Fanfic Rant on titles, Part two
I know I said I would write the positive things that should be done with titles, but more things to avoid kept popping up...
Do these, and avoid the flames:
1.Test your title on someone else
2.Run a search on your title. If you get bunches of same or similar matches, change it
3.Use proper spelling, punctuation, and grammer
4.Avoid using odd symbols such as parentheses, brackets, etc
5.Keep it a reasonable length. Twelve words is not reasonable
6.Do not give away the whole story with the title. This sounds impossible, but Hemingway managed to do it with Old Man and the Sea...
7. Avoid being too generic. Do not simply name your story the fandom or character name. Final Fantasy VII is a category, not a valid title
8. Also, avoid making your title similar to the title of any of the sequels, especially if the name of your OC is inserted.
So, you should not use Dirge of Kaila or Advent SOLDIER
9. The same can be said for any common terms, phrases, or themes in the fandom. Example: Project Riku, Mako Reunion
10. In fact, you shouldn't put the name of your OC in the title at all. No one will know who that is, unless you've written a previous story involving that OC, and then only the people who read that story will understand the significance.
11. Also, in #8 there was an example of a "crossover" title. If you've used one of these, consider carefully which section your story should be in. If Project Riku is in the FFVII section, yet the only FFVII characters it has are some Shinra scientists who worked on the "Project", it really should be moved.
12. If your story belongs to a specific, unusual type, try to indicate it in the title. For example, some stories are based on reviewers asking questions of a character, which the author answers in subsequent chapters. For these, the tradional title is "Ask _____", with the character name included. Or, if you have a Q&A session with several characters, you might include the word "Talkshow", or "Interview". This is an instance where using a common formula can be a good thing.
I hope to make this a series, with the next section about story summaries. I may also submit some of these to the
Fanficrant community, but they might need some revision first.
Do these, and avoid the flames:
1.Test your title on someone else
2.Run a search on your title. If you get bunches of same or similar matches, change it
3.Use proper spelling, punctuation, and grammer
4.Avoid using odd symbols such as parentheses, brackets, etc
5.Keep it a reasonable length. Twelve words is not reasonable
6.Do not give away the whole story with the title. This sounds impossible, but Hemingway managed to do it with Old Man and the Sea...
7. Avoid being too generic. Do not simply name your story the fandom or character name. Final Fantasy VII is a category, not a valid title
8. Also, avoid making your title similar to the title of any of the sequels, especially if the name of your OC is inserted.
So, you should not use Dirge of Kaila or Advent SOLDIER
9. The same can be said for any common terms, phrases, or themes in the fandom. Example: Project Riku, Mako Reunion
10. In fact, you shouldn't put the name of your OC in the title at all. No one will know who that is, unless you've written a previous story involving that OC, and then only the people who read that story will understand the significance.
11. Also, in #8 there was an example of a "crossover" title. If you've used one of these, consider carefully which section your story should be in. If Project Riku is in the FFVII section, yet the only FFVII characters it has are some Shinra scientists who worked on the "Project", it really should be moved.
12. If your story belongs to a specific, unusual type, try to indicate it in the title. For example, some stories are based on reviewers asking questions of a character, which the author answers in subsequent chapters. For these, the tradional title is "Ask _____", with the character name included. Or, if you have a Q&A session with several characters, you might include the word "Talkshow", or "Interview". This is an instance where using a common formula can be a good thing.
I hope to make this a series, with the next section about story summaries. I may also submit some of these to the
Fanficrant community, but they might need some revision first.