I was curious! For those out there who have written or want to write or whatever, what do you think is easier/prefer to do first?
Do you prefer to find a suitable title before writing the story, or after?
Do you think the title is easier to come up with, or the content in the story?
Titles are important for catching the eyes of possible consumers, so I think it can be extremely difficult to come up with something short and snappy that hasn't been taken yet, which still pertains to what you wrote about!
Usually what I will do is come up with a simple working title for my manuscript at the first draft stage and make changes as needed later on. As far as I'm concerned a title should have a definite connection to the story and shouldn't pretend to be something it isn't.
There is no wrong or right way. I prefer to come up with a title after I get the feel of the story, but I let in come naturally. One of my favorite writers in class, never gave any of his works a title. And randomly coming up with a title can also create a feel for a story you haven't invented yet. Don't worry about the title or the story or what order any of it comes to you. Just focus on the ideas that come to you, whether it's a title, character, setting, or part of the story and write it down. Losing a great idea because you're focused on making a certain thing is the worst.
And if you stuck, write I'm stuck and I don't know what to write. Just keep writing. Best tip I was ever given.
Quote from: Yakayla on August 20, 2015, 03:15:01 AM
And if you stuck, write I'm stuck and I don't know what to write. Just keep writing. Best tip I was ever given.
Of course, then you'd need to go back and remove all those "I'm stuck"s and that would be a headache if you get, well, stuck often, like me.
lol that's why you should get a separate notepad to write down random stuff that doesn't go with the book. Just cause your random, doesn't mean you can't be organized :P
It really depends what I'm writing. I spend a bit of time doing articles for the business I work for, and it always seems easier to at least come up with a basic working title to focus my ideas down to a workable level. The title might change after the fact, but for anything nonfiction, I think it's best to have something so that you don't go too far out of focus.
For fiction stuff, it depends. I'm a huge fan of one word prompts, so when I write those I will typically just make that word the title by default. For other stuff, I typically wait until the end of the initial draft to come up with something that's workable. Every now and then one will emerge more organically based on a line or something from the story itself.
Quote from: Yakayla on August 20, 2015, 05:07:56 AM
lol that's why you should get a separate notepad to write down random stuff that doesn't go with the book. Just cause your random, doesn't mean you can't be organized :P
Yep... its good to write down ideas and inspirational thoughts, and collect them...
Quote from: Laura_7 on August 20, 2015, 07:59:20 AM
Yep... its good to write down ideas and inspirational thoughts, and collect them...
This +1
Titles come out of ideas or stories written. Just see how many titles there are for the fall of rome, and you get your answer. The again titles can generate stories, but I find that method hard pressed for me.
Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk
A working title is helpful.
But if you intend to get with a publisher be aware they can change the title or might ask for it to be changed if they don't think it will attract sales. I try not to get too attached to titles for that reason, or the unpleasant discovery someone else already has the title I'm thinking of. So I think of several potential titles I like.