Jam Session

[elliotsmelliot]

Hello again! I hope everyone has been having a great summer (or in you're in the Southern hemisphere - a tolerable winter!) After a mini-hiatus, we're about to get started here at the Quill again with our weekly posts and challenges. Thanks to everyone who volunteered to lead a discussion this month and later on

Comments

[elliotsmelliot]

I like to pick a title first. It helps me with the writing process. If I don’t do it at the beginning, I feel like I don’t know what I’m writing about until it has a label. For me, a title is like a thesis statement of sorts. Of course, it doesn't always happen, and I can be found scrambling to find one right before I post.

Unlike most of my author friends, I’m rarely inspired by music, so it is only on occasion my titles have anything to do with a songs. One time I was looking for a title that could describe the calm before the storm for a pre-flash Charlie story. I kept coming back to variations on the title of a Paul Simon song, Peaceful Like a Hurricane's Eye so I just decided to use that.

In the beginning, I would use this collection of quotes to help me find a title. I would put a key word into the search engine, and it would bring up classic and modern quotes containing that word. I would sometimes use part of the quote or just use them to brainstorm. Now I find I can usually come up with a title all by myself. Lately certain words inspire entire stories. Once I saw ‘Cul de Sac’ sign and just loved how it sounded. Then it became part of the title for my Richard, Boone and Alex immortality fic - A Midnight Stroll Down Cul-de-Dac Lane. Another example is my off island Sayid fic, Myopic Dystopia. I just loved how those two words sounded together and created a story around it. I know I will write a Juliet story called Rust one day.

I have two favourite titles: One is my Penny/Desmond reunion fic, You'll Find them Halfway Between an Inhale and Exhale. It is wordy, but I remember it coming to me during a yoga class. I thought about the pause between breathing in and out, when nothing happens, but it still part of a process. It reminded me of the stop/start nature of Penny and Desmond’s relationship. I am also very much in love with the title for my recent Richard/Helen fic Sun Light; Shining Ray which is the meaning of the name Helen and just sounded so pretty and elusive, much like I tried to make the fic.

No competition! My worst title is the Sawyer left-behind fic, A Friend is a Gift you Give Yourself - pure fromage!

[elliotsmelliot]

Sometimes taking two words from a quote can be helpful for me or seeing how a sentence can be phrased.

[valhalla37]

Hah! I've used that exact same page to try and find potential titles, when I'm really, really stuck. It's a good resource when you're just coming up empty.

I loooove both titles for the Des/Penny and Richard/Helen -- so evocative -- and I've got a soft spot for the Sawyer one too, because his POV in that story is so crusty, so I love the counterbalance with the somewhat-schmoopy title. ;D

[elliotsmelliot]

You are being very nice about the Sawyer fic!

That quote search engine got me through many titles early on.

[siluria]

Myoptic Dystopia is a fantastic title - like you say the words just speak volumes. And Rust conjures up so many ideas! I love the irony of A Midnight Stroll Down Cul-de-Dac Lane :)

I used to start a fic with a title at the top of the page. These days I just can't find the right titles to start with, which annoys me. I tend to work with a thesaurus when I really want a good title. I take a word or two that describes the feeling of what I want to project in the fic and look for synonyms that are a little unusual. My last long piece involved finding a Latin translator because I couldn't find an English synonym that worked as a title :)

[elliotsmelliot]

Yes, a thesaurus can be helpful in delivering a less plain title. (I also rely on them when a word is on the tip of my tongue and I can't quite think of it, but I know a synonym.)

I think it is really cool that you know Latin!

[siluria]

Well, I don't know much Latin :) I only did it for a year, and then I only really did it so that I could understand the derivation of species names for my palaeontology. They do make far more sense now, and I do remember the odd words here and there - thesaurus means treasure - I always thought that was pretty :)

[elliotsmelliot]

I didn't know that. It always reminded me of the name of a dinosaur. Treasure, I like it.

[angeldylan628]

I really love your Penny/Desmond reunion fic title. It's very beautiful! I'm also quite fond of the Richard, Boone, Alex title as well.

I used to use a lot of quotes too when I first started in the Lost fandom. Either quotes or lyrics. Now, I try not to rely on either as much. Unless I'm in a hurry.

[elliotsmelliot]

Thanks!

Maybe our reliance on using someone else's words for a title is a sign of insecurity. I mean, we've written an entire story, but get stumped on a handful of words that will be the first thing readers see. Perhaps once our confidence grows as writers, it is easier to create our on titles?

[colourmayfade]

If I don’t do it at the beginning, I feel like I don’t know what I’m writing about until it has a label.
This statement sums up perfectly the way I feel about titles. They organize your story somehow, almost like you can write around them.

Also, the title of that Penny/Desmond fic is gorgeous, no lie. You propel me into reading with the title alone.

[elliotsmelliot]

Whatever works, right! Writing can be so hard, finding a title can feel like a victory even before the story starts!

And thanks!

[bold_seer]

Such an interesting topic!

One thing I especially love about your fics, is the beautiful titles you choose: A Midnight Stroll Down Cul-de-Dac Lane, Drowning your Sorrows by Land and by Sea, Barren in the Promised Land - they capture the mood of the stories perfectly.

[elliotsmelliot]

What a nice thing to say. I totally stole the title, Barren in the Promised Land from a book about infertility and adoption in American history.