Titles Meme:
Apr. 27th, 2003 04:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
butterflyI almost always think of the title after the first draft of a story is completed. If I thought of a title before the writing is done, I almost always end up changing it. The title is dependent, not necessarily on the story, but on the words. I love to put the same idea in the title as I do in the last sentence. It makes my inner essay-writer happy.
I'm just going to go over the most recent fics, I think. From my ten most recent updates.
Then and Now (due South; not yet archived): The title pretty much tells you what the story is about, at least in retrospect. Frannie ignores Then and concentrates on Now, because Then tells her that she'll never have Fraser and Now lets her think that there's hope. At the same time, they coexist because Frannie refuses to let go of Then's crush and perhaps see a Future. She's both ignoring and living in the Then. Talented lady.
Cherry Lips (*NSYNC): From the Garbage song. That song always screams 'Justin' to me. It was inevitable that I'd use it. And it was very appropriate here, with the emphasis on kissing.
High Wire Act (Firefly): This title was inspired by the last sentence - "And walking that balance became more like trying to decide which way you needed to fall to stay breathing." Right and wrong is all about walking the balance, and to survive, to need to be able to know how. From that, High Wire Act came instinctively to mind, though I doubt Mal himself would ever use that as an example.
Gold and Black (due South: This has to do with the ambiguity of who is with Fraser. Gold and Black is my hint that it's RayK - he's got light hair and Fraser has dark hair. But since I never specify, it could be about any number of things - Victoria could be the black, while the warmth of the candles could be the gold.
To Still the Shaking (Smallville): It's all about holding hands. This title just popped out when I was done with the drabble. It sounds right, so, I'm happy.
The Idiot Box (Buffy): Simple, right? The TV is the idiot box, as Miss Calendar explains to Giles in some episode. In other ways though, Spike is the idiot box. He's trying to hard to see himself and he's lost. And really, it's right there in front of him that he can't be that Big Bad anymore, no matter what Buffy says she wants. He's not that vamp anymore. It's all a posture, a story, a game played out on a television. Also, it's meta.
Summer Nights (Buffy): All because of the Grease song. It's great in the summer, but we know that when the summer's over, everything is going to get complicated again. Dawn doesn't want to admit that.
Once, Twice, Thrice (Firefly): This one is laughably simple: there are three first kisses that she remembers. It does also work on another level, because there are three kisses that matter, one of which hasn't happened.
Politics (Children of Dune): Straight from the mini-series' explanation of why Farad'n and Ghanima don't get married. This one was very easy to title, though I may go back and turn this into a series, in which case, the series title would be Politics and this one would be... something when a goverment... Installation, perhaps.
The End of the World: Variations on a theme (Buffy): The important part about this title is how it connects with the subtitles within the story. The End of the World tells you the theme and Variations is the song-connection. Each of the subtitles is about song: we start with Buffy Solo, add Giles to make a Duet, turn it into a Trio with Willow, then have Xander finish it with Quartet. On my other stories, I end with 'fade to black', but with this one, I kept to the music references and end with 'and the rest is silence'. Really, it's a very depressing story when you think about it. Especially when you take into account the last line. 'Fade to black' implies that a scene is over, an episode, but not everything. Whereas, 'and the rest is silence' is more permanent. The world is over. Forever.
Potential (Smallville): Purely a humor drabble and therefore it has an entirely obvious title once you know that it's a crossover with Buffy.
The Shelter (Angel): In a way, the title is obvious, but in another it's not. Anne's place is a shelter. But a shelter can also be a cage. Anne herself is also a shelter, for she's planning on protecting the kids from the dark no matter what the cost to herself.
The Summer After (Buffy): Another way obvious title. Simple and easy. It could be a fic about any number of things. But the important part is what isn't a part of the title. It's not called The Summer After Buffy Left because Xander is trying very hard not to think about that. He's failing utterly, but he's probably doing a better job than all the people I didn't write about.
Seven Years and Counting (Buffy): In some ways, the title is obvious: it's been seven years and counting since he met Buffy, it's been seven years and counting that he's been waiting for her, it's seven years and counting since she first left him confused and curious. In another way, a way that only makes sense if you have the same taste in music as I do, there's something missing. In Happytown, there's a lyric that goes "seven years of bliss and counting". I pulled out the bliss. Because if there's a certainty in the Jossverse, it's that you don't get bliss and if you do, there's always a price tag. So the title's a personal joke to myself, really.
Experience: The Fairy Tale Lies Remix (*NSYNC): Now, I only came up with the second part of the title, so that's what I'll be talking about. It took me a long time to write this fic, especially when you look at how short it is. And it didn't come together until I decided that there were two stories. A bittersweet fairy tale and bittersweet reality. But the fairy tale lies, because it never mentions that the reason the lost love remains lost is out of his own choice. There's a reason that the 'the end' is part of the fairy tale format and not the regular. Because only in fairy tales does the story ever end. In life, you go on. 'The End' is another fairy tale lie.
One Last Time (Buffy): A slight twist in the wording of the aftermath of the Xander/Anya sex in Storyteller. In the episode, they say it was "one more time", but right after that, they agree that they're over and the wording shifts in his head.
I'm always going over my stuff and rewriting it. I just took two horrendous shorts and turned them into respectable drabbles. I believe in the power of constant editing. At one time (I don't remember if it's still there), one of the warnings on my site was that I never consider my work done. Anything can change at a moment's notice.
This post? Has changed over ten times since its original posting. Mostly editing, but also adding and just plain changing.
I'm just going to go over the most recent fics, I think. From my ten most recent updates.
Then and Now (due South; not yet archived): The title pretty much tells you what the story is about, at least in retrospect. Frannie ignores Then and concentrates on Now, because Then tells her that she'll never have Fraser and Now lets her think that there's hope. At the same time, they coexist because Frannie refuses to let go of Then's crush and perhaps see a Future. She's both ignoring and living in the Then. Talented lady.
Cherry Lips (*NSYNC): From the Garbage song. That song always screams 'Justin' to me. It was inevitable that I'd use it. And it was very appropriate here, with the emphasis on kissing.
High Wire Act (Firefly): This title was inspired by the last sentence - "And walking that balance became more like trying to decide which way you needed to fall to stay breathing." Right and wrong is all about walking the balance, and to survive, to need to be able to know how. From that, High Wire Act came instinctively to mind, though I doubt Mal himself would ever use that as an example.
Gold and Black (due South: This has to do with the ambiguity of who is with Fraser. Gold and Black is my hint that it's RayK - he's got light hair and Fraser has dark hair. But since I never specify, it could be about any number of things - Victoria could be the black, while the warmth of the candles could be the gold.
To Still the Shaking (Smallville): It's all about holding hands. This title just popped out when I was done with the drabble. It sounds right, so, I'm happy.
The Idiot Box (Buffy): Simple, right? The TV is the idiot box, as Miss Calendar explains to Giles in some episode. In other ways though, Spike is the idiot box. He's trying to hard to see himself and he's lost. And really, it's right there in front of him that he can't be that Big Bad anymore, no matter what Buffy says she wants. He's not that vamp anymore. It's all a posture, a story, a game played out on a television. Also, it's meta.
Summer Nights (Buffy): All because of the Grease song. It's great in the summer, but we know that when the summer's over, everything is going to get complicated again. Dawn doesn't want to admit that.
Once, Twice, Thrice (Firefly): This one is laughably simple: there are three first kisses that she remembers. It does also work on another level, because there are three kisses that matter, one of which hasn't happened.
Politics (Children of Dune): Straight from the mini-series' explanation of why Farad'n and Ghanima don't get married. This one was very easy to title, though I may go back and turn this into a series, in which case, the series title would be Politics and this one would be... something when a goverment... Installation, perhaps.
The End of the World: Variations on a theme (Buffy): The important part about this title is how it connects with the subtitles within the story. The End of the World tells you the theme and Variations is the song-connection. Each of the subtitles is about song: we start with Buffy Solo, add Giles to make a Duet, turn it into a Trio with Willow, then have Xander finish it with Quartet. On my other stories, I end with 'fade to black', but with this one, I kept to the music references and end with 'and the rest is silence'. Really, it's a very depressing story when you think about it. Especially when you take into account the last line. 'Fade to black' implies that a scene is over, an episode, but not everything. Whereas, 'and the rest is silence' is more permanent. The world is over. Forever.
Potential (Smallville): Purely a humor drabble and therefore it has an entirely obvious title once you know that it's a crossover with Buffy.
The Shelter (Angel): In a way, the title is obvious, but in another it's not. Anne's place is a shelter. But a shelter can also be a cage. Anne herself is also a shelter, for she's planning on protecting the kids from the dark no matter what the cost to herself.
The Summer After (Buffy): Another way obvious title. Simple and easy. It could be a fic about any number of things. But the important part is what isn't a part of the title. It's not called The Summer After Buffy Left because Xander is trying very hard not to think about that. He's failing utterly, but he's probably doing a better job than all the people I didn't write about.
Seven Years and Counting (Buffy): In some ways, the title is obvious: it's been seven years and counting since he met Buffy, it's been seven years and counting that he's been waiting for her, it's seven years and counting since she first left him confused and curious. In another way, a way that only makes sense if you have the same taste in music as I do, there's something missing. In Happytown, there's a lyric that goes "seven years of bliss and counting". I pulled out the bliss. Because if there's a certainty in the Jossverse, it's that you don't get bliss and if you do, there's always a price tag. So the title's a personal joke to myself, really.
Experience: The Fairy Tale Lies Remix (*NSYNC): Now, I only came up with the second part of the title, so that's what I'll be talking about. It took me a long time to write this fic, especially when you look at how short it is. And it didn't come together until I decided that there were two stories. A bittersweet fairy tale and bittersweet reality. But the fairy tale lies, because it never mentions that the reason the lost love remains lost is out of his own choice. There's a reason that the 'the end' is part of the fairy tale format and not the regular. Because only in fairy tales does the story ever end. In life, you go on. 'The End' is another fairy tale lie.
One Last Time (Buffy): A slight twist in the wording of the aftermath of the Xander/Anya sex in Storyteller. In the episode, they say it was "one more time", but right after that, they agree that they're over and the wording shifts in his head.
I'm always going over my stuff and rewriting it. I just took two horrendous shorts and turned them into respectable drabbles. I believe in the power of constant editing. At one time (I don't remember if it's still there), one of the warnings on my site was that I never consider my work done. Anything can change at a moment's notice.
This post? Has changed over ten times since its original posting. Mostly editing, but also adding and just plain changing.