What's a Good Story Title?

For my story Boy, the title pretty much explains the story. Once his mom dies, he's basically a wreck and in the end, he needs his sister's shoulder to cry on. He realizes he's just a boy.

I usually like to use one worded titles that basically go with the story. But I do love those titles that pull you in and have almost nothing to do with the story.

Capture is still a working title, but I'm strongly considering keeping it. It's really simple, but it has so many means in the story. Capture in terms of being captured, in terms of taking a photograph...

Baptism in the Waves I just through really matched the imagery of the story. And the story is more of a rambling than a concrete plot, so I felt it was okay to have an "ambiguous" sort of title.

Catalyst was actually incredibly difficult to title. I really had no idea what to call it, but I knew I didn't want the title to focus too much on the fetish which was the plotline. And the whole story is basically about the fetish being a catalyst to the opening scenes so I thought it worked. (It's also the title of the song I listened to while writing it, which gave me the idea for the title.)

I Meant It is basically the entire focus of Brendon's thought process within this story. I thought it was somewhat forceful as well. There's really no arguing with it or any leeway as far as what it "means".

Run Away was pretty simple to come up with. It's the entire plot concept so it was rather simple, as was the story itself.

Begin Again was just one of many songs that I used within the story, but it captured everything that it was about. And so I chose to use it for the title.

The Bird in the Handkerchief is sort of an obvious title, but at the same time it really gives absolutely nothing away about the plot, really. And I liked that. I also really wanted to tie in with a bird but without being as metaphorical as the predecessor. (This story is a companion to Icarus and the Bird of Peace.)

His Name is Regret. I wanted to tie in regrets with the title without being too flowery. It was almost My Name is Regret but the story isn't first person so I changed the title at the last minute.

how to paint with your fingers - its a personal secret how i came up with this title but i think it really fits the story, that sort of sad learning to breathe again, coming to terms with the fact that you fucked everything up, not knowing how to be a child, how to "paint with your fingers" again

Leafling. I don't think its really a word. But it seemed to fit. In the beginning, the girl is somewhat immature. At the end, she will have matured (into a big leaf, if you will).

Someone's Gotta Give I picked the title because both the main characters (DJ Ashba and Lucy Deal-Mars) are both really cold characters, they both seem to take from others rather then give. So when two people are in a relationship and they both take it won't work out even if you want it to. That's why I picked the title because in this story one of them has to give.

Wanderlust- I dunno. It just hedges on the whole idea of exploration and uncertainty and in this case, I guess, cheating.

The Vaulted Sky was taken from the poem I AM by John Clare:

I long for scenes where man has never trod;
A place where woman never smil'd or wept;
There to abide with my creator, God,
And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept:
Untroubling and untroubled where I lie;
The grass below--above the vaulted sky

The poem fit a lot of the themes of the story, so I used it.

Most of the time I come up with titles before stories. It sounds weird. When I was originally working on Rennyboy., it was untitled. But I liked the name Ren, and kind of wanted to change the "working title" before I'd end it. Now, it sounds stupid to me, but I can't imagine it being titled something different. And it fits - Ren went from being that shy kid who hated singing or talking in front of people (like a little boy would) to growing up a little bit.

The Mighty Mosh is a stupid title. I'll admit it. But I can't think of anything better, really.

Say It Like You Mean It! was originally It's Kind of a Funny Story..., but then I realized there was an actual book by the same name. And I do not need to be sued.

For a story that's in developement, I'm saving it as Starling but I'm changing it. To what, I have no idea, but I'll think of something. It'll probably come from something.

I usually get my titles from lyrics.
/is lame and can't think of her own titles x]

Alexander Bernadotte:

I usually get my titles from lyrics.
/is lame and can't think of her own titles x]

I do that too so don't worry

Alexander Bernadotte:

I usually get my titles from lyrics.
/is lame and can't think of her own titles x]

Some famous authors do that too, I wouldn't worry about it.

I use song titles, words that I feel describe the story or whats happening/going to happen. I don't know, whatever I can find that I feel fits the mood of the story.

Mine are usually themes of what's going on in the story, like a single, really important word or some crazy symbolic stuff that only I understand because I'm the crazy one making stuff up X)
I"ve only ever used songs for titles twice, and I'm usually never been very blunt about my titles either (at least, not anymore). I'm rather proud of myself though, because the title to my most recent oneshot is a play off of a line of famous poetry :D

Bad Guys Wear Black is a line from a Pantera song. It's an apocalypse fic and in it, the bad guys do wear black, black is the colour of death/loss/things like that, so for the enemies to wear black to signify death, I thought, was an alright idea.

Echoes & Silence sounded almost...desperate, to me. If you read it, you'll understand, that Krist is desperate for Kurt to still be alive, calling for him - the "echo" and eventually realising he's gone, which is the "silence".

Glass Dream...seriously not sure how I thought it up. It's quite difficult to describe how he's feeling through the story, possibly that he feels trapped (the glass) and he uses dreams to escape. I don't know. It's pretty strange.

What Is Love? was the question Angus asked throughout the story, so I thought it would fit.

This November was the time the story is set in, during winter, so, it seemed appropriate.

The Evermore Song is called so because it relates to something that comes up later in the story. Bon writes a song, records it with all the band except Angus, since it's for him and he wants to keep it a surprise. But Angus doesn't find it until a long time later and he swears it'll remain with him forever, hence the "evermore song".

I like to put unique titles in my stories, but I do think that sometimes I over-do it haha. Like the title has so much meaning, but it only means something to me, because I decided it after thinking specific stuff that a reader wouldn't really come up with if they weren't in my head. For example, my original story, Mirrors from Afar, I even sometimes forget how I picked it. XD

Empty Fishbowl, I just knew I wanted the title to tie into the fish somehow.

All the things that I came across with goldfish was already taken, like Requiem for a Goldfish.

of dru's heart.:

Empty Fishbowl, I just knew I wanted the title to tie into the fish somehow.

All the things that I came across with goldfish was already taken, like Requiem for a Goldfish.

I have a prologue written for a story called French and Fishy Kisses, it was one of those stories I thought at the time would be amazing and I would love doing. But in reality I wrote the prologue last summer and have not looked at it since. Sometimes you will think of one of the most amazing titles you have ever had but you can't fit a plot to it.

Your title reminded me of this old story, it was at the beginning of when I started writing.

My story Torn has a fairly obvious meaning after you read the summary. It's basically about two girls, best friends, who have been torn apart from each other by relationships.

*cough* It's a co-write and brand new. *cough* Only one chapter to read so far *cough*

With my stories, I usually use a one or two word line I use within the story, or a Song Title that can be related to the story. For example, Lonely Ferris Wheel is about a Ferris Wheel, but it's only the story that explains the Lonely part, and I got the title from a song.