Titles (a discussion)

[Amidala Skywalker]

I have a question for all of you guys. How do you come up with titles for you work? I have the hardest time with titles. The only title I've ever really liked for any of my fics was for Twinkling of an Eye, which I got from a quote from one of Jedi Kiara's fics that I really felt reflected a theme in my own story. But, for another example, I have been writing a novel for the last four years, and I'm still no closer to coming up with a good, intruiging, attention-grabbing, piece-reflective title.

 

What do you guys do? Do you have any secret sources of inspiration?

[Jidai Geki]

My own method of coming up with titles is rather uninspired. I favour half-aphorisms which hint at the plot of my stories, as in "hell hath no fury" and "tell no tales", but other than those two, the titles are often just bland descriptions. I am pleased with those two titles, however.

[Lord Ar-Pharazon]

Honestly, and this sounds weird, but with my AOS fanfic, I don't think of a chapter title until I'm completely finished, and often as I'm posting the finished product, I'll just come up with something right then and there. I've taken a page from Robert Jordan, who often has seemingly bland titles such as The Fires of Heaven or The Shadow Rising. I think it's sort of cool to have a title indicate that something is going to happen, such as Advent of Shadows. It says something dark is on the horizon. That's just telling enough. I don't think they need to be all that flashy.

 

Okay, here's something darker. When I'm trying to write something that will intentionally piss off someone, like the Jedi Kareem story, I like to take something that is really important to them, and then distort it enough so that person will recognize it, but definetely know something is up. It has to be something really strange though, so they clearly see my title right away and immediately know I'm going after them. I want them to see it immediately, so I can watch them freak out.

 

I'm sure when Jedi Karen saw a story about the Psi World, she was taken aback, because why would anyone else write such a thing.

 

Here's some titles I might be tempted to use, and it would be crystal clear that I'd be going after a specific person.

 

The Girl From Singapore with the Slanty Eyes.

 

Tiana's Day at the Pool with the Black Dudes

 

Another good one was the Aerron Kkkhronicles by GMB.

 

So, I guess if I just want to bug someone I make it super obvious. If I want someone to get allured, I like to make it somewhat vague, so they're perhaps enticed to read and see what's going on. I thought your story about the Big Day had a good title, since it made want to see what it was about, because I didn't anticipate anything of the sort.

[Sasori]

I just do whatever comes to mind first. If it takes longer than a minute after writing the first chapter for me to come up with a title I can guarantee whatever I wrote was garbage and I toss it.

[Tiana Calthye]

The very first story I ever named in all seriousness was 'The Future Began Yesterday' which later became 'The Hidden Past'. It evolved from, well, a shitty ripoff of several fandoms I was into to the story of a girl who'd had her entire past life erased and, in the quest to rid the world of these bad guys with the help of her crew (a couple elves, a couple MIB/Jedi type agents and a girl who turned out to be the reincarnation of the Empress) ended up joining the bad guys, betraying everyone she'd teamed up with and ultimately DYING. Now, keep in mind this was my first shot at a serious fiction novel, and it was absolute shit. The point of the original name was that her actual story was the story she couldn't remember, that it had began "yesterday" (where she couldn't remember it) and she was in the "future" now, but didn't know how it had started. The second name, The Hidden Past, was simply a less clunky way of saying that they couldn't remember it.

 

So in that case, I named the story for the story.

 

Let's move forward. I named a story "The New Sith Order". That one was named off of the joke of 'what if the New Jedi Order was the New Sith Order instead' and was reflecting the origins.

 

I named a story the Legend of Scarecrow--the main character was Jarsen, otherwise known as... Scarecrow.

 

I named a story On The Edge, a bit of a cliche type name, for a theme repeated throughout the story. I think it would've been better named Midnight, in retrospect. OTE was the sequel to Dreshae (named for a character) which was later renamed Between Places, in reference to the setting.

 

I named a story The Millennium House, a key place and theme in the plot. I toyed with renaming it The Angel Project, the specific project the story will deal with, but stuck with Millennium House. Again, a sort of reference to the setting and a key thing in the story.

 

I named a story... and this I think is one of my my best names... Revenant Lights... a reference to the northern lights and the ghost-like creatures in the story. The story unfortunately needs signifigant reworking, but I may post the rough draft here.

 

And finally, there's the series of single-word named stories Jandalf and I did... Legacy, Reunion, Fealty, Betrayal, Renascent--a single word selected to reflect the theme of the story.

 

I named another story Where The Eyes Open, and I hope that the meaning behind that name will be apparent by the end of the story.

 

 

I always name before I start the story. I find myself unable to write if there's not a name because for me, the name is the THEME of the story. Revenant Lights, Between Places, Where the Eyes Open, all examples of stories where the name is a theme repeated within the story, whether directly or indirectly, and in general ties into the ending. If I'm having a difficult time of naming, I will usually pick a place or a person (Dreshae, The Millennium House) but I prefer to use a theme than a person, and a place only if it's critical. Sometimes the name changes once I'm done. Dreshae became Between Places because the character was relegated to a more minor role and the theme of the story became much more critical. Formerly it had been the story of a boy who lost his girlfriend and was harrassed by the spirit of the planet. Now, well, you'll just have to read it, but it's mainly the story of two dreamworlds.

 

So here is a method for naming.

 

-Is the story CHARACTER based or LOCATION based or STORY based? Is the story about the growth of A CHARACTER? (A New Hope) Is it a story based around a LOCATION? (The Chronicles of Narnia) Is it a story based around a PLOT? (Lord of the Rings)

 

If it's about the character's growth, what is that character? What does that character stand for? What happens to the character? You have the options of naming it AFTER the character (Harry Potter) or after what that character IS (The Phantom Menace, The Phantom of the Opera, The Thieflord, Dark Knight) or what that character DOES that influences the story (The Return of the King) or a major trait of the character (Wicked) or a couple traits (Legally Blond) or even say, a motive of the character (Not Without My Daughter) or something else that makes the character stand out (Little Red Riding Hood, The Last Dragonrider). You could also name it after a group of people (The Dragonriders of Pern, The Young Jedi Knights.) or something critical that happens to the character (So You Want To Be A Wizard).

 

 

If the location is more key than the story, consider. You could name it after a country (The Chronicles of Narnia, Discworld, Dune) or a key place influencing the story (Pearl Harbor, The Titanic) or something else that suits (The Forests of Avalon, The Mists of Avalon, Lady of Avalon as a series for example, or The Dark Tower, The Magic City) or even something smaller, like a house (Howl's Moving Castle, The House on the Borderland) or even smaller (The Cellar). You'll notice a trend in fantasy novels for chosing the name of the world the story's set in as a series name. Or you could mix it up and use both names and places (Wizard of Earthsea) or you could describe the setting (Fire Sea, Elven Star). If it's a series people often pick location things to make themes around, such as City of Bones, City of Glass, City of Masks, etc...

 

 

If it's based around the plot, well, what's the plot about? Kill the Dead? The Lord of the Rings? The Immortals? Nothing but Blue Skies? Plot or theme based names have to really be picked by something in the story.

 

-What are the characters doing? (Practical Magic, Kill the Dead)

-What's happening in the story? (Interesting Times)

-What are they after? (Ghost in the Shell)

-An event? (Wizard's Holiday)

-A repeated theme? (The Color of Magic)

 

So look at the story. What's it about? Joe? Who is Joe? What is Joe? Where is Joe going? Where is Joe coming from? Who is Joe interacting with? What happens to Joe in the story? Does Joe fly an airship? Is Joe a law enforcement officer? Is Joe going to be kidnapped and held as a hostage on the planet Yuhborg? And is rescued by his estranged daughter? Sure!

 

Here are some options for naming that story.

 

Joe <--character

Joe's Daughter <--another character

The Law of the Sky <--what the character does

Paint the Clouds

No Escape <--how the character may feel

To Yuhborg <--a place AND a plot

Hostage <--a character description and plot

Alien Rights

Taken from the Sky <--a very specific plot

The Unexpected Visitors <--a group of characters

Dangerous Hobbies <--Flying airships is dangerous. A theme.

Right of Way

Captain <--a name for a character

No Laws <--a theme

Skycop

In Space <--another location

The Black Between Stars <--a description of a location

The Visitors

Negotiations

Fly High <--a theme

Above the Clouds <--another theme

 

Etc...

 

Geki's names are more themes, LAP's tend to be character and plot based, but that's generally a recipe for a name.

[Dartha Athanth]

O_o Tiana's post pwnz.

 

I do not have slanty eyes, so it can't be me!

 

For me titles kinda encapsulate the main premise of the story. And it usually isn't metaphorical like 'advent of shadows' or 'where the eyes open', and is usually explained pretty early.

 

*opens fan fic folder*

 

For my more... um... well known fics ( not that there are many now since I haven't updated in like a year), the title is usually explained in the first chapter or so. I kinda come up with the title at the moment I start writing the fic, soooo.

 

If my title sounds slightly lame (IMO, at least) I usually came up with it after I did the fic.

[Sasori]

I do not have slanty eyes, so it can't be me!

 

Was I looking at the wrong facebook? I should mark it on the arm to know the difference.

[Amidala Skywalker]

Wow Tiana. That's a pretty impressive tool to use. Well, according to that, the title of my novel should be Ahdiar. I've actually been toying with that name for a while now, but my only concern is it sounds too fantasy-y. After all, it follows the normal fantasy theme of being named after a location. What do you think? Does it scream "fantasy"? I mean, it is a fantasy book, but if it gets published, I want people other than just fantasy readers to be drawn to it, you know what I mean?

 

I think the reason I didn't choose a title earlier was that when I started writing it, I didn't expect it to become a full-fledged thing, and so I didn't know where it was going.

 

I guess other possible titles could be something like Transitions (but that sounds a little teen-angst), or In the Middle, or something about hope. I don't know...

 

I really like naming titles after a key thing a character says, or a quote from the book. That's why, for example, I thought the book Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor was so excellently named.

 

*ponders* I'm glad I made this thread...it's giving me lots of food for thought.

[Dartha Athanth]

Compared to people like lucy liu, I don't.

[Tiana Calthye]

Wow Tiana. That's a pretty impressive tool to use. Well, according to that, the title of my novel should be Ahdiar. I've actually been toying with that name for a while now, but my only concern is it sounds too fantasy-y. After all, it follows the normal fantasy theme of being named after a location. What do you think? Does it scream "fantasy"? I mean, it is a fantasy book, but if it gets published, I want people other than just fantasy readers to be drawn to it, you know what I mean?

Name it Adhiar! I like that. It doesn't scream fantasy to me at all, it screams 'a word that I want to know more about'. If you're not confident about that as a name, though, you can shoot me up a PM and describe the story in more detail and I'll help you with some more naming ideas. I looove naming things so much.

 

I name everything. Be it a file that ends at one paragraph with me muttering about how hopeless it is, to long novels, they all start with a name. It's a bad way to write but it's how I write.

[TJM von Liechtenstein]

I tend to come up with a title before anything else, even before I have an idea for a story. I write down a title, and then decide what the story will be. For instance, just the other night I came up with the title The One Who Came Before, but I didn't start writing it until the next day. I have a whole list of titles, some with brief descriptions, that have not been ascribed a specific story as of yet.

 

Of course this isn't always the case. Sometimes the title is the last thing I come up with. I wrote a short WWI story a while back called Fighting, Dying, which is taken from a quote within. Usually titles come easily to me, though occasionally it's difficult; case in point my untitled (and as of yet unfinished) Kyle Katarn fan fic. I've been considering what the title should be and trying to begin writing the ending to that story, but with my underwhelming last attempt at reviving it I'm a bit more content with letting it remain unfinished.

[Wookiee Jedi]

I actually named mine based off the series I developed it in. Originally it was going to be called The Final Exodus with three parts, but I have instead changed it up to be three parts of a trilogy.

[DarthBrendo]

My Chronicles fic was supposed to be a three part epic saga. I ran out of steam, had no idea where I was going with it and got de-motivated due to lack of commenting. lol. It also hurt that I wrote the first part when I was 14, then ended up re-writing it all over a period of a couple years so I lost touch with who the characters were. Naming it though, for me, seemed logical. I called it what it was.

[Chosen One Ephant Mon]

This is a good topic and it's really interesting to see how others think about titles. I fall into the camp of usually finding them late in the process.

 

It depends on the type and tone of the piece, but I'm a big fan of one-worders. That doesn't always work, but I usually try to keep it simple. You can pack in a lot with a pithy title. I like it to be pertinent, yet perhaps in a way or with a meaning one might not expect (e.g. Sound). I'm always afraid if I try to get too poetic it'll just come across as silly and wannabe-profound. Some people can do it well though. Names can also make good titles (I like Ami's Adhiar) though for more straightforward ones I think it's kind of bold and requires a strong character story to back it up. I think it just reminds me of Shakespeare. His character titles are powerful because he really brings it.

Edited February 18, 2011 by Guest

[NavyGal]

Titles for me are sometimes things I think of but other times I can't think of anything.

 

Usually mine are pretty simple ones referring to the subject matter of the piece or for poems generally a line from the poem.