On titling fics

[themostepotente]

I'm hard pressed to admit -- sometimes the title of a fic is the deciding factor on whether or not I read it.

Titles can be very eye catching, and sometimes I need that stimulus (can I call it this?) to attract my attention.

Witty, clever, thought provoking -- anything really. I just need to make that connection.

To me, there is nothing worse than a poorly titled fic. Does anyone else share these sentiments?

Do poor titles affect your judgement? Does the word 'Untitled' tend to turn you off?

How do you go about choosing an appropriate title for your fic? Song titles, catchy phrases?

What about sharing story titles with a well-known author? So many fics out there. It has to happen more often than not.

Share your thoughts, please :-)

--P

Comments

[tehlils.livejournal.com]

I almost always struggle with titling a fic. It's not an easy task if you want something eye catching. I find that unless the author is someone that I really enjoy reading, I avoid "Untitled" like the plague. I mean for drabbles its completely fine, and I shrug it off, but if you're giving me something to read that's more than 200 words, it ought to have a title. Beyond the untitled thing, I haven't really paid attention to it, but perhaps subconciously I avoid fics with titles that don't interest me. I think one word titles can be the most eye-catching as you wonder how it fits. Also very odd sounding titles draw my attention. Its difficult to pin down what exactly makes a title good.

[frau-r.livejournal.com]

I agree perfectly. A lame title may well cause me to pass what *could* be a good story. I personally name my pieces after I finish them - looking back at the thing and thinking on what it really is about. Sometimes I may use an important liine from the story, sometimes a famous quote like 'Hell hath no fury'. I have a thing for allitterations, too.

[melpemone.livejournal.com]

Well damn, that's really depressing. :)

I'm horrid at titles. Absolutely horrific. I'd number fics if I could. When pushed, I've taken them from appropriate songs (but never the song title, I find that cheesy and it tends to indicate songfics, most of which are crap), from poetry, and I'm a fan of the one-word title a little too often. Ah, thesaurus, how I love thee. Very rarely will a fic gain a title without angst from me.

And I TRY to pick something original, but that's very difficult sometimes. Just like particular phrases in well-known fics, they're easily to steal if you're not thinking about it properly.

As for other people's titles... well, I'm mildly put off by "Untitled" as well - I figure if you can't even make the effort to title your work then the contents probably aren't great. Not always true, I know. I don't like song titles as fic titles, for the reason mentioned above. An intelligent sounding title is more likely to make me read it, as well - appropriate lines from poetry, a bit of Latin here and there.

But on the whole, I don't think it lends as much weight as the summary (something I'm also horrid at). I pick what to read by minor summary details all the time, which probably means that I'm missing out on some great stuff, but when you have limited time...

[anoddplace.livejournal.com]

I'm horrid at titles. Absolutely horrific.

That makes two of us. I don't know why, but I completely lack any ability for thinking up titles. I title all my school essays "Essay Response to Question 4" or whatever whenever I can get away with it. :D Sometimes I find great titles--in poetry, wherever--but then they never go with whatever fics are brewing in my brain, so what's the point? Sigh.

I'm with you on the song title thing. Bah. Never. Lines or phrases, certainly; poetry is excellent, foreign languages are, too. How I wish I had studied Latin instead of German.

One-word titles... can be very, very good, but can also end up being terribly juvenile, or else just corny. Even good ones, like Nym's "Shattered", suffer from confusion-- there are several fics by that name out there, and since I don't read HP/DM or whatever, finding the one specific "Shattered" that I want can be difficult. I don't care for ridiculously long titles, either (overly-long titles made in jest are another thing) as they come across as clumsy-- surely, the subconscious voice in my head whispers, if they have to name it "The When Two Hearts Meet and Bind Together", instead of something simple and short that conveys the same idea, the writing will be equally clumsy and insipid. I find this problem most often in romantically-focused stories, but then, I *read* more romantically-inclined stories, so it may be just as prevalent in humour or war-fic or what have you.

"Untitled" is fine for drabbles, ficlets, and rough drafts intended only for close-friend viewing; however, anyone publically distributing such a fic needs to think again-- I don't care if it's been through six betas, it's not finished yet if you can't even find a name to draw it all together. ((shrugs))

Mostly, though, I don't pay too much attention to titles, beyond any indications of writing quality they may contain (if it's called "When Your Alone", I'm out of here); I select by pairings, kinks/lack of, summaries. Which is why I hate the summary "I'm terrible at summaries just read it!" so very, very much. :D

[starrysummer.livejournal.com]

Argh! Titles! Doom!

I agree that a title definitely has something to do with whether or not I read a fic or not. A good title can be very compelling, but probably isn't the most important factor in whether I read a story or not. A favorite author, a trusted rec or a loved pairing (as most of my favorites are very rarely written) has a lot more to do with whether I read than the title. But a particularly intriguing title can draw me in.

Untitled... it does a couple of things for me. It can indicate that a story is shorter, which I like, so if other things intrigue me, I may check out the fic. For a longer fic, though, it seems wrong to not title it. It makes it confusing to reference it if it doesn't have a title. So as much as I want to avoid titling stuff, if it's more than a ficlet I'm posting in my LJ and leaving there, I'll force myself to come up with something.

I seem to have patterns with my titles... "Something AND Something" is a format I've used more than once. Expectations and Responsibilities, Trust and Nothing... I seem to have two ficlets entitled "Mine" and recall wanting to title soemthing that recently before realizing three fics with the same name (even if one exists nowhere but my LJ archives) was really not acceptable. One-word titles are another big one for me. Or four-word titles that somehow refer to the topic of the story. "That Little Slytherin Boy," "What's Supposed to Be," "Nothing Like the Daydreams," "Another Sort of Evil." Usually when I use those, it comes from skimming the story and latching onto a concept or idea that recurs a couple of times.

[ellensmithee.livejournal.com]

Do poor titles affect your judgement?

Of my own fic, yes. It depends. I have a fic where I so gave it the wrong title and I just cringe everytime I catch sight of it in my fic directory. ("Hurt No More" *cringe*). I think the fic is all right, but it didn't get much fb, and I think part of the problem was the cringeworthy title (OK, OK, the fic was boring and melodramatic, as well).

How do you go about choosing an appropriate title for your fic? Song titles, catchy phrases?

Yea, and puns based on the above.

What about sharing story titles with a well-known author? So many fics out there. It has to happen more often than not.

It's happened to me, but not often. I wouldn't do it on purpose. If it happens, I don't really care.

[nqdonne.livejournal.com]

I definitely agree that a good title can make or break a fic. Not always, but something that's eye-catching and clever almost always makes me want to read a fic. Similarly, cliched titles turn me off, as does "Untitled" (unless it's a drabble, then it can be excused), as do titles in languages that are unfamiliar. Generally, titling fics in other languages (if the fic is in English) is a big no-no for me... if only because it's a slight eye sore and pronunciation is always an issue.

Personally, I agonize over titles, even the subtitles of each chapter of my WIPs (which I always title). A fic title says a lot about the content and style, often, which makes it important to get right. In fact, I may have gotten wrong on my first fic (my WIP), which irks me slightly - it started out as a humor fic and has an appropraite title for such... but then it developed into a angsty/funny WIP and the title may put people off, I think.

You've raised an interesting issue, though. I'm glad to see it, as it has me thinking.

[blue-moony.livejournal.com]

I'm in agreement. What I find is that there are cliches in titles just as there are in fics (like "Waking Dream", for instance), and I would rather have a title that either lends some tangible clue as to what the story is about, or leaves me so intrigued I click on the link to find out what it IS about. Titles like "Waking Dream" do neither, being of themselves too abstract to allow the reader to connect strong images about the story, and also too vague to allow the reader to ascribe a certain moral or theme to the story. So that's a turn off.

Also, if a title looks like it's straining too much to attain an alliterive, consonant or assonant quality, I'll think it overdone.

Myself, I tend to make my title either single (though I hope interesting) words, or bring in some sort of prepositional element (ie. Of Something and Something). I also on occasion use lines of poetry in my titles.

Either way, I agree; titles are a key element in the production of a Really Good Story.

[maruchina.livejournal.com]

I agree that there has to be an eye catching title. I'm really bad at coming up with titles for my stories, the few times I actually post something I ask a friend for suggestions. She's good at thinking of titles, fortunately for me.

[puppy-tenchan.livejournal.com]

I don't even read the title of a fic 90% of the time. When I look at a fic, I look for the pairing, the rating and the summary. Title and author don't matter to me, unless I find the fic really good and want to tell someone about it.

That view is about the same, when I make my own titles. They don't matter that much, so they come last. When the fic is finished, I look what has become of it, see if there is maybe some reoccuring topic, word or scene and ponder how I can put that into some witty One-Liner. =D Because I like One-Liners.

[gmth.livejournal.com]

I don't even read the title of a fic 90% of the time. When I look at a fic, I look for the pairing, the rating and the summary. Title and author don't matter to me, unless I find the fic really good and want to tell someone about it.

I'm right there with you, although I do look at the author. There are some writers whose stuff I just won't touch, regardless of pairing/rating/title.

[miss-serpentine.livejournal.com]

Titling fics can often be harder than writing them. Sometimes I take inspiration from song titles, sometimes my brain comes up with jack shit and I use something kinda lame. Actually, that last thing happens a lot. lol.

[geoviki.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm a shameless song-title thief. And I stuff song lyrics in my fics, too, and it's horribly self-indulgent, and I'll never stop doing it. When I'm in the nursing home, I can reread my fics (providing I can still see them), and I'll remember all of the songs I listened to while writing.

A Thousand Beautiful Things is a song by Annie Lennox.
Waters of March is a song by Tom Jobim (well, that's the English translation from the Portuguese). All of the chapters in that fic have names from lyrics in that song.

I have a horrible time remembering one word titles, especially if it's an emotion or a general concept. And I even used one - Chaining - but that was my first, so...

Some words just filter away into brainless-land. Dissipation and Despair is one of my favorite fics, and I have to stop and look up the title nearly every time I mention it. But I finally know how to spell despair.

I'm more tempted to read fics with clever, long names.

BTW, I recently friended you - Hi - and I'm a transplanted Michigander (Livonia, to be exact).

[marksykins.livejournal.com]

*raises hand* Song title thief #2 here. And proud of it. I mean, besides my novel-length (Oscillate Wildly), my angsty Harry/Neville (One Sweet Moment - actually, a lyric from Queen's 'Who Wants to Live Forever?'), and a 'not-a-songfic-songfic' Snape/Harry (Time Trap), I also have those thirty-one individually titled stories named after Beatles songs from Come Together. And it works; I get a lot of compliments for appropriate adapatation of song titles/lyrics to fics.

Second place is literary quotes and terms. Basically, I like having a familiar hook for some of my readers before they even read a single word.

I'll read untitled fics from my favorite authors. Flora, for example, often churns something out and doesn't bother with a title, which works just fine for me. However, if I'm browsing for new fic, I'm not going to read an untitled something from a new author unless it's one of my rare pairings.

[maubast.livejournal.com]

If a fic is titles 'unnamed' I don't read.

When I title my own fic (no HP yet), it generally ends up being something that occurred to the person whose POV I am writing from (i.e. Something To Live For... "Let me give you something to live for." and the title was born.)

To me, there is nothing worse than a poorly titled fic. Does anyone else share these sentiments?

What I consider worse is when the fic itself is terrible (IMO) - i.e. spelling Harry 'Hary' or Dumbledore 'Dumbledoor', etc. That's one way to get me to stop reading *instantly* - not knowing how to spell the characters names.

Am I On Crack?

[maubast.livejournal.com]

If a fic is *titled* 'Unnamed' or 'Untitled', I don't read.

(sorry about that...)

[triestine.livejournal.com]

I'll be honest. There is one kind of title that annoys me, and although it really exists in a number of variations, they all start with the same three boring boring words:

Harry Potter and

Aaaaaaargh!

please don't hate me

[ponderosa121.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've ever stopped to read an untitled fic. Titles are so important! They're almost always the first impression you get of a story. I almost always try and title my artwork as well, because while I like that people can get different vibes from an image it's nice sometimes to give them a place to start or a tiny peek into my interpretation of a pic.

I try and title my fics with either some short line that may be important to the story/emotions, or by using a few words of song lyrics that I either associate with or inspired me to write. I don't like using song titles, as I don't write songfics and that's what I associate them with.

I'm never really concerned about sharing a fic title, probably because to my knowledge I've never personally had it happen in the same fandom anyway. It can be slightly confusing when it comes to other people's stories, but it never bothers me.

[september1967.livejournal.com]

I am THE worst creator of titles ever. Good thing I don't write HP ;) An example, I have a story entitled Pirate fic because...its about pirates ;)

Bertina

[anoddplace.livejournal.com]

Mwahaha! :D My titles for works-in-progress are something along the lines of:

the Dark Mark story
the darker version of a Dark Mark story
that Harry and Lupin story
that concubine thing
the Challenge story (or "the need-a-favour story")
"that thing on the hard drive I saw yesterday--what was it?--something about hippogriffs"


As one might have noticed, I will doubtless require a very, very good title-finding beta should I ever finish anything. :D

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

When I write a fic, either the title becomes blindingly obvious to me during the process, or I have no clue and have to go beg my betas to suggest something.

Excessively pretentious or lame titles (and "untitled") put me off a fic, but it has to be really really bad to do that.

[scribbulus-ink.livejournal.com]

Coming up with a decent title is sometimes like pulling teeth with my own stories, but I don't think I'm particularly affected by in with someone else's stories. If it's a pairing I like and/or written by someone whose writing I like, I'll still read it anyway. I'm far, far more likely to stop reading a story because the first few paragraphs don't hook me than I am because a boring title.

Sharing a title doesn't bother me either. thetreacletart and I both have a story called "Bottoms Up", which I didn't remember until I was compiling a Remus/Severus recs list recently, and we probably did it for the same reason: aiming for the same pun because our stories both featured drunkenness and anal sex. *g* I'm pretty sure I've seen another story that shares a title with one of mine, but off-hand, I can't remember what it was or who wrote it. In a fandom as big as this one, overlap of titles is bound to happen occasionally.

[scribbulus-ink.livejournal.com]

Having thought about this a little more, I have to add that I think the main reason why I'm lenient on other people's titles is because I know how difficult it is for me to come up with one sometimes. So even if the title isn't terribly catchy, I'm willing to give the writer the benefit of the doubt on the story, because they may have simply had a tough time coming up with a good title. An uninteresting title doesn't make me automatically assume that the story is uninteresting too, because I know how hard it is to think of a title sometimes. As I said above, it's the first few paragraphs that make or break it for me.

[anise-anise.livejournal.com]

I'll have to say that a title isn't the most important thing for me. I look to the summary and the pairing before I even pay attention to the title. I won't read a fic if the author says, "I suck at summarys..." or if the pairing is icky to me. I'm also turned off if the author won't list or forgets to list the pairing or the rating. I don't like surprises. But the title really isn't the deciding factor for me. I don't care if people use song titles, or share titles, or whatever. The story itself is far more important. That being said... I do know that I am in the minority here. I struggle with fic titles more than with any other part of the writing process. And after having posted a handful of fics, I can honestly say that I know how important a title is. At least to most people. I'm usually not really happy with my titles but on two occasions (one especially) I have posted stories with titles that were just not good. I can only plead temporary insanity. *hides face* And even though I thought the stories were done well, even though I thought the stories were good, I got very few reviews. And I really believe that there is a direct correlation there. The titles of the stories that have done the best all came from a line somewhere in the story or else were very simple. When I try to spend too much time obsessing over a title of a fic I tend to just get worse and worse.

I'm glad you posted this. Even though I had joked with my beta about no one liking a fic of mine with a title that she described as, "wafting slightly of cheese," I never really thought seriously about it. Thanks for the insight.

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Either I know what the title's going to be from the first time I hit SAVE DOCUMENT, or I have no clue and that means it's going to be A Painful Time In Title-Making World, later. I can't be influenced by other's titles, as a result, because it'd feel hypocritical. As long as there aren't actual misspellings or anything.

[prillalar]

I like choosing cool and unusual titles, but I tend to make it more of a priority for more significant stories. For drabbles, I often try to stick with one-word titles. And when I did all those boy-kissing stories a while back, I didn't really stress too much about titles -- they felt kind of casual.

I sometimes look for odd quotes for my titles or try to come up with something descriptive. I often find the title takes the place of the summary for me, like with "Misanthropy, Lycanthropy, And The Pursuit Of Knowledge". Sometimes I'll come up with a good title and then write the fic to match it.

I'm more attracted to fic with an unusual or clever title than something plain or the dreaded "Untitled". It's a hook, just like the first line of the story.

[mamaboid.livejournal.com]

Titling is a painful process forme. I want the title to express the mood of the story -- dark, nostalgic, impish, romantic, reflective, etc. etc. I also want it to pique the reader's interest. I'm even obsessive about my chapter titles, in the same way. I love any kind of wordplay, and when I can use that in a title I 'm a happy girl. I often use song titles or lyrics in my chapter titles, but for the title of the fic I will only do that if I pun it or change it some way.

[subtle-science.livejournal.com]

I hate, hate, hate coming up with titles.  I've only managed to think of a couple that were even remotely clever or eye-catching.  The rest, IMO, are utterly forgettable.  When it comes to other people's fics, though, I rarely even look at the title.  I'm usually more concerned with the pairing.

[improperlydone.livejournal.com]

When I am writing, titles only come to me in one of two ways: 1) I have a title in mind and I type it out and then the story follows or 2) I struggle and struggle and it falls into my lap once the story is finished.

If someone doesn't title a story (or if it is titled 'Untitled'), it really doesn't affect me in an adverse manner. I've read some brilliant stories with titles that I thought were a bit pretentious or just downright silly. I've also read some wonderful stories that were untitled and it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the story. If a title is able to do that, then the story wasn't really all that much to begin with.

I wonder...do people have these types of arguments about pieces of art or music, or is it just fan fiction? I ask only because one of my favorite songs is titled 'Untitled' and it fits the lyrics and the mood perfectly. Would you not listen to a song if it were titled that?

[maelwaedd.livejournal.com]

I'm terrible with titles. I'll sit there and IM with somebody until I get something that sounds... passable. I have a few fics on my webpage that I feel I should retitle (Harry Potter Can't Find Snape? Oh dear. This is what I get for titling things whilst babysitting), because they're just so bad.

Untitled puts me off. I know that titles do take a bit of effort, but it just speaks, to me, that somebody was too lazy to bother titling their fic. And I know I'm bad and wrong for thinking this, but it's similar to somebody putting an a/n saying 'oh, this story is so crap, don't read it!' before their fic. I just--don't read it.

That said, I've recently discovered that I often forget to put summaries in front of my fics. I guess it could just be a matter of forgetting.

RE: Titling of the fic

[kaflower.livejournal.com]

In the past (like my first four or five stories), the title just kind of popped up out of nowhere or I'd write a fic based on a catchy title I'd come up with (only to realize later on that it really wasn't catchy -- at all. And the fic didn't really reflect the title...at all.) However, I've been finding recently that I write before I title a fic. For instance, Into the Terrible Night was untitled for about a month before I read a line in a story I was reading in my High School English class that kind of caught my attention because it was so poetic (I know, sappy...**busts out violin**).

My other fics, Bete Noire and...well, I'll call it Summary for now just because the title isn't set in stone, came ironically enough from Dictionary.com's word of the day. I've been working on Summary for a month and that is all I am still calling it.

I guess my biggest vice (or pet peeve) when reading fanfic is when the title is so sappy, so...stupid-sounding, as well as having a crappy tongue in cheek summary (or an accompanying sappy summary) that I just gag and move on to another story. Yes, I judge a fic by its title/summary suckiness. I'm guilty.

However, 'untitled' fics make me curious. 9 times out of 10, tho, they are sucky little one-shots.

[janegraddell.livejournal.com]

Here from daily_snitch

A lame title will turn me right off. Overused titles bug me a bit, especially if it's from the same currently popular song, but a title that says, essentially, that the author didn't want to bother with coming up with a better title have about the same effect on me as netspeak in a summary. I'd rather see the ten millionth story titled "Aftermath" than "Snape Story (i suck at titles)"

As for me, I usually steal my titles the same place I steal my pseuds: From Christopher Marlowe. If a title doesn't spontaneously erupt from the writing process, I usually fall back on Marlowe because I'm a bit of an obsessed freak and know where to look for passages in his works that fit the theme of my story. When I was trying to come up with a title for "One Bare Hour," I went to the end of Dr. Faustus because I knew I needed something about ends and time running out, and I found the perfect line "Now hast thou but one bare hour to live." For another story, I was talking a lot about writing and love, etc., and found a passage from Tamburlaine about someone's love being unexpressable even if all the thoughts of every poet who ever lived were distilled, and got "All the Pens That Ever Poets Held."

A side effect is that I don't often find myself sharing titles, something that I actually make a bit of effort to avoid. It's impossible to avoid it altogether, but at a minimum I try to search and make sure I'm not duplicating any titles within the fandom. It's just too confusing to have multiple stories with the same title, and I need all the help I can get. :)

[chelidona.livejournal.com]

From daily_snitch
Titling is hard ... but I see it as common courtesy. If a writer can't even be bothered to come up with a title in my experience they didn't put a lot off effort in it anyway. And seeing how many WIP's I am reading (and I am sure I'm not the only one) I'd get to confused if I would read untitled ones as well. If a title is lame or really cool doesn't affect me most of the times - if a title seems seriously inane, I won't read (but can't think of an example here).
As for my own fics - most of my titles would fall into the "lame" category I think.

[adolfa.livejournal.com]

I am definitely put off by bad titling in anything. I refused to see Intolerable Cruelty in theatres for that reason, and likewise I will refuse to read any fic that follows that pattern. There are many stale quagmires of bad titling one can fall into, but that? Is the worst. 'Intolerable Cruelty', 'Dark Passions', 'Tantalizing Lies' - no. (Though I've never actually seen a book with a really gross, laughable title. Movies and fic seem to be the biggest culprits here.)

'Untitled', to me, signifies a short, throwaway story, but that doesn't mean bad quality. I will be more likely to admire an untitled story than something that sounds like it should be prefaced with the words 'Monty Python'.

[musesfool.livejournal.com]

My titles usually arrive before the stories - I have whole lists of titles with no stories attached. *pout*

And some stories were written just so I could *use* a specific title.

Mostly, my titles come from lines of songs or poems or quotes or some variation thereof ("Such Corruptions Out of Such Sweet Things" is an inversion of a line from Walt Whitman). Sometimes they're directly related to the fic ("Razor's Edge," "Ladyfingers"), sometimes they're ridiculously oblique unless you're privy to my thought process.

When I first started writing fic, I was very much with the one-word titles, but they're very lacking in interest, so I try not to do that much anymore.

What about sharing story titles with a well-known author? So many fics out there. It has to happen more often than not

It's not the fact that the *author* is well-known so much as the *title* is - I had a story I was calling "Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart" (from a Stephen Crane poem), but I *knew* there was a well-known West Wing story with that title (and it turns out, an XF one and a BtVS one etc.), so even though my story wasn't West Wing, I changed the title before I posted (to "How Bitter a Thing" from er, As You Like It, iirc).

But I have stories called stuff like "Comfort" and "Confrontations" and "Enough" which are so generic I think many people would have used them.

If someone else wrote a story and called it "The Intimate Art of the Close Shave" or "Love in the Traffic-Choked Streets," I might be a little put out, because I thought those were pretty unique.

Otherwise, I'm pretty neutral on other people's titles. Summary, author and pairing are more likely to attract or repel my attention.

[rosefyre.livejournal.com]

I'll pretty much read anything...as long as I'm in the mood. If I'm in the mood for porn, I won't read anything rated less than R. And if I'm just bumming around, I'll go down my flist until I find a rec, and read whatever it is, whatever it's rated. And if I have no time, I won't read anything. Period.

I have to agree that Untitled puts me off, but bad titles don't - I know that mine have pretty much been not so great as well. I mean, my last three pieces were Moonstone, Sibling Rivalry, and Snozzberry Sauce. Not very exciting. Therefore, if something has a one word title that's not wonderful, I'll still read it most of the time.

I will, however, read untitled pieces if they're by favorite authors...because I'll read anything by favorite authors.

[drworm.livejournal.com]

Leaving a piece of writing untitled is like not naming your baby.

I happen to enjoy titling things... it's my only skill, and it's fun to play around with. I often have the title before I have the story, which I gather is not the usual way of doing things. Then again, I come from the college of non-sequitur titles and summaries, which certainly isn't popular with a huge number of people. If I'm looking for a title, I generally turn to free-association. I've pilfered from songs, books, mythology, the Bible, classic literature, poetry, magazines, and Stephen King.

Seriously, people. The title's the fun part. I don't see why everyone gets so bent out of shape about it.

[shadoedseptmbr.livejournal.com]

Wandering by from the daily_snitch

For my own purposes, though I'm not prolific, I can't write and post without a title. It stems from my high school experience in essay contests, where you were flatly disqualfied from the competition without titles. I title first, even if I change it later. If I don't have a title in mind (inspired by a lyric or line from a poem, generally) I use the old standard: "This, That and the Other Thing." Someday I'll actually use that title and have to find a new standard.

However, I don't read untitled fic outside of drabbles. If you didn't care enough about it to name it, you likely didn't care enough to spell check, either. I want some assurance you put a modicrum of effort into it.

[shadoedseptmbr.livejournal.com]

*sigh* It never fails when I mention spell-check, I almost automatically misspell something. Modicum.

[lobelia321.livejournal.com]

Do poor titles affect your judgement?
No. I go by pairing, author, summary that catches my eye, rec. Half the time I can't remember the fic's title by the time I write the feedback.

When writing, I sometimes struggle endlessly with the title, only to come up with something stupid. But at other times the title suddenly comes to me half-way through, and at still other times I have the title before I have the fic. Those two latter instances are helpful for writing the fic, I find: the titles keep me on track.

[moshi.livejournal.com]

I'm not fussed about titles whatsoever. Perhaps it's the 'never judge a book by its cover' thing, but if I'm happy about the summary, the category, the author (or hell, if I've nothing else to read) I'll read it. I might not like it, but I don't honestly see how a deep and profound/lyrical/in your face/vague/whatever title is going to make me not read a fic, considering that almost all authors give us something else to go on.

As for titling my own fics - it's a bastard. Really, the title and summary are my biggest obstacle. I'd love to name all my fics 'Untitled - I'll get back to you', but alas, that would be annoying. But likewise, I'm not going to stress myself out over something that I find fun - if someone doesn't read my fic because of the title, then so be it. I'm very easy going when it comes to HP fandom. :)

[here via four_lobsters]

[justinetre.livejournal.com]

With me, I write the fic first, then think up a title.
And if I'm reading others, I always use the summary as a judgement on if I'll read it or not, never the titles

[twilightsorcery.livejournal.com]

Here from daily_snitch.

I envy and admire a good title. Choosing a title (at least for me) tends to be like bumping into things in the dark. Until I hit on it, I never really know. "Snape's first day of teaching" became "Reactions" when scifantasy pointed out that reactions were the driving force of the story. I had a story that went through "Werewolves of London", "Bitter Flesh", "Inevitable", and finally went back to "Bitter Flesh" when I realized I was never going to think of anything better. "Bloodline", on the other hand, had the only title it could possibly have before I wrote one word.

Either it happens or it doesn't, but I would rather see a stupid title than no title at all. Suffer like me, damnit! ;)