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30 questions fic meme, day 17: The pressure of a name*
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
I used to hate titles a lot more, but when I was in bandom they became easy, fun, and long. Labeling a story in fourteen words or less is a lot easier than being determined to do it in two. Relatedly, that's when I started using song lyrics a lot. At this point I come up with titles often before I even start actually writing the story--I have sixteen Things To Write Next on my list, and every one has a title already assigned that I wouldn't hesitate to use for actual posting.
True story: a few years ago I was in the Yuletide chat close to deadline, hanging around to see if anyone happened to need a beta or possibly just watching the drama. Someone hit the inevitable wall of being All! Ready! to Post! and then realizing she had no title. Another Yuletider replied: Come up with a keyword from the story and Google for Leonard Cohen lyrics with that word.
I laughed, but honestly--yeah, pretty much, except I don't know that I've ever used a Leonard Cohen lyric as a title. As a sample, I've posted eleven stories so far in Fic Year 2011 (including Yuletide 2010 stories). Of those eleven titles, four are song lyrics (The National, Cat Stevens twice, and Vienna Teng) and two are lines from the same poem (Henry Reed's "Naming of Parts"). For the sixteen on the list to be written next plus the two actual WIPs I have going, it's fourteen song lyrics (The Mountain Goats six times, Josh Ritter four times, Dessa twice, Van Morrison, and the Fratellis) plus a Latin phrase, an Eddie Izzard reference, and what may or may not be a line from Robert Frost.
So, yeah, I don't mind titles these days. If you have ever wondered about the meaning or origin of any of my story titles, feel free to ask!
I've only rarely chaptered or otherwise partitioned a story, and have never assigned titles to parts. (I thought about it with Get Loved, Make More, Try to Stay Alive--the three phases of the title actually kind of work as labels for the beginning, middle, and end of the story--but dividing the story into three turned out not to be very practical, so I dropped that idea.)
* Cinder-fuckin'-rella.
1 – How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
2 – Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
3 – For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
5 –If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 –Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 – What is your current project or projects?
30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
I used to hate titles a lot more, but when I was in bandom they became easy, fun, and long. Labeling a story in fourteen words or less is a lot easier than being determined to do it in two. Relatedly, that's when I started using song lyrics a lot. At this point I come up with titles often before I even start actually writing the story--I have sixteen Things To Write Next on my list, and every one has a title already assigned that I wouldn't hesitate to use for actual posting.
True story: a few years ago I was in the Yuletide chat close to deadline, hanging around to see if anyone happened to need a beta or possibly just watching the drama. Someone hit the inevitable wall of being All! Ready! to Post! and then realizing she had no title. Another Yuletider replied: Come up with a keyword from the story and Google for Leonard Cohen lyrics with that word.
I laughed, but honestly--yeah, pretty much, except I don't know that I've ever used a Leonard Cohen lyric as a title. As a sample, I've posted eleven stories so far in Fic Year 2011 (including Yuletide 2010 stories). Of those eleven titles, four are song lyrics (The National, Cat Stevens twice, and Vienna Teng) and two are lines from the same poem (Henry Reed's "Naming of Parts"). For the sixteen on the list to be written next plus the two actual WIPs I have going, it's fourteen song lyrics (The Mountain Goats six times, Josh Ritter four times, Dessa twice, Van Morrison, and the Fratellis) plus a Latin phrase, an Eddie Izzard reference, and what may or may not be a line from Robert Frost.
So, yeah, I don't mind titles these days. If you have ever wondered about the meaning or origin of any of my story titles, feel free to ask!
I've only rarely chaptered or otherwise partitioned a story, and have never assigned titles to parts. (I thought about it with Get Loved, Make More, Try to Stay Alive--the three phases of the title actually kind of work as labels for the beginning, middle, and end of the story--but dividing the story into three turned out not to be very practical, so I dropped that idea.)
* Cinder-fuckin'-rella.
1 – How did you first get into writing fanfic, and what was the first fandom you wrote for? What do you think it was about that fandom that pulled you in?
2 – Name the fandoms you've written in, and how much you've written in that fandom, and if you still write in it.
3 – For each of the fandoms from day two, what were your favorite characters to write?
4 – Do you have a "muse" character, that speaks to you more than others, or that tries to push their way in, even when the fic isn't about them? Who are they, and why did that character became your muse?
5 –If you have ever had a character try to push their way into a fic, whether your "muse" or not, what did you do about it?
6 – When you write, do you prefer writing male or female characters?
7 – Have you ever had a fic change your opinion of a character?
8 – Do you write OCs? And if so, what do you do to make certain they're not Mary Sues, and if not, explain your thoughts on OCs.
9 – Pairings – For each of the fandoms from day two, what are your three favorite pairings to write?
10 – Pairings – Have you ever gone outside your comfort zone and written a pairing you liked, but found you couldn't write, or a pairing you didn't like, and found you could?
11 – Genre – do you prefer certain genres of fic when you're writing? What kind do you tend to write most?
12 – Have you ever attempted an "adaptation" fic of a favorite book or movie but set in a different fandom?
13 – Do you prefer canon or fanon when you write? Has writing fanfic for a fandom changed the way you see some or even all of the original source material?
14 – Ratings – how high are you comfortable with going? Have you ever written higher? If you're comfortable with NC-17, have you ever been shocked by finding that the story you're writing is G-rated instead?
15 – Warnings – What do you feel it most important to warn for, and what's the strangest thing you've warned for in a fic?
16 – Summaries – Do you like them or hate them? How do you come up with them, if you use them?
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
18 – Where do you get the most inspiration for your fics (aka "bunnies") from?
19 – When you have bunnies, do you sit down and start writing right away, or do you write down the idea for further use?
20 –Do you ever get bunnied from other people's stories or art in the same fandom?
21 – Sequels – Have you ever written a sequel to a fic you wrote, and if so, why, and if not, how do you feel about sequels?
22 – Have you ever participated in a fest or a Big Bang? If so, write about your favorite experience in relation to one. If not, are there any you've thought about doing? And if not, why not?
23 – When you post, where do you post to? Just your journal? Just an archive? Your own personal site?
24 – Betaing – How many betas do you like to use to make sure there aren't any major flaws in your fic? Do you have a Beta horror story or dream story?
25 – Music – Do you listen to music while you write? Do you make playlists to get into a certain "mood" to write your fic? Do you need noise in general? Or do you need it completely quiet?
26 – What is the oddest (or funnest) thing you've had to research for a fic?
27 – Where is your favorite place to write, and do you write by hand or on the computer?
28 – Have you ever collaborated with anyone else, whether writing together, or having an artist work on a piece about your fic?
29 – What is your current project or projects?
30 – Do you have a favorite fic you've written? What makes it your favorite? And don't forget to give us a link!
no subject
(Or possibly this is an integral part of storycraft which I shall disturb by observing. But Dessa! I must know! She's coming to my town in October, more's the woot.)
The link between titles and fic often remains pretty mysterious for me. In some cases, they're nicely google-able, but other fic tends to get lost on my reader because I can't always recall the title of the story I want when I want to re-read it. (You and sahiya are two of the worst offenders in that regard for Vorkosigan fic.)
Typically my titles = file names, and that's how they stay unless someone else is ever going to read them. I think that's where the two-word title comes from, for those of us living in the computer age.
no subject
Most of the titles for, for instance, my Aral/Jole series, come from two songs by The Mountain Goats - their cover of "Two-Headed Boy" (for stories that focus more on Aral) and "Heretic Pride" (for stories that are more about Jole). But that only helps if you know those songs and agree that those are somewhat suitable theme songs. :)
And, sorry! I am weirdly superstitious about titles and can't tell them until the story is posted, so I can't tell which lyrics. But yay Dessa!
no subject
Now I will have to go research The Mountain Goats to know anything about the Aral/Jole fics... Why yes, I do still have a big crush on Jole, thanks for bringing him up! :)
no subject
no subject