How the heck does naming a story work

[LunarScyphozoa]

I’m awful at trying to come up with a name for a story, any advice?

[hockeywebcomics]

Now that's something that can take me a long time to figure.
What kind of stories are you working in?
Sometimes I try to do as most japanese do, put names that are related to the characters' personalities, missions, beliefs and all.
Also, doing the opposite to create a paradox may be cool too.
But when I do that, I usually do only when working on an action, or adventure, or sci-fi or fantasy story.
For slice-of-life stories, I usually go for random names, I look for names that sound good together.

[MHAHufflepuff001]

Look up baby names/popular names/rare names/etc,
But personally i take the theme of my story and pick an adjective and then translate it to a different language or do what i suggested above.
But in the end its ur decision and i wish u luck.

[thecrystalrook]

if you're writing fantasy, take the George Lucas route: just make up shit that sounds cool

[LunarScyphozoa]

That’s a really good idea. he probably just made the story and went “ you know what let’s just call this star wars it sounds cool” lol

[thecrystalrook]

Well I really meant character names - Anakin, Vader, Palpatine etc. Just random-ass shit he made up because it sounded cool (and he wasn't wrong lol)

[LunarScyphozoa]

Oh
OH I HAVE TO EDIT MY THING I IMPLIED THIS WAS CHARACTER NAMES SORRY

[thecrystalrook]

HYEH OOPS

For a story name, something to signify the world I think works best. Star Wars describes exactly whats going on - a perpetual state of war in space. Dragonball describes the most important items in the whole story.

Or, if your protag's name is catchy enough and has a hard focus on them, you could name the story after them. Naruto for example.

[LunarScyphozoa]

O:
that’s really smart

[Toastbuster]

Names are either super fun or a major pain in the ass. There’s no in between. I have a few methods, however. https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/ has all kinds of good choices spanning a bajillion categories. I also sometimes scroll through movie credits and find something fun through that. Sometimes I’ll just slap the keyboard and try to turn whatever results from that into a name lol

[MiraKira]

These are all good ideas that I wish I'd thought of before I named my story haha.

[fleurravenbooks]

i remember that i had really fitting name for one of my novels (it might not be published ever) but when ii googled it to see is it taken by already existing book....it was

[PKLucky]

you could always go the light novel route and have an overly long and descriptive title lol
but no seriously, i try to figure out the main plot points or motifs of the story and just brainstorm a bunch of possible titles then just choose one i think that sounds cool and fits well

[Legendofgenii]

I literally used my MCs name.

[drawnbyyannan]

I would just add -
I would avoid names that are hard to spell/remember, or names that are too common so that when someone googles it, it's not the first thing that comes up. I always google search the name I'm thinking of to make sure there isn't something else that's already pretty well known with the same name.

[allenT]

Also think for your readers, keep it memorable, if possible keep it short, so it's easier for them to search your series by typing.

[darthmongoose]

I write down a bunch of ideas for names. I write stuff like the name of the main character, the major location, the major themes or concepts in the story and play at making puns on them and word associations. I also try pairing words together.

In the case of Errant, I wrote a bunch of ideas that included a list of words associated with knights, because the comic is about knights, and one of the words was "Errant", which also worked really well for an action comedy about things not going according to plan. I felt like a single word title fit the modern setting and the general tone.

I helped my partner come up with the name of their Tapas novel, Bard Romance too. Originally the working title was "The Musings of Eliza Jenkins", but I wanted to workshop it a bit because it didn't sound very punchy or clearly get across what the story was about. The main character is a Bard, so I started writing words associated with that and also silly puns and one of them was "Bard Romance", and I was like "Oh, that's it!" because "Bard Romance" tells you everything you need to know: It's a romance story about a bard, and the title is a pun on the song "bad romance" by Lady Gaga, a song about being tangled up in a problematic relationship, which is what happens to the protagonist a lot.

Basically, write down every possible idea for a title you can think of, try mixing and matching words or thinking of puns or twists on common phrases and look for the punchiest one that fits the tone of your story best.

[Dialusion]

I have a few processes, but I'll explain how I named 3 of my stories "Little Dreamer Boy", "A Flower Just For You" and "The Nameless Relic". All 3 are under the SUMMON! umbrella, which is named after the ever present power that permeates all 3 series.

"Little Dreamer Boy" was named for the main character. A Little Boy who's tied to Dreams. The title describes the main character. Think "Chainsaw Man" (Man with a Chainsaw for a head), "Bio-Booster Armour Guyver" (The Guyver is a Bio-Booster Armour), "Meitantei Conan (Conan is a Detective).

"A Flower Just For You" -or- "A Flower For You in Full Bloom" is the overall goal our main character has. She wants to give flowers to everyone she meets out of gratitude. I want to give you this. A simple phrase than encapsulates the story. Think "Love is Hard for an Otaku" (well, it is), "Even If It Was Just Once, I Regret It" (already, the speaker's perspective is clear, a regrettable action.)

"The Nameless Relic" (title) refers to "The Nameless Relic" (object), the central item in the story that everything revolves around. Think "Dragonball" (Collect all 7 and make a wish) and Cardfight!! Vanguard (The Game the characters play is Vanguard and to play it is called a Fight or Cardfight).

I'd say think about what the most important part of your story is. Is it focused on one character? Is there a central phrase you want to emphasize. Is their an object, sport or game that is at the forefront? Most importantly, does this title sound at all like another series. If so, try and rewrite it to avoid confusion, or phrase it slightly differently. Even more importantly, are you happy calling your series that. Can you say the title with pride? If yes, then that's the title for you.