of Sand)

- Give yourself options and try a quick search. One of the links below suggests having three to five options for your title before you choose. That seems like a few more than necessary to me, but whatever works. I also like the idea of Googling a title to see where else it has come up, and what the tone of those stories are compared with the one you're ready to post. And if you find your title doesn't come up at all (as I found with the one title of mine that I really love) then you might have something original.

What are your thoughts? Do you enjoy coming up with titles for your stories? Do you have a system or a habit that works for you or that you'd like to break out of? Does a title sway you to click in if it's compelling, or push you to keep scrolling if it's annoying? How about chapters - do you just stick with the default text of Chapter 1., Chapter 2. etc... or do you name each one?

The Art of Finding a Title
Quicktips: Writing an Effective Title
A Guide to Great Titles
Three Rules for Writing Effective Titles
Famous Book Titles with a Letter Missing (for laughs)

Comments

[sharpiesgal.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I agonize over coming up with a title and other times the title leaps right up at me. I'll admit when I started posting fic that some of my titles were downright lame, but I'm getting better.

[thtwzjustadream.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean, mine used to be pretty dashed off. Now it's actually fun to puzzle them out.

[scraplove.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I use the prompt as a title. Once, I threw a title I didn't like onto a fic because it was late at night and I wanted to post, with the intention of changing it. But by morning, I liked it! For a while I had a bunch of fics with C titles— it started with one series, where I did it a few times by mistake and thought it was funny, so I did it on purpose. And then I just went with it :) Most of my titles are one word, and usually the first word that comes to me that fits ends up being the title. I hate trying to think of titles, and am super lazy XD

[thtwzjustadream.livejournal.com]

I've had that happen, where a title grows on me - or even tells me something about the story that I didn't realize I was "doing" until the title popped up.

Maybe you'll find, like others, that it gets to be more entertaining as you go along. :).

[scraplove.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly! Night: well, I want to throw it up there, X friend wanted to read it, so title... anyone? no?... okay terrible title but whatever, I'll change it in the morning.

And maybe I will someday :) I just realized it's not just laziness (though definitely that!), it's also impatience. Yes, okay, title, slap it on the LJ, MOVE ON TO THE NEXT THING TO WRITE! Also, I have to worry less about what people think of my titles since only 26 people can see them anyway XD It makes me go "whatever, moving on!" even more.

[agdhani.livejournal.com]

I no longer recall how I came up with the title of Book 1 in my series...Kestrel Harper Saga: White Pawn...although the kestrel harper is fitting because it describes the characters harp...his skin and hair are white, so that's obvious...and he feels like a pawn at various points in the story...so maybe it grew out of those after I wrote it.
But the following books continued in that vein...White Prophet, White Penitent, White Prodigal, and White Purgator. Finding the right P word will be trick for the next 2, but they'll fit the pattern somehow :)

[scraplove.livejournal.com]

:D I love alliteration!

[simplyn2deep.livejournal.com]

I think I'm lucky in that 80% of the time, titles of fic come to me as I'm planning it or when I get the initial idea.

When that happens, I'm almost certain writing it will be a breeze.

When it comes to deciding on if I'll read a fic or not, the title is a small factor (I'm more of "does the summary catch me?" and if that's a yes, then I check the author. I'm wary of newer authors) and chapter titles, they can be labeled A, B, C, for all I care, but if you give it something like "Truth Revealed" and NOTHING is revealed or no truths are told, that's going to really annoy me.

[thtwzjustadream.livejournal.com]

Oh, summaries. We could do a whole topic on summaries, if anyone wants that one I'd be glad to read what you have to say. I think I'm better at titles than summaries- always struggle with them, seldom happy with them.

[tkeylasunset.livejournal.com]

I think a post about summaries would be awesome. Some people are great at pulling you by how the summary describes the story. Some summaries make me leave before giving the story a chance.

[kaige68.livejournal.com]

SUMMARIES!! YES!!

I'm so horrible at summaries! Um... yeah, stuff happens. Especially with drabbles. *headdesk*

[thtwzjustadream.livejournal.com]

oh, yes - it's worst with compilations (at least for me) because I make it entirely cut and dried. "Here are a bunch of disparate things, enjoy... all three of you". Note to self: They should be little pitches, teases.

[kaige68.livejournal.com]

*snort* Yes!

Actually last month's connected drabbles with an arc were called June WotD drabbles1 HA!

[thtwzjustadream.livejournal.com]

I agree - maybe someone else could step up and do that one, 'cause I know it's not my strong point. :). Hello... anyone... Beuller...

[tkeylasunset.livejournal.com]

I'll give it a go if no one else volunteers. It would be fun!

[skargasm.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, I think I'm part of the 'it used to be a chore but I'm getting into it more' clan. It also helps that I make banners for a lot of my own fics so I can 'see' what the title looks like with my characters. I shall have a look at the links you've put up though - it all helps!

[thtwzjustadream.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting thought - I don't make a lot of banners, but I can see how it might help, especially if you work on the banner before you start publishing and while there's time to play with it. Maybe I'll make more banners here and there.....

[skargasm.livejournal.com]

I've just started another original piece and am considering doing a banner so I can picture the characters as well as work out a title...

[heffermonkey.livejournal.com]

It is a very rare occasion that I have a title at the start or part way through a fic. Sometimes I have a working title but most of the time I agonize over them once the fic is finished. I do look to songs for inspiration, but that might be because I don't usually write without music on in the background setting the mood.

I used to hate coming up with titles and still find it difficult

[thtwzjustadream.livejournal.com]

Sometimes (when I'm tired, mostly) I need silence to write but otherwise I need music, too. I read that Douglas Adams used to have entire playlists for writing days that varied depending on what he was working on. And, of course, that was before digitized music - which made it a challenge. Reading that made me squee and then sad because he *so* should have lived to see the iPhone. :\. Sorry... tangent.

[haldoor.livejournal.com]

I always find these posts hard to respond to, which is ridiculous because I have stuff going on my head as much as anyone. I just... I find analysing all this stuff hard; I kinda just 'do'. But here goes:

I sometimes use song titles or lines from songs. Sometimes I use a working title until something I'm writing in the body of the story inspires me and I know 'that's it' (or the working title sticks). Occasionally they don't come easily and I'm not so pleased, but generally I have them by the time I'm ready to post; sometimes long before.

[thtwzjustadream.livejournal.com]

No worries! Some topics might speak to you more than others- maybe this one just doesn't. :).

Interesting point about working titles - I almost never have one in my head when I start out, I wait to see what comes as I'm writing. I do like some of mine more, in the end, than I do others.

If nothing else, the links were kind of fun to poke around and see how others think about titles.

[haldoor.livejournal.com]

I find discussions on all of them hard! But that's just me. ;-)

Sometimes I have working titles, sometimes not, but yeah, I like some more than others too.

I'm a little scared of the links, but I did like the one with the missing letters - those are my kind of scene! ;-)