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Naming your fic

R

revolvingscott

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How do you come up with the names for your fics?
I'm only asking because I'm two chapters into writing one and I still don't have a name; so I could do with some pointers on top of some discussion.
 
Sometimes names are just obvious. (With Rival's Story it was a no brainer, although the original was called 'A Rival's Story', it's a minor difference)

With Roots and Are We Heroes, I just picked out key lines and concepts from the fics that I thought could double as titles and I think that worked alright.

I had real trouble naming Two's Company - it took me ages to come up with that name and I don't think that name is even very good.

Basically, think about what your fic is about and then try and summarise it in less than five words and you'll probably have a half decent title.
 
Much like Gama, I tend to base my titles off the premise, concepts or focal points of my fic. For Pangenesis, it really required no thought at all, although perhaps after revision it would seem like quite a hackneyed name.

With Trinity Entrada I just played on the notion of three (Trinity) trainers setting out to embark/begin (Entrada) on a journey through Kanto... a concept that I've long overhauled now, but the general idea is still there.
 
I usually look at the theme of the work and decide from there, if that helps.

For example: if the story is about a perfectionist that always wants to please his parents then it could be titled "Not Good Enough" or something like that.
 
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In Encounters, something is pulling everyone together, leading to encounters all over the region of Blinto.

And the entire point of being a trainer revolves around encounters - if you encounter a fellow trainer on your journey, you have to battle!

But it did take me a long time to think up the name Encounters. Don't worry, a great name will come to you eventually!
 
My titles (for Pokefandom fics) are generally inspired by something present within the story: Kisses has the chocolates by the same name, and Vuvuzela has the ultimate incarnation of evil as a musical instrument being used.

...Garnets and Cherries, though, was evidently named by an Eldritch Abomination beyond human comprehension, 'cause it doesn't make any sense (it actually does, but you'd need to read the first chapter)
 
For me, I name fics based on what the general plot is. Sometimes, if I can't come up with anything I name it after the main character.

Take Razayka for example. It was Razayka: Spirits of the Snow but I realized it ad nothing to do with the story itself. I was stumped, I couldn't find a decent title for my wolf story, until bingo: Razayka is an interesting name, why not it be the title?

Now of course if your main character's name is Bob, then that wouldn't be a decent title. It makes it sound like a crack-fic instead of a full drama action/adventure fic.

For Time for Change it was really common sense. The Legendary Pokemon turning into humans. That's change, and they had to cope with it. I think that fits the bill right there.
 
Well, I name it after the theme and try to make it sound cool. With Pokemon LX, well the two letter abbreviation at the end was al lthe rage when I started writing. And yes, it has a meaning but I'll never tell you. Downfall of a Master and Second Chances are named after the main themes of said fics.
 
Well, it took me forever to think of "Hellbound", and for about six months or so, it was just Transformers. I already had titles for the other two of the trilogy, which are both sort of demonic and hellish. I chose Hellbound because the first story sets in motion a chain of events that pretty much takes the Transformers into their own Hell. It also works in that several of the more religious aspects of the Transformers (ie, Primus, the Matrices, etc.) are the main driving force of the story, so you'd have Hellbound, as in, on the way to Hell, Legion, as in the demon, and Armageddon (which I haven't begun writing, as I'm still on Legion), which is a pretty obvious reference.

I do also have a habit of forming ideas in threes. Most fics I write come in trilogies, so I've gotten pretty good at giving them titles.
 
I'll just use examples from written and unwritten fics...

"Abecedarian" means 'of or pertaining to the alphabet', a nod to the Unown who have appeared in the story.

"Don't Stop the Future" was a line from an Italian Pokémon opening, as well as a nod to the time travel theme that's heavily present in the story.

"Wings Have We" came from a poem by William Wordsworth, and that particular stanza focused on traveling. Considering the story was a journey-fic about a kid who otherwise would have never left his home city, I thought it fit well. (The previous title, "Delta Species", was an obvious reference to the Delta Pokémon.)

"Beasts Like Us" was one of the vaguer titles. The 'Beasts' was meant to reference the Legendary Beasts - Suicune in particular - but the title can also be written as BLU. In GSC, there is such thing as a BLU APRICORN, appropriate for the primarily-blue Suicune. Raikou and Entei stories are in the works, to be called "Yield: Live Wires" (Raikou, YLW) and... something. Entei's (RED) is kind of hazy.

"Genericana" - pun on 'americana' - has a cast primarily of Eevees. Since Eevees are the cliché, 'generic' starters for Mary Sue fics, I just made this up and thought it sounded cute.

So anyhow. As you can see, most of my titles are references or generally things that I find catchy.
 
I choose the name based on a the main points of the story (Characters, plot, etc.)
For instance my current fic Twins of Fate describes the relationship between the characters and the circumstance that lead to the join.
 
I like titles that have everything or nothing to do with the story. Field Research (Reverto Silicis ut Vox) has a monstrous title which brings the two main plot points together. The "Field Research" part is from the main job of Ken, Justin and Caitie: to research Pokémon in the wild. "Reverto Silicis ut Vox" is the motto for Team Magnum, the criminal team that almost all of the main characters belong to.

Of course, a lot of my not-on-the-Internet stuff just has random names. The name of one of my projects for a creative writing course was "I Think I Drank Too Much Mountain Dew". It had absolutely nothing to do with Mt. Dew.


My suggestion is to just look around the room and write down the first two things you see. Names like "Television Deodorant" make everyone want to read what you write.
 
Well, I was mowing the lawn one day and the idea came to me and then the title sorta just fit. I don't really even know where it came from.
 
My suggestion is to just look around the room and write down the first two things you see. Names like "Television Deodorant" make everyone want to read what you write.
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Phone Jaffa Cakes, it is!
 
and then I'll give it something cliché like 'Tribulations of the Heart'.

How do we all like Phone Jaffa Cakes (Tribulations of the Heart)?
 
QuestionableTendency said:
Phone Jaffa Cakes, it is!
Click to expand...

Heheh... looks like when I make a fan-fic in a few days or weeks, it will be called "blinding sun candle" if I follow that rule xD

Anyways, I usaully name stories by something someone said or a name of something such as a ship or something.
 
My titles make themselves. For example:

Stay Tuned, Folks started as 'PokeTV', then I added the subtitle after the first chapter, and then it just stuck, because it fit the story so much better than just 'PokeTV'.

Tarnished Gold comes from Roots in a way that it describes the end result of the character in question, Champion Cynthia.
 
QuestionableTendency said:
and then I'll give it something cliché like 'Tribulations of the Heart'.

How do we all like Phone Jaffa Cakes (Tribulations of the Heart)?
Click to expand...

Depends on what the plot is. If it's heavy on emotion or romance, that would be a good name.

If you're going to name it something not completely random, it has to fit with the plot well. A jaffa cake by any other name might be just as delicious, but would Lord of the Rings still have its appeal if it was named "Journey of Many Souls and Trials"?
 
I named my fic Pokemon Academy: Dragon's Roar for two reasons. Well, the first one is obvious, because the fic takes place in an academy, and the second one is because the main character's main Pokemon is a dragon, so yeah simple name but it's better than shattering my skull for ideas.
 
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