Meta--About titles
I've been really aggravated in the past couple of weeks to find that in general the titles of fanfic are unmemorable.
So if you are trying to find a fic you have already read, it's not easy to find. Of course I could just use a fic finder community. But there are times when I'm looking for lots of fics and it isn't practical to use a fic finder community. For example, I have been trying to make del.icio.us entries for all my favorite stories. Finding stories that you've already read again is a nightmare. For most of them I can't remember what they are called. At least I remember the author sometimes.
I went back to use the rec lists I originally used to find the stories and that's mostly no help either. The recs say things like "Great Rodney voice. NC-17. Hot." Which is great if you are looking for a hot story to read. But completely unhelpful if you are trying to find a particular hot story, one you have already read. Grrrrr.
I never forget the titles of the novels I have read. But since fanfic is about the same characters in the same settings obvious titles won't work. Titles like Little Women or Anna Karina won't work to distinguish, fanfic. Think about it. A story entitled "Chicago Cops" or "Atlantis Explorers" or "Rodney McKay" or "Benton Fraser" won't help you remember which story you read.
Fanfic stories often have one word titles that could mean anything. Or they have lyrical titles taken from poems or songs which don't remind you of the story. Sometimes they do, but often it's just obscure and meaningful to the writer only.
It wouldn't matter at all really. Except that I had this interesting realization about my taste. The stories I love the most have memorable names. The titles describe the story in ways that make it had to forget and describe that story to a T. I like the kind of story that inspires a meaningful title.
Of course there are stories are a few stories I love whose titles I can't remember and have to search like crazy for. And there are stories with great titles that don't deliver on the promise.
But I have this theory -- a good descriptive memorable title is part of telling a good story. Authors who have good titles know what their stories are about which is reflected in both the story telling and in the title. Some writers can be good and have lousy titles but I don't think that it is an accident that the stories I love with a passion are also stories with distinctive titles.
For example: Eight Sessions, That Pon Far Thing, Draco in Darkness, Family Portrait, Left My Heart, and The Lodger are all examples of titles that mean something about the fantastic stories they name. I can rattle them off and they are related clearly to the story.
I'm pretty sure that there is a positve correlation between good fic and a meaningful and distinctive titles.
And practically speaking, having an effective title means that people will be likely to remember the story over a long period of time, re-read it, rec it.
So if you are trying to find a fic you have already read, it's not easy to find. Of course I could just use a fic finder community. But there are times when I'm looking for lots of fics and it isn't practical to use a fic finder community. For example, I have been trying to make del.icio.us entries for all my favorite stories. Finding stories that you've already read again is a nightmare. For most of them I can't remember what they are called. At least I remember the author sometimes.
I went back to use the rec lists I originally used to find the stories and that's mostly no help either. The recs say things like "Great Rodney voice. NC-17. Hot." Which is great if you are looking for a hot story to read. But completely unhelpful if you are trying to find a particular hot story, one you have already read. Grrrrr.
I never forget the titles of the novels I have read. But since fanfic is about the same characters in the same settings obvious titles won't work. Titles like Little Women or Anna Karina won't work to distinguish, fanfic. Think about it. A story entitled "Chicago Cops" or "Atlantis Explorers" or "Rodney McKay" or "Benton Fraser" won't help you remember which story you read.
Fanfic stories often have one word titles that could mean anything. Or they have lyrical titles taken from poems or songs which don't remind you of the story. Sometimes they do, but often it's just obscure and meaningful to the writer only.
It wouldn't matter at all really. Except that I had this interesting realization about my taste. The stories I love the most have memorable names. The titles describe the story in ways that make it had to forget and describe that story to a T. I like the kind of story that inspires a meaningful title.
Of course there are stories are a few stories I love whose titles I can't remember and have to search like crazy for. And there are stories with great titles that don't deliver on the promise.
But I have this theory -- a good descriptive memorable title is part of telling a good story. Authors who have good titles know what their stories are about which is reflected in both the story telling and in the title. Some writers can be good and have lousy titles but I don't think that it is an accident that the stories I love with a passion are also stories with distinctive titles.
For example: Eight Sessions, That Pon Far Thing, Draco in Darkness, Family Portrait, Left My Heart, and The Lodger are all examples of titles that mean something about the fantastic stories they name. I can rattle them off and they are related clearly to the story.
I'm pretty sure that there is a positve correlation between good fic and a meaningful and distinctive titles.
And practically speaking, having an effective title means that people will be likely to remember the story over a long period of time, re-read it, rec it.