Do you check existing titles when naming a story?

[TheRedChamber]

Simple question really, do you check to see if your title for a story has been used before on the site? How concerned are you if it is? Would a single story from, say, 2002 make you change your mind? How far into the process do you usually settle on a title? Does the process of chosing a title effect what happens in the story.

I've had an image of the four main characters of my current story playing tennis hanging around in my head for the last week for no particular reason. It does seem like mixed doubles would lead to all kinds of Group/Loving Wives types of situations. I usually like to try and nail down at least a working title when I put things in my story ideas file and a quick search of existing stories suggest 'Mixed Doubles' has already been done several times, but variation on 'Forty love'/'Love Forty','Eighteen Love', 'Forty Eighteen' are all available. I quite like 'Eighteen Love' but hadn't realized my character was so young...

(P.S. This is a shooting the breeze thread rather than a seeking advice thread, but by all means lob in some tennis-punning titles.)

 

[jaykaythree]

Simple question really, do you check to see if your title for a story has been used before on the site? How concerned are you if it is? Would a single story from, say, 2002 make you change your mind? How far into the process do you usually settle on a title? Does the process of chosing a title effect what happens in the story.

I've had an image of the four main characters of my current story playing tennis hanging around in my head for the last week for no particular reason. It does seem like mixed doubles would lead to all kinds of Group/Loving Wives types of situations. I usually like to try and nail down at least a working title when I put things in my story ideas file and a quick search of existing stories suggest 'Mixed Doubles' has already been done several times, but variation on 'Forty love'/'Love Forty','Eighteen Love', 'Forty Eighteen' are all available. I quite like 'Eighteen Love' but hadn't realized my character was so young...

For the most part, I sure do. In fact, the one I'm on now had two other working titles before it; my most recent publication, in October, has a title which no one took in the seven months it took me to do.

And as far as whether the title affects the story -- other way around. I pick a title that reflects the story.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

No, I don't check titles. First, you can no longer copyright the title of a story. Second, how many stories are on this site alone? A random google of your title will likely as not turn up thousands of results, some may be other story titles, while others just key on the word order. It's a kin to using a screen for an umbrella, not that useful.

 

[Euphony]

I do even prior to drafts (titles end up as project names in scrivener and it's a little suspect renaming on the fly) mostly to see if I am not as uniquely clever as I imagined.
The real Grrrrrrrrr moment is when a particularly enchanting title ends up having a singular, rubbish representative. Grand scheme it doesn't matter but seeing your enchanting title on a low 3ish stroker is not my favorite thing. Oddly feels like a waste somehow.

 

[Smuttyandfun]

No. I've never checked a title. There are so many stories on this site, there's bound a be one or two with whatever name I choose. So, I just pick a name I like and go with it.

 

[Voboy]

No. It's never occurred to me. I'd imagine some of mine are duplicates, now that I think of it.

 

[alohadave]

No. I've never checked a title. There are so many stories on this site, there's bound a be one or two with whatever name I choose. So, I just pick a name I like and go with it.

Some of the common trope titles, like say "Teacher's Pet", have dozens of stories by that name.

Anyone interested in that trope isn't going to be bothered by reading another story with the same name.

 

[RejectReality]

I do sometimes. Most often when I have a couple of variations. One of them having been used and the other free is a push in the direction of the one nobody has used here yet.

If I feel the title perfectly fits the story, I don't compromise.

The easiest way to avoid repeating titles? Eliminate "A", "An", "The" and similar words as the first word from consideration whenever possible.

 

[NotWise]

I do. I used the Lit search engine to look for "My Sister's Wedding" before I used the title. I found none (which surprised me). I jumped on it, and the file name came out "My Sisters Wedding-7" or something like that. There were six previous stories by that name, but the search engine missed them, apparently because the apostrophe messed it up. Google found them.

I have a story waiting that I wanted to name "SIster Sister," but again there are several by that name.

 

[Rustyoznail]

I don't search, but I try and think of something unusual and catchy.

 

[vanmyers86]

I always search. If a title's already been used a dozen times, I will dig deeper to think of something else; only one of my stories has the same title as another story on Lit.
Like Rustyoznail, I like the unusual and catchy.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Um, I never have checked in advance. I try to get a name that fits the story. So far as I know, I haven't duplicated anything already here.

 

[KeithD]

Sometimes.

Titles can't be copyrighted and they are repeated constantly in mainstream. I look to see what else is named that in the mainstream when I'm having something in the mainstream published. I don't want mine to be overshadowed too much. Repeated titles don't mean anything here at Literotica, I don't think.

 

[SimonDoom]

Usually, yes. While titles are not proprietary, why pick a title someone else already has picked? I want my story to stand apart. With this site's search features, it's an easy piece of due diligence to do.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I'd thought of it when I was naming the stories but never got to it. I just checked both titles in the search function but mine weren't duplicates happily. I was very surprised that Getting Busy wasn't previously used. I will check hereafter though, thank you for bringing it up.

 

[oggbashan]

I tend to use fairly unique titles eg. 'Getting Nude with Chairman Mao' but some of my stories share titles with others.

It doesn't bother me if my title is unique or the 7th story with that title.

 

[ElectricBlue]

No. I m thinking of a title for my story, not someone else's.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

No.

I select a title that fits the story, and since I publish on multiple sites, duplicate titles here hold little relevance.

 

[Trionyx]

I definitely want my title to be unique (until someone later uses it) if at all possible. I will accept a previously used title but not if it is in the same category.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Simple question really, do you check to see if your title for a story has been used before on the site? How concerned are you if it is? Would a single story from, say, 2002 make you change your mind? How far into the process do you usually settle on a title? Does the process of chosing a title effect what happens in the story.

I've had an image of the four main characters of my current story playing tennis hanging around in my head for the last week for no particular reason. It does seem like mixed doubles would lead to all kinds of Group/Loving Wives types of situations. I usually like to try and nail down at least a working title when I put things in my story ideas file and a quick search of existing stories suggest 'Mixed Doubles' has already been done several times, but variation on 'Forty love'/'Love Forty','Eighteen Love', 'Forty Eighteen' are all available. I quite like 'Eighteen Love' but hadn't realized my character was so young...

(P.S. This is a shooting the breeze thread rather than a seeking advice thread, but by all means lob in some tennis-punning titles.)

Choosing a title is usually the first thing I do once I have an idea for a story, and I don't pay any attention at all as to whether the title already exists. I also quite often pick a song that resonates with the story, in my mind at least, and pick some lyrics that suit. The two combined give me a focus for the story and it usually evolves from that and a concept into an outline. I have way more story concepts and titles in my head than I've ever managed to write. One of the things I've always wanted to do is take an old CD and write a story to match every song title.

 

[Defluer]

Only time I did was when I had the funny idea for a Halloween Story called Nundead. Nothing turned up but the story idea that I came up with was like an entire Novel and I'm barely cranking out the one long story I have so I don't need another one to bog me down with.

I just checked and only 2 of my stories are marked with "-1" so 50 stories and only two were duplicates when I published them. Some of them had zero chance of anybody naming it after that, which has effected the stories performance I'm sure. Porngia at Mossbeck's means nothing to anybody, unless you read the story. So much so that I slapped my forehead and said, "Why did you even click that one? Of course nobody used that title."

I would say it doesn't matter at all. In fact the simpler and "sexier" the title the better to get people to click on it. "Curing Sister's Migraine" is a simple title, provocative and it's my most rated story by double (like over 2000 votes compared to around 1000) maybe it's the content but I think it's a lot more people knowing and getting what they came for.

 

[Voboy]

I guess I look at it this way: it is easy to check real fast and make sure you aren't duplicating. And then you can spend a bunch of energy choosing the perfect title for your nicely-crafted piece, and you can feel satisfied at how unique it is.

Until someone comes by later that week with a substandard piece of stroker crap, then doesn't bother checking for a dupe before he goes ahead and uses that same title, and then your own due diligence counts for nothing at all.

I just don't think it's worth worrying about, is all. Dupes happen. You can't control much about them. I try to pick the title that's right for the story, and I don't think too far beyond that.

 

[theWollstonecraftWoman]

I guess I look at it this way: it is easy to check real fast and make sure you aren't duplicating. And then you can spend a bunch of energy choosing the perfect title for your nicely-crafted piece, and you can feel satisfied at how unique it is.

Until someone comes by later that week with a substandard piece of stroker crap, then doesn't bother checking for a dupe before he goes ahead and uses that same title, and then your own due diligence counts for nothing at all.

I just don't think it's worth worrying about, is all. Dupes happen. You can't control much about them. I try to pick the title that's right for the story, and I don't think too far beyond that.

You could put that on a Tshirt and make fortune.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Not quite sure what the point would be, frankly. The stories might wind up listed next to each other on one list, but with different authors, tags, dates and (maybe) themes. If they want to find mine of that name, they can search my my name. Non-issue, I think.

 

[JGittes]

All the spilled electrons over titles and tag lines are wasted efforts.

I worked off and on with a story for two years and eventually found focus when I thought to enter it in a themed contest. The last half a dozen well-crafted titles went out the window in the surprisingly free-flowing frenzy of writing and rewriting to meet the entry deadline.

The final 20k story was fully half of all I had originally written. But the dead ends and deleted scenes floated in my mind when I had to come up with an appropriate title reflecting the contest theme. Each word of the title carried far more baggage in my mind than the text on the page conveyed. The same with the tagline; an image from a wholly deleted scene in an entirely different direction than the final story.

I was surprised at the number of views and votes the story received when it was published, triple the usual averages for the category. When comments showed up, the first three or four were complementary. But then one negative comment hit that mentioned events that didn't occur in the story and was more appropriate for something in LW (not the story's category.)

I spent a few minutes staring at my works page trying to figure it out. I realized there was an entirely different takeaway from the title and tagline than I had intended; one that someone intent on punishing imaginary LW transgressors could easily be enflamed by.

It remains my highest-viewed story by far, and will eventually receive the most votes as well. Its success in views isn't due to the category or kink tags but has to be the unintended title and tagline combination. I wish this could be distilled into a successful method for titling stories. It was purely accidental.