I have almost completed the second draft of the first part of a three part story, and I already have the draft of part two finished and three outlined. The only major question now is what to call it? Its your typical Reluctant Cheerleader type story, and suggestions are welcome, with more information provided if requested. Also, for the one person who may still be waiting, Echoes 5 is still on hold until I have a computer again. On a related note, anyone wanna give away a laptop with wireless?
Melanie
Comments
I've always thought...
that for one of those stories, simply, "Cheerful," would be a great title. Especially if reinforced at least once or a few times throughout by being told that she is cheerful, or even, "be cheerful," or, "cheer up," throughout.
Hmm, didn't think of that
I don't know if that would fit the main character though as he's a bit of a skate punk kinda person, the cheerleading tie coming indirectly from an interest in Parkour. His name is Dane Phoenix, and one reason I'm having trouble with a title is my brain keeps drifting towards fire...
Phoenix Rises After Making an Ash Out of Himself
Or, something like that. Titles are very personal. Some of my titles took weeks to find.
More serious And You've Got Your Pretty Clothes -- because you're thinking about FIRE and that fixation must be salient to your story.
Google the suggested title with "Rolling Stones" -- if you don't understand.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Titles
Oddly, I frequently think of a title before I think of a plot. :) Birdsong for instance. And Cliff Hangeur was actually a throwaway title thought of by Donna Lamb. Maybe I'm weird that way.
I don't always stick with the title I think of first. Hole in the Sky (unfinished, not many have seen it) was at first called Perdition Valley.
Writing a story without a title would be very difficult for me, even though I might change the title at the last minute.
- Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
cheering
From your description, it's the acrobatics that draw Dane onto the cheer squad.
I'd say the key word to work into your title would be "Flip," since it's a move done by a cheerleader or a parkour runner, or it could be a word that means change.
Something like "Dane Does a Flip" or even simply "Flipping." If you want to get complicated, how about "Can She Do a Backflip?", which would have that subtext of asking if your girl cheerleader could flip her life back to how it was as a boy punk.
your choice ...
If you're doing a series, it's nice to be able to give each story its own theme. More amusing than "part 1" and "part four thousand six hundred and eleven." (Admittedly, if the latter is the second part, you've subverted the system in your favor ...).
Again, if it's a series, then a unifying title for the series, with each series then playing on that, is nice. For a cheerleader story, for instance, you might research traditional cheers, then use one particularly apt one as a series title, with other excerpts as episode titles. There's someone posting here with musicians as the protag; both series and episode titles are taken from the vocabulary of musicians.
Or you might want to separate your characters from the initial story situation, feeling that forcing everything into "cheerleader" related stuff is too limiting (it would be, if you have plans or even merely hopes to broaden the story beyond joining the cheer squad). In that case, you might think about the characters, or even just the protag, pick out something "characteristic", and play the changes on that.
I happen to like using song titles or lyrics as story tags (at least for the most interesting thing I've done), so titles of episode are either the titles of the song, or phrases taken from the verses (generally highly recognizable, in any event), and each story has a short, supposedly-apropos bit of lyrics to start with. On the other hand, the series title has nothing to do with anything in particular; it's just evocative, for me.
Another pattern: puns (check with Erin for that!). The idea is to get a double-entendre (that readers are unlikely to catch, just reading the title) into the title of the episode.
In most cases, if you want to have *fun* with titles, though, the rule is to do something that's almost a game. It *does* mean that you'll sometimes find yourself asking, "what the *hell* am I going to call this one?" but that sort of challenge can be stimulating (you might find yourself coming up with a title, and then making the story match).
In the end, though ... do what you like, and that feels right.
Amy!
oops and addition
second para, third "series" == "episode". less b00x3, more br41n.
cheer up!
be of good cheer!
there are prolly other phrases (there are certainly words, like the suggested cheerful).
cheery wine (cheery coke, cheery pie, cheery cobbler, cheery tree ...). i'm sorry, i'm sorry!
(you're gonna hate this) table and cheer; easy cheer; lawn cheer; arm cheer; folding cheer; high cheer ... okay, i'll stop now. :-)
oh, gosh, i'd better stop *altogether* now; i'm having way too much fun. :-)
Amy!
Hehe, I'm just as bad most
Hehe, I'm just as bad most of the time. Hmm, I could probably use a Sex Pistols song for the title since 'Dane' develops an unnatural obsession with Johnny Rotten as the story goes on.
Two, Four, Six, Eight!
Pep Squad Cutie (or Hottie or Sweetheart or...)
Kick'em in the Other Knee! :)
- Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Oh no! Hum, Sex Pistols songs ...
God Save the Queen.
No, you do not want to go there.
Pretty Vacant.
My Joanie did that on in concert, dedicated it to the MCO and now they are out for her hide. Chickens come home to roost July first 2007 in her timeline.
The Great Rock and Roll Swindle?
Okay enough of the Sex Pistols.
Pheonix allows for various uses of "Firebird".
Be of Good Cheer, Angela did that I think.
I do remember the National Lampoon cover; don't ever forget the panties.
Chim Chim Cherri -- too Disney.
Cheer the Conquering Hero was a film title.
The Dane Curse, that was a crime mystery?
Um, do the girls on the squad know about, *her*? If they do and help *her* then Conspiracy works or related themes. Project Pheonix, The Pheonix Conspiracy.
Or various combinations of Miss-????.
Go wild.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
None of the girls know
None of the girls know except his friend he was at the tryouts to watch... Maybe I should do a preview?
Pom-Pom Parkour
is all I can guess with the little you've said.
Is it a comedy?
It'll have a few funny spots
It'll have a few funny spots but they arise more from the comedy of the human condition than any real slapstick.
I Have A Question For You
Is this story written with melanie's prmission?
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
Melanie Brown? This is a
Melanie Brown?
This is a completely original story: I meant 'reluctant' as being accidental. Essentially Dane is at the tryouts to support a friend and is (alas, as is always the case) mistaken for another applicant. He makes the team, and many a misadventure ensue. Of course the squad is all female...
Why would you even ask that?
I mean, does Melanie (whoever you mean, be it Brown or other) own the concept of a cheerleader?
I agree
Reluctant cheerleader is a often used theme for a number of stories with divergent plot lines. No one "owns" it.
Even the title may be reused if the author thinks it fits. There are many different stories with the same title.
I would think, though, that one would need the permission of the original author if you used the same characters and setting in a new story. It doesn't look like that is the case here.
Mr. Ram
Tale of Two Stories
Since I've written two cheerleader stories (Shannon's Course and Bringing Good Cheer) and have thought about writing many others, I would assume I own the cheerleading franchise, if ownership is possible. I grant you permission to write your story. All others will have to pay royalties. No checks, please. Money orders will be accepted.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Barter?
How about a trade? My neig . . .I have a couple of chickens, healthy right now, that I'll be glad to swap you. You pay freight.
KJT
"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose"
Janis Joplin
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.” - Turkish Proverb
Hey!
I've also written two cheerleader stories ("Ready, Okay!" and "Cavegirl," both of which I may eventually get around to writing sequels to) thout ever needing to pay a royalty. I suppose I owe you a percentage of the profits I made on those.
Interesting concept...
Now, where was I on the night of the 18th? Wait, that'd be some sort of mystery opener, and you're looking for a title of a story that may well NOT be a mystery.
If it's told in 1st person... something like "I didn't start out to..." or "Not What I'd Planned" might be interesting titles.
Annette
Blank
Title deleted. It occurs to me that if I want to see a story with the title I had suggested, I might have to write it myself.
cheer terms
Perhaps you could work in terms from cheerleading. Check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cheerleading_stunts for a list. If each part follows a typical trilogy trajectory, you might try terms that indicate the action in that part like: Cheer:Basket Toss, Cheer:Show and Go, Cheer:High Split.
Yayness!
The Wiki'll be a lot of help, thanks! And yet another great title idea I hadn't considered, too!
now about them echoes
Ok, no pressure. Right, cheerleading things. Assuming a slight reluctance from your intro ... 'Oh Cheers' with a subheading for Pt 1 along the lines of...'Cute... gee thanks' Pt 2 ..'Um, well..you know' Pt 3 depends a bit on where it's going. Might be.. 'Hmm that's nice'... or .. 'Where's the exit.' Entirely up to you of course, just playing with ideas and I'm unlikely to do a Cheerleading story, so... Good luck with it.
Kristina