Tips on naming a story, post here please!

[LittleRayRay]

Whenever I am in the process of writing, and I need to pick a name, I usually pick the dumbest one in the book.

Do you have any tips for people like me?

[AlmightyElemental]

Honestly, whenever I'm writing, the title is the absolute last thing I come up with. It's a lot easier to come up with one once you've figured out who your characters and situations are and a lot of times, the name comes right out of the dialogue itself.

[fuzzydice70]

AlmightyElemental is right. That's the best way to do it. However, if you're in a hurry for a title, think of how you want the story to go and have the title related to that.

[Midnight]

The title is usually something I come up with near the end of halfway. It's pretty rare to have the final title at the beginning. I'll usually nickname the piece, sort of like the work in progress title so I know what to refer it as.

When it comes to picking it, for me, I find a name that means something to me, and has a bit of a presence in the storyline, even if I never say the word in the story itself. Just take your time with it, and it'll come after while. It always does.

[Slenderman - Doctor]

Have a list of "working titles", maybe, then pick the best at the end. Or wait until the end and, as you write, think up some keywords.

[tiffc]

Think of a catchy title that's not too long and do it when your story is finished. Maybe thunk of two or three and then think of the one that best fits your story.

[DHK-eh]

Title's on getDare seem to have 2 directions

One is the title is basically the situation of the story, this is about 95% of the stories. ex: <Name>'s trip to <school activity> camp, or 3 <gender>s alone for a weekend.

The other being more abstract and about the attitude of the story or about the concept behind the story. This is seen more in published books or films. ex: Requiem for a dream isn't called your life sucks and your girlfriend is miserable;
and the matrix isn't called Neo's adventure in program planet.

[Markbassplayer]

Titles are either the easiest or the hardest part of the story. They either just happen or they requre so much consideration and reconsideration that you lose all perspective.

I've started keeping a list of interesting words or phrases, unrelated to anything else. It's good to go back to for inspiration. Just look at the title of the film "Vanilla Sky"--Cameron Crowe had that title LONG before the movie existed, and he tried it on most of the films he made before he found the right fit.

[firenight]

the title is what u want it to be noone else

[heishere]

For short stories, I always come up with a title at the very end - and I normally weed out the first few to avoid titles like "Gymnastics".

(On a side note: if you have people you turn to for titles, don't listen to them all. A very dear friend and fellow writer once suggested, for a plants take over the world apocalypse story, turned down the title "A Doom with a View" for her very entertaining suggestion of "It's Saturday Night at Midnight and I've Got a Nickel in my Pocket".)

Longer works tend to gain names about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through the first draft.

If all else fails, use something powerful from the story (last word, MC's name, etc.).