It can be helpful to choose a working title that deals with some central idea, character, event or motif in your fanfiction. These are some of the factors you’ll be considering when finalizing your title, so having a fundamental concept of what label describes your story can prevent you from having to concoct one out of the blue later on. Improvising a working title has the beneficial creative effect of forcing the writer to distill what is important about the story to them into a single word or phrase.
Titillate fans of the material you’re calling on with specific references. Using the names of well-known characters or other details from the source material as part of your title (e. g. “Murphy’s Bargain” or “Journey to Kyrandia”) will excite fans while also giving them a sense of what to expect from your story.
Since fanfiction takes creative license with other, established works, highlight the originality of your story by using one of your own fictional inventions as part of your title. Though you can get away with it when naming a novel or short story, don’t get too abstract with the title of your fanfiction. Your title should be explicit enough to inform the reader of the type of fanfiction it is but also offer some concrete new image.
A title like “Man the Cannons” is more effective than one like “The Great Sea Battle” because it is indicative of action. Remember to keep your title consistent with the type of fanfiction you’re writing. For instance, a story about Dr. Who might simply be titled “Dr. Who: A Case of Star Sickness,” while a fanfiction about Indiana Jones would want to retain the formatting of the titles of the source material; “Indiana Jones and the Emerald of Skull Island. "
Ernest Hemingway came up with two defunct titles, “The World’s Room” and “They Who Get Shot” before settling on “A Farewell to Arms. " Had he not, the book’s final title might have been some reworking of the original and been far less memorable.
Avoid cliches. Many titles take a safe but uninteresting template approach (e. g. “The Legend of. . . “) and get lost in the sea of nearly identical titles. Your title should be something catchy and repeatable that doesn’t sound too much like something your reader has heard time and time again. Resist the urge to turn your title into a pun. It can be tempting, but it’s never as clever as you think it is. At best, a pun title draws the reader’s attention to it and away from the meaning of the story; at worst, it can be instantly offputting.
Rereading your fanfiction will give you another opportunity to mine for other potential titles that might better serve the story.
Ask the person reading your fanfiction to tell you what they think of the title before and after reading the story. If it’s not strong enough to interest them before they read the story, you may need to rework it. Find a friend that is impartial or more likely to give you honest criticism. Ask them to be specific: hearing “it’s good” benefits no one.
Be careful not to let your title run away with you. It should be brisk and punchy, but not overly complex or unusual just for the sake of standing out.
Authors often change the titles of their stories multiple times before arriving at the most suitable one. Don’t be discouraged if the first title you think of isn’t a perfect fit. Unless you have a particular idea of what you want the title to be, wait until later on in the writing process to decide on a name for your story. You may find that certain events occurring late in your story recommend themselves quite nicely as titles. Assume that your reader’s attention span is short (this is often the case when browsing titles) and make the most of it with dynamic, unusual or standout wording.
E. L. James’ “50 Shades of Grey” began as a fanfiction adaptation of characters from Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series. It is now one of the most popular literary and movie franchises in the world. You never know how far your fanfiction will go, provided you sell it properly.
