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Story Titles - How do YOU do it?

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Okay, so I'm trying to write a story about a bisexual vampire seductress who cannot get the handsome prince into her clutches due to a bad back she sustained while falling from the ceiling in her sleep. It's coming along well so far (1120 words) but I'm damned if I can come up with a name for it.

It seems to me that on a word-for-word basis, coming up with a good story title is the most cussedly stubborn and difficult part of the whole goddam compositional process. Am I right, or is it just me?

So far I've got 'Lumbago in Limbo', 'Sciatica Sucks', 'Lucella takes a Fall', and all fucking combinations of the above. Nothing seems quite right.

If any writers out there have any ideas about how to approach this niggling problem then please, please, PLEASE let me know - how do you yourselves come up with good titles?

Thanks for any help!
browncoffee
Coco Pop
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Sounds like a fun story! My titles are never great but i'd suggest you try going for something light-hearted, maybe with a double meaning. Like 'Bad Back'. God, that's awful! Idk, I wish I was better at this!
Buz
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I like 'Lumbago In Limbo' and 'Lucella Takes a Fall'.

I don' know, titles just happen. They're a lot of fun to come up with. Quite the opposite of many people, I often come up with a title I like and that leads to a concept for my story.
sprite
Her Royal Spriteness
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Spine Chilling?

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.

LYFBUZ
Troublemaker
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Getting Back to Nowhere?

I usually just re-read my stuff and see what pops in my head...
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Fairytale Gone Wrong?

The Journey of So and so's Back. IDK. Lol
sprite
Her Royal Spriteness
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Back in black!

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.

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Quote by browncoffee
Sounds like a fun story! My titles are never great but i'd suggest you try going for something light-hearted, maybe with a double meaning. Like 'Bad Back'. God, that's awful! Idk, I wish I was better at this!


Thank you, BrownCoffee, and yes, I'd thought a light-hearted title would be better because the story is a humorous one. And double meanings are good too. Oh dear, my Brit is showing (we like double meanings a lot!) smile
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Quote by Buz
I like 'Lumbago In Limbo' and 'Lucella Takes a Fall'.

I don' know, titles just happen. They're a lot of fun to come up with. Quite the opposite of many people, I often come up with a title I like and that leads to a concept for my story.


Thank you Buz, I was edging towards 'Lumbago in Limbo' but am determined to squeeze the character's name in there too ... 'Lucella's Lumbago Limbo'? We'll see smile

That's interesting that the title can inspire the story, perhaps I should try it that way next time! A bit 'horse before the cart' but I like that.
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Quote by sprite
Spine Chilling?


Not bad. Now we're cooking smile
Buz
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Quote by sprite
Spine Chilling?


Very catchy!
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Quote by LYFBUZ
Getting Back to Nowhere?

I usually just re-read my stuff and see what pops in my head...


I hadn't thought of using 'back', duh!

Or ... Back from Beyond? Hmm, all sorts is popping into my head now!

Thank you smile
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Quote by MostPreciousLittle
Fairytale Gone Wrong?

The Journey of So and so's Back. IDK. Lol


Flat on my Back could be another possible one. It's Saturday so I suppose I'll have some first hand experience tonight lol.
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Quote by sprite
Back in black!



Hmm, kinky lol. Somehow has a sort of leather feel to it. The BDSM room hasn't really warped me. Honest silly
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Thanks for all your suggestions smile I was more thinking of a method for finding titles, rather than an actual title. I guess there's no magic wand that can be waved, no secret formula. But you know, the more I think of it I do actually quite like my first idea 'Lumbago in Limbo' ... Any suggestions welcome :)
sprite
Her Royal Spriteness
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Quote by TanyaB
Thanks for all your suggestions smile I was more thinking of a method for finding titles, rather than an actual title. I guess there's no magic wand that can be waved, no secret formula. But you know, the more I think of it I do actually quite like my first idea 'Lumbago in Limbo' ... Any suggestions welcome :)



quite frankly, i kind of suck at coming up with titles. usually i make Buz do it for me :)

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.

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Quote by Liz
How about 'Biting Back'? smile


Yes! Best one yet. I'm tempted to use that.

Thank you Liz :)
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Quote by sprite


quite frankly, i kind of suck at coming up with titles. usually i make Buz do it for me smile


It's good to have a man who takes care of these things :)
Verbal
Gravelly-Voiced Fucker
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That sounds like a fun story. How about NAME's Final Spinal?

I often get the title from a phrase in the story. My fave title ever was People Who Bought This Item (it's about buying sex toys on Amazon).
Just_A_Guy_You_Know
Certified Mind Reader
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The bit about a bad back is an interesting detail.

My titles are pretty minimal. The last one I called Yoga Partners - it's about two people doing yoga. The one before it was called Highway Girl - it's about picking up a girl hitchhiking on the side of the highway.

Post-avant-retro-demelodicized-electro-yodel-core is my jam.

Unknown User
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Quote by Verbal
I often get the title from a phrase in the story.


So do I. My stories are written with a working title in place - something practical rather than clever. The 'real' title then jumps out at me during editing. If it doesn't, I just go with the original working title. I've also been known to turn my tag line into the title. That can work. If you come up with a catchy tag line that's short, chances are it's also a good title.
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This is Spinal Bat
NymphWriter
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Quote by oceanrunner
This is Spinal Bat


Winner!!!
TrinityX
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All of my stories are true, so when I reflect on the sex as I write, I think of the theme of the sex and what stood out the most for me. I tend to like low key titles that don't give much indication about the story plot (other than the obvious sex that occurs).

I think Liz made a great suggestion. I mean, she should... she gets paid a lot of money to come up with ideas.
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Quote by Verbal
That sounds like a fun story. How about NAME's Final Spinal?

I often get the title from a phrase in the story. My fave title ever was People Who Bought This Item (it's about buying sex toys on Amazon).


A rhyming title, I hadn't considered that. It sort of sends shivers down the spine ... Final Spinal ... brrr!
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Quote by Just_A_Guy_You_Know
The bit about a bad back is an interesting detail.

My titles are pretty minimal. The last one I called Yoga Partners - it's about two people doing yoga. The one before it was called Highway Girl - it's about picking up a girl hitchhiking on the side of the highway.



Thank you Just A Guy. The bad back is what scuppers her designs on the handsome Prince who has gone skiing, which she can't join in with due to having fallen off the ceiling (roosting). But of course, the princess is on hand to offer wise counsel to Lucella and well, I shan't say too much.
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Quote by Saucymh


So do I. My stories are written with a working title in place - something practical rather than clever. The 'real' title then jumps out at me during editing. If it doesn't, I just go with the original working title. I've also been known to turn my tag line into the title. That can work. If you come up with a catchy tag line that's short, chances are it's also a good title.



I'm thinking more and more that the best titles are those that just jump out at you. My working title is 'Doc1' so thanks to Microsoft Word for its creative input (not!).
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Quote by VirgoGo
Sometimes, like Saucymh, I lift a line from the story -- [url=https://]"How to Drown out Contact Passions"[/url] is a good example of that. But in most instances, unless I have a title that I know is killer (I knew [url=https://]"Plane Whore"[/url] was great when it first popped into my head), I build a list of a half dozen possibilities. Some of the possibilities are riffs on an initial idea, although I try to include a few ideas that are further afield to push my thinking into non-obvious places.

For my latest piece, [url=https://]"Haunted by Proxy"[/url] (for the hitchhiker/on the road competition), I had the following list which started out playing with the notion of revenge, but which converged on the notion of being haunted:
Revenge on the road
A dish best served cold
Revenge is an act of passion
Unfinished business
A haunting by proxy
Haunted by proxy
Revenge by proxy
The unwitting accomplices

Some of the options are decent, some not, but the process got me to a title I don't hate; one which hints at the story, without giving it away, which was VERY important to me.

For my piece, [url=https://]"The Chip Babe Goes Down,"[/url] about a scheming stock analyst, this was my initial stab at possible titles -- note that it doesn't even include my final selection (which was a good choice, IMO, because it referenced the sex act she was performing just before she realized she was in legal peril, and about to "go down", i.e., go to prison):
The Chip Babe
Collateral Damage
Over reach
Corporate Secrets
The Seduction of Intelligence
Expert Seduction
Consequences of Seduction
The Insatiable Analyst
Stakes and Bonuses
Feeding the Fund
Monetizing Nerd Lust
Leveraging Lust

Having a process that challenges your initial thinking can be really helpful. A title is both a clue to the story and a marketing pitch. Good luck!


That's pretty much what I've done for my story, a kind of mix n match of different words and phrases until something came together that looked right. A title that hints at the story and provides a teaser to whet the appetite sounds great! I'm taking notes here, seriously smile