WIP Challenge - Check In, Day 10 - Tuesday

[the_rck]

Poll #15502

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5

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Today I

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planned
1 (20.0%)

researched
2 (40.0%)

wrote
4 (80.0%)

sent to beta
0 (0.0%)

edited
1 (20.0%)

posted
0 (0.0%)

rested
2 (40.0%)

did something else
1 (20.0%)

The way I feel about that is

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Mean: 6.00 Median: 5 Std. Dev 2.10

Terrible 1		0 (0.0%)
2		0 (0.0%)
3		0 (0.0%)
4		1 (20.0%)
5		2 (40.0%)
6		1 (20.0%)
7		0 (0.0%)
8		0 (0.0%)
9		0 (0.0%)
Spectacular 10		1 (20.0%)

It seems like titles are hard for everybody. Do you come up with your titles early in the writing process or do you wait until the end? How do you come up with your titles?

I leave titles for last, usually. I have working titles just so I can save, but most of those are meaningless to anyone but me or generic to the point of being impossible. I think I have two big WIP that have real titles, but they're the exception. I usually allow myself about a day to come up with a title.

I keep a file with song snippets that I think I might use for titles some day. I also often resort to the dictionary. I just open at random and browse until I find something that's possible. I keep a list of the various ideas and see if any of them actually work. Sometimes, I take the possible words to a thesaurus (usually online) to see if that gives me something better. When I'm titling remixes, I tend to use song titles, but they're pretty obscure songs. I've only once had someone recognize the song I was referring to.

Comments

[linaewen]

I seem to need a title to get started on something (and so I can save my work), so I try to come up with something that vaguely fits with the idea. When the story is finished, I sometimes change the title (usually to a phrase in the story that summarizes things neatly), but often I discover that my working title is just fine.

I also put titles on chapters of my long WIPs as I post them. Those are a bit harder; I have to wait until the chapter is completed and ready for posting before I can find that phrase within the chapter that works as a title.