How Do You Name Your Story?

  • thelastpainter

    thelastpainter (110)

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    It tends to be all over for me, personally. Sometimes it's a line from the story or something the character does, such as with a one-shot I'd wrote called Counting Shadows or Whistle

    Other times it describes the character or something about the character, such as with the new story I'm writing for NaNo called On Wings of Gold

    I never use song lyrics, though. I don't like doing that for some reason; it bothers me.
    October 14th, 2012 at 02:40pm
  • clint barton.

    clint barton. (115)

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    I've probably used every method out there to name my stories.

    Usually, though, I just think about it for a while and it comes to me. I like contradictions or titles that really make the reader wonder why it's titled that, while still providing a good hint at what the story's about. My favorite titles are without a doubt <b>Freedom in Structure</b>, which just popped into my head as I was contemplating the plot line and writing out a summary, which used the phrase, and <b>What We Left Unsaid</b>, which took <i>much</i> longer to think up. I guess for that one I just wrote a few chapters (that were totally out of order, mind you) and then came up with a few options and slowly narrowed it down.

    I've been guilty of using song lyrics for a title <u>once</u>. And, in my defense, it <i>is</i> a band fic about the band, the line fits the story perfectly, and it's not <i>overly</i> popular. <b>If I Was Perfect</b>. That's the only time I've used a song lyric title.

    /shrug.
    October 14th, 2012 at 06:16pm
  • Siriano;

    Siriano; (100)

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    I love using song titles for chapters, especially a song I listened to a lot while writing it. As for the actual story, I wish I was one of those people that can take a line from Shakespeare or Byron or something (The Fault In Our Stars, Band of Brothers) and use that, but I haven't done that yet. Maybe if I read more phrases will jump out at me.

    Mostly they are the first or second thing I think of. I'm like, okay here's a few characters and a basic premise and I'm going to call it _________.
    October 24th, 2012 at 09:58pm
  • Daydreamer09

    Daydreamer09 (100)

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    I find story titles so hard! I tend to just rush down anything at the end - I have used song lyrics from a song I listened to while writing, or else I have looked around wildly for inspiration and landed on anything. My new story One For Sorrow, Two For Joy was taken from when I looked out of my window when I had to think of a title and saw a magpie. I like that rhyme, and I thought I could make it fit with the themes of the story, so I used it Very Happy
    November 13th, 2012 at 07:36pm
  • swell

    swell (150)

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    Lately I've been finding quotes on tumblr that I've seen in my dash and automatically liked them, so when I go through my likes section I get inspiration from said quotes. Those quotes on tumblr generally generate a title for me.
    March 16th, 2013 at 09:37am
  • bellamy blake

    bellamy blake (3280)

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    I'm big on not using song titles, song lyrics, novel titles, film titles, quotes, or tv show titles as titles for my stories, so I put a lot of effort into coming up with my own titles. The only exceptions I can think of to my rule would be when I've joined contests for like, songfics, and the rules required you have lyrics as the title or whatever, or instances in which I come up with a title that just happens to be a song title that I wasn't aware of.

    I try to give my pieces titles that I feel serve as a good representation of the story as a whole. Most of the time, my titles end up tying to an object that's significant or serves as symbolism for the story, such as Sand Dollar or Sunflower. Also, I've used expressions that I felt were relevant as far as the situation and the emotions described in the piece goes, like Details in the Fabric or Come in with the Rain.

    The title's usually the first thing I have to come up with after I have an initial idea for a story, and I have to have a title in place before I actually begin to write something. After I finish the piece, I usually go back and find a song that ties in with the story, a quote, or an excerpt from the pieces that can serve as a summary, but I can't write something without having a title in mind first. I'm not someone who can come up with a title afterward or use a working title.
    May 18th, 2013 at 07:51pm
  • Isadora Pierce

    Isadora Pierce (125)

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    I usually name my story based on two words that I like a lot in a song. And it's cool because I usually pick things other people haven't heard so when it comes down to hey, where'd Brooke get her title from? No one knows. You can usually google mine though.
    June 6th, 2013 at 06:55pm
  • bellamy blake

    bellamy blake (3280)

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    If I'm having trouble with a title or one doesn't really jump out at me, I'll open a Word doc and just brainstorm as many titles as possible, no matter how ridiculous they sound, and go through and pick the one I'd be most intrigued by or most likely to read.
    November 29th, 2013 at 05:04am
  • Katie Mosing

    Katie Mosing (33815)

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    I have a list of titles in my phone and I pick whichever one fits the story best. It's usually really easy to choose.
    February 15th, 2014 at 07:12pm
  • archivist

    archivist (660)

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    It just comes to me, really. I have one, Strings, that's got its basis in the ruler of the Universe, the man who pulls the strings. Northwards is just a medieval story about a King traveling north to find his enemy.

    I've had better titles, but those are my most recent.
    March 22nd, 2014 at 11:49pm
  • dombelova

    dombelova (125)

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    I usually use song lyrics if I can think of any. I'm actually really bad at naming my stories.
    April 27th, 2014 at 06:12pm
  • lar rackell.

    lar rackell. (100)

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    I'm guilty of going the Latin route a lot of the time. I'm terrible at titles so I'm one of those writers that goes O KAY LATIN PHRASE THIS WORKS and find something that sounds interesting and fits some part of the story. I'm trying to get away from that, even though the story I'm working on right now is a Latin phrase. But the phrase is actually a thing in universe, so I'm considering it a free pass...

    Other than that, I'm sitting there thinking of a title for hours because, for some reason, I find it hard to continue writing without a title. I have one story called Hawke because that's the main character's last name. I have a story called But It's The Desert because you never see werewolves in settings like the Mojave desert and... it's about werewolves in the Mojave desert.
    May 13th, 2014 at 09:45pm
  • peach kitten

    peach kitten (165)

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    I think really really hard about words that would describe my type of story, then I google synonyms to those words, then I rearrange those words and try to form a story title! If I don't like it I rearrange them again! c:
    May 18th, 2014 at 05:09pm
  • The Real Mitt Romney

    The Real Mitt Romney (250)

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    ^ I use synonyms too. I will google synonyms of a word that sort of fits my story idea and then eventually stumble upon something I like. I'm pretty lazy when it comes to titles.
    May 24th, 2014 at 06:57pm
  • Alsoldey

    Alsoldey (230)

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    I like twisting old phrases and making them my own. Other times I look for things that pertain to the story.
    May 30th, 2014 at 09:25am
  • vivacious.

    vivacious. (100)

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    They usually just come to me naturally or I brainstorm and choose the best one, I rarely use song lyrics myself but sometimes they are really effective. I think the best way to is to brainstorm some if you're stuck, just write down your thoughts desires and it should produce a great title. Oh make sure you reevaluate the themes within your story, you can develop a title from there.
    May 30th, 2014 at 10:14am
  • archivist

    archivist (660)

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    I don't know. It took me about 56 eons to come up with Icarus.
    May 30th, 2014 at 08:04pm
  • This.Useless.Heart.

    This.Useless.Heart. (115)

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    Ugh, I am awful at titling; I honestly hate it most of the time because I tend to suck at it. Once in a great while a perfect name will fall into my lap from the heavens, but usually my titles come from a lot of blood, sweat, tears, cursing and brainstorming... Or from begging others for help. Facepalm
    June 11th, 2014 at 10:13pm
  • FuckNo

    FuckNo (100)

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    Portions of song lyrics that I think fit the story are my go to. However, I also sometimes use cliche phrases that sum it up, or just a turn of phrase, like I did with 'Check and Mate'. I also have done research into mythology in order to choose a deity to use as a title like I did with Janus.

    Regardless, the title needs to give some sort of feeling about the story, but not give too much away. I'm in no way a fan of stories titled like (not to pick on anyone, it's just the first thing that came to mind), "I'm a Girl At a Boy's Boarding School?!"
    June 11th, 2014 at 11:35pm
  • Lady.V.

    Lady.V. (960)

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    I have never used song lyrics in titles because I don't life the never-ending titles. I like my titles to be like how it would be if it was a published novel so my titles are usual short with two new exceptions. Mostly I go for titles like these: Flames in Heaven, Blood Pleasure, Twin Flames, Immortal Kiss, Her Black Cross (which I have already named my stories after). Of course they fit with the stories I'm writing perfectly.
    June 12th, 2014 at 07:48pm