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Post by Admiral Lithp on Apr 12, 2009 5:13:07 GMT -5
Alright, I'm trying to write a story. But I'm a little embarassed about it, so I want to sort of ease into the idea of posting it anywhere.
And one thing I absolutely must do is get a freakin' title.
So, I thought, "what better way to accomplish one or both than to post a thread in Creative Outlets?"
Unfortunately, I don't have the feintest idea of what details to give you. So...what would you guys suggest I look to to come up with a title? Setting? Characters? Object of plot importance? Something completely random?
I'll divulge details based on the answers I get. What I'm mainly looking for is help coming up with something, not to actually be given a title. If that makes any sense. It's getting late (well, early...), so I'm sure my post quality is deteriorating.
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Post by CtraK on Apr 12, 2009 7:11:57 GMT -5
The Pie That Couldn't Be Eaten
...should draw out some details, if nothing else.
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Post by Sigmaleph on Apr 12, 2009 16:33:01 GMT -5
A popular myth that can be related to the plot? A phrase often repeated during the story? A concept relating to it? A concept that is not related to it but you want people to think it is so you can screw with their minds? The phrase "no pun intended" is great for that :) Do you want the title to draw people in, describe the story, or fuck with people's heads? Or something else? It's something you should be thinking about.
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Post by Napoleon the Clown on Apr 12, 2009 17:35:05 GMT -5
"Dr. [One of the protagonists] or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the [Item of Importance]"
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Post by Admiral Lithp on Apr 12, 2009 20:27:39 GMT -5
CtraK, that sounds like a very, very sad story.
I like Current's post. I suppose I'd like it to be at least capable of being made relevant to something major in the story, as well as sounding interesting enough to pique peoples' curiosity.
Also, my mom has a very bad habit of doing exactly what's in that comic....
Anyway, I didn't know exactly what to give you, and I was worried about giving the wrong impression of the story. So...I'm a paranoid pain in the ass. Sorry. D:
Starting slow; the genre is fantasy.
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Post by Bojangles on Apr 13, 2009 6:21:45 GMT -5
Coming up with titles is something I find quite difficult and as I work on magazines it is something I have to do often. I know it isn't the same as for a book but for articles what we often do is try and look at an idiom, phrase or cliche that incorporates the elements of the story. For example, we had an article of the lemurs in Madagascar at some point and we called the piece "take me to your lemur". Another one was an article on women who had won winemakers awards so we called in "wine, women and semillion". I know it sounds cheesy but it does often help to take one of the focal points of your story and see how that particular element has been used in well known phrases. While it probably won't give you the title you want (especially for books) it does help you think about your story in a more lateral way.
Fantasy I find often uses titles made from atmospheric evocative words. For example Shadowfall, Wayfarer, Waylander etc etc.
Maybe if you don't want to divulge too much yet you could tell us what kind of fantasy it is. For example are we dealing with Piers Anthony-type humour, dark fantasy, dragons, witches and wizards etc etc? Are you trying to write a Guy Gavriel Kay or Tolkien type epic? Or something shorter with less subtext?
I don't know if I helped at all but I would definitely be interested to hear more about your story.
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Post by Sigmaleph on Apr 13, 2009 13:14:37 GMT -5
How much do you have written, if anything? If you have a "big reveal" moment, you could look at a key phrase there. Setting: Real world or fantasy world? "The [item or person of plot relevance] of [location relevant to said item or person]" might work in the case of the latter. Neither suggestion is very original, I'm aware. Just thinking out loud mainly.
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Post by CtraK on Apr 13, 2009 15:55:18 GMT -5
CtraK, that sounds like a very, very sad story. Starting slow; the genre is fantasy. Yeah, probably more dark and severe than this project might actually be. Incidentally, here's a random book title generator if aleatoricism is your thing. Best idea I found was River of Shards.
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Post by schizophonic on Apr 13, 2009 21:50:23 GMT -5
I go for double meanings as best I can. Usually a pun, not always. But about you, as already asked, what do you want the title to say?
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Post by Admiral Lithp on Apr 14, 2009 0:00:50 GMT -5
Current: Fantasy world. I've actually written quite a bit, but I've doubted what I have all the way. It's probably a good thing I'm doing this now, as I might be taking Creative Writing next year, in which case I'll have to let other people read my stuff, so it'd probably be good to stop being such a pussy about that.
Bojangles: Hard to say. The first chapter is so dark (& completely lacking of any exposition) that it actually reads more like a murder mystery/horror thing, but then it becomes about an overglorified teenage road trip until a guy from the first chapter comes back. So...fluctuates?
CtraK: Eh, I'm a little reluctant to use Random Title Generators. 2 reasons. 1: They usually suck, although "River of Shards" actually does sound pretty cool. 2: I didn't technically come up with it.
Amaranth: Double meanings are good. Not really sure what I want the title to say.
Moar details:
The 4 main protagonists are somewhere around the 15-17 age range (one of probably very many anime influences). They are by no means the biggest threat to the main antagonists, unlike my anime influences.
There are 4 main antagonists, arranged into an omniscient, vague organization. They're your typical manipulative bastards.
There are in fact dragons, but I'm going by rules similar to in that Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real mockumentary that was made by Animal Planet. They also aren't a huge part of the story.
Unlike the dragons, there are random monster things reminiscent of Heartless/Hollows/Nithlings that ARE important to the story.
That'll be all for right now.
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Post by schizophonic on Apr 14, 2009 20:51:04 GMT -5
Current: Fantasy world. I've actually written quite a bit, but I've doubted what I have all the way. It's probably a good thing I'm doing this now, as I might be taking Creative Writing next year, in which case I'll have to let other people read my stuff, so it'd probably be good to stop being such a pussy about that. Bojangles: Hard to say. The first chapter is so dark (& completely lacking of any exposition) that it actually reads more like a murder mystery/horror thing, but then it becomes about an overglorified teenage road trip until a guy from the first chapter comes back. So...fluctuates? CtraK: Eh, I'm a little reluctant to use Random Title Generators. 2 reasons. 1: They usually suck, although "River of Shards" actually does sound pretty cool. 2: I didn't technically come up with it. Amaranth: Double meanings are good. Not really sure what I want the title to say. Moar details: The 4 main protagonists are somewhere around the 15-17 age range (one of probably very many anime influences). They are by no means the biggest threat to the main antagonists, unlike my anime influences. There are 4 main antagonists, arranged into an omniscient, vague organization. They're your typical manipulative bastards. There are in fact dragons, but I'm going by rules similar to in that Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real mockumentary that was made by Animal Planet. They also aren't a huge part of the story. Unlike the dragons, there are random monster things reminiscent of Heartless/Hollows/Nithlings that ARE important to the story. That'll be all for right now. Are you writing for fun, or to get published? Ifit's something you might want to see published, keep in mind your title may be changed anyway. If you're going to share it as a work in progress, it might not be as important to pick the right title as it is to have A working title to use. That may not help too much, but it's worth mentioning.
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Post by Admiral Lithp on Apr 14, 2009 20:56:49 GMT -5
I haven't been making it a goal to get published, but I've entertained the notion, on the grounds that people will read anything (I submit to you Twilight), so right now, no, but maybe some day. That is, of course, assuming that I ever get the damn thing done.
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Post by schizophonic on Apr 14, 2009 21:10:36 GMT -5
I haven't been making it a goal to get published, but I've entertained the notion, on the grounds that people will read anything (I submit to you Twilight), so right now, no, but maybe some day. That is, of course, assuming that I ever get the damn thing done. Ironbite and I were joking about how if Twilight could get published, I was a shoe in. I then made a joke about removing the personalities of my characters to be safe. So maybe there's hope. But still, you might just want to pop out a working title.
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Post by Admiral Lithp on Apr 16, 2009 20:24:31 GMT -5
I have a title right now, but it's basically some generic, neat-sounding nonsense that I adopted so that I wouldn't have to keep typing things like, "the story that has no name," or whatever. It was only ever meant to be temporary, but I've had it set to that for like, ages, now.
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Post by Damen on Apr 19, 2009 22:53:19 GMT -5
I suck at suggesting titles. Names, be it for a story, character, or location, all seem to be my own source of frustrations for me. However, I might ask, is there a particular passage in the story that strikes you as uniquely relevant to the story at hand, or one that you like quite a lot? That might serve as a guide for a proper title.
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