titles and such

[smg01]

sg_fignewton made a post earlier about summaries, asking what people like and don't like in fic summaries. Which reminded me that I'm not really crazy about any of the summaries I've done for my fics.

This, in combination with the vid that I'm almost ready to post, in turn reminded me that I don't think much of most of the titles that I've come up with for either my fics or vids. I can count on one hand the number of titles that I still like. This seems a little odd in a way because at work we often get into title discussions when new books are launched and for the most part my contributions to those discussions have been well received. When it comes to titling my own work, things seem to go downhill. I'm almost ready to consider the merits of adopting some sort of number system--like the SGC uses for identifying planets--for my titles.

How important are titles to you? Do you like coming up with titles? Do you avoid or try out a fic based on your reaction to a title?

Comments

[sg-betty.livejournal.com]

I won't avoid a story based on the title unless it really emphasises something about the content that isn't to my personal tastes. For example, a story entitled 'SG-1 kills the Nox', wouldn't make me want to read it. ;)

I notice when they're clever and appropriate, but generally that's not something you would know until you finish the story.

In contrast to summaries, I like coming up with titles. A lot of the time it relates to dialogue in the story, but sometimes it emphasises the concept behind it.

[suzannemarie.livejournal.com]

I have a lot of fun coming up with titles for other people's things. For some reason, it's a lot harder to come up with them for my own. Probably because I obsess a little too much about wanting to come up with something that fits perfectly.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

I think Betty's right: in some ways, a title is more important after you've read the story.

A good title tempts or intrigues. Something utterly banal might cause a reader not to bother clicking. But as far as I'm concerned, a good title will help me remember the fic's storyline long after I've read it.

There have been times, I confess, when I've struggled with titles to the point where your computer designation idea seems like a really good one... :)

[suzannemarie.livejournal.com]

But as far as I'm concerned, a good title will help me remember the fic's storyline long after I've read it.

That's a really important consideration.

I wonder if some of what goes into my own "title freeze" is knowing all the considerations that go into title discussions at work. Half of which are not really applicable to fanfic considerations.

And it's not like I even critique titles on other people's fics. Except sometimes to notice the really clever ones.

[jungleeyedgirl.livejournal.com]

I refuse to read a story whose summary is "I suck at summeries."

The entire stargate_ren AU? Tens, probably hundreds of thousands of words? You know what stymies us? It's not integrating both SGA and SG-1 into a Renaissance Era world. It's not dealing with the alien species when our AU doesn't allow for the existence of aliens. It's not limiting my tendency to write NC-17 fic in a world where sex outside of marriage is extremely problematic, nor is it curtailing me and Melyanna's thirst for political intrigue.

It's coming up with titles. We've gotten to the point where the first idea we get that we don't all loathe, we go with because otherwise it can take literally months to find something else.

There's a reason so many of our titles are single words.

[suzannemarie.livejournal.com]

* I'm glad you included that link, so I can get back to the story. (I started it. Other things intervened and I never got back to it.)

* You almost need someone who wasn't part of the creative process to read the work and then suggest and kick around title ideas. I think part of what might happen is that after you've spent so much time writing it, the titles that seem the best are ones that aren't necessarily the best for an audience that's coming into it cold.

Turns out that good, snappy titles that still seem like a good idea three months later are kind of a challenge. I feel more sympathy toward authors that send in manuscripts with titles that need to be jettisoned as soon as possible.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

I rarely look at titles, but sometimes a title attracts me. Only rarely would a title cause me to avoid reading a fic, but it would be something very random. Like maybe "sushi" in the title or something like that. I'd be more apt to read something that did not have "sushi" in the title. Hee!

I mainly look at story summaries, warnings, ratings, and pairings, if any. If an author doesn't include this info, I probably wouldn't read the fic. If that info is misleading, I probably *would* take note of the author and no longer read stories by that author (just because the header info wouldn't really be useful to me).

[suzannemarie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think I come from a fairly similar place. I'm pretty forgiving about a lack of summary--I'm so bad at them myself I can understand why people might choose not to do them.

However, a summary that indicates something far different than the story delivers would make me cautious about reading other things from the author. And I do want something in the header that gives me an idea what I'm getting into. I don't like feeling like I've been tricked into reading something due to inaccurate/incomplete classifications.

[aizjanika.livejournal.com]

I think I wouldn't be able to decide if I wanted to read the story if there was no summary. Well, maybe if someone recced it and was clear about what type of story it was and why they liked it.

I don't like feeling like I've been tricked into reading something due to inaccurate/incomplete classifications.

Yes! hehe I remember the last time the warnings debate went around, some people were puzzled about how anyone could feel "tricked" into a reading a story, but I do think that some authors were deliberately misleading in their header info, especially about things like character death or pairings.

Most of the time, though, I think it's just a case of two people seeing things differently and it's not intentional.

[suzannemarie.livejournal.com]

Most of the time, though, I think it's just a case of two people seeing things differently and it's not intentional.

I think that's true. A bit of a potato/potahto thing.