thirty days of fanfic, day seventeen
Sep. 17th, 2011 11:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jlhI really thought I posted this Saturday! Ah well, backdating is my friend.
(list of questions can be found at day one)
one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten | eleven | twelve| thirteen | fourteen | fifteen | sixteen
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
Titles come to you. Usually for me they're from someplace, like an altered title of something else, or a line from a song or a novel. They show up and they just feel right, and usually they show up sometime in the middle of things.
I generally title the chapters in thematic ways. I find a hook of some sort and then find ways to make all of them fit.
Eight Ways from Sunday chapters named after Beatles songs.
With One Breath parts named after John Lennon songs.
Swingers parts named after swing dances.
High Art parts named after paintings by David Hockney.
Different for Girls parts named after songs by George and Ira Gershwin.
A Dream That Could Not Last chapters named after classic romantic films and two books of film philosophy by Stanley Cavell.
Radio Friendly chapters named after cigarette advertising slogans.
Keep Your Enemies Closer chapters named after mystery novels about Lord Peter Wimsey by Dorothy L. Sayers, with slight changes.
Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe chapters named after sections of a boilerplate screenplay.
The Trick Is to Keep Breathing chapters named after solar holidays.
Drabbles in the Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy series named after songs on that album.
Drabbles in the 26 Short Drabbles about Ryan and Simon series named after lines in songs (19), lines in movies (2), lines in plays (2), a line from a poem (1), a line from a humorist (1) and a common expression (1).
Since I had nothing to do the day I wrote this up, hey, I'll list where all the titles come from. I have written 140 stories including two drabble series.
Titles that merely reference the story itself, sometimes with common phrases, 47:
555 Minutes is also bad math; I think it actually was supposed to be 5555 minutes.
Anatomy Lesson.
Arrangement in Orange and Gold.
Automania.
A Belated Inheritance.
Best Laid Plans.
A Bit of Earth came from my betaslytherincesss.
Breakthrough.
Bones and Tongue.
Central Heating.
Chocolate Kisses.
Code Breaking.
Coming Home, Now.
Dinner Party.
Diwali.
Entwined.
Happy Birthday Simon!
His Favorite Sport.
The Hottest Thing in Sickbay.
How to Be a Top.
If At First.
In the Club.
Introducing Katie and Jules.
Itch You Can't Scratch.
Lemon.
Lily and the Marauders.
Make It Better.
Meat.
Myopia.
Ninety-nine.
No One Needs to Know.
One Big Circle.
Out of Character.
Potter 7.
Pretty from Behind.
Re-Union.
Score, score, score, score!.
Score One for the Home Team.
The Secret Life of Couches.
Seven Christmases.
Sounds Like a Party.
Swingers.
Tea Time.
To Match Her Eyes.
Trust in the Process.
We Three.
What Can Be Seen.
Titles from songs or song lyrics, 45:
Count Me In and Count Me Out is a line from the song "Obvious" by Aztec Camera.
I Wanna Hold Your Hand is a song by the Beatles.
Lucy is the name of Jim's stuffed elephant, who is named for the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". Bones's stuffed lion is named after "Dear Prudence."
No One Will Be Watching Us is the only other line in "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" by the Beatles.
Sending Postcards is a line from the song "Two of Us" by the Beatles.
Party Goin' On Over Here is a song by Busta Rhymes.
Sensoria is a song by Cabaret Voltaire.
Stanley and Livingstone is the title of a Crowded House song which includes the lines, "I am a white man in Africa ... Switch to record / I get the picture / but I will never understand"
(I Don't Want Your) Photograph is from the song "Photograph" by Def Leppard.
Twist and Turn 'til You've Got It Right is a line from the Depeche Mode song "Get the Balance Right."
All of the Doubts and the Certainties is a line from the song "Love, In Itself" by Depeche Mode
Lips Like Sugar is a song by Echo & the Bunnymen.
I Think I Need a Devil to Help Me Get Things Right is a line from the song "Learn to Fly" by the Foo Fighters.
Feels Like the First Time is the title of a Foreigner song.
The Trick Is to Keep Breathing is a song by Garbage.
Dog and Butterfly is a song by Heart.
Breaking in the Future is a line from the song "Crushed by the Wheels of Industry" by Heaven 17.
Different for Girls is a song by Joe Jackson: "No, not love, she said / Don't you know that it's different for girls?"
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is an album by Elton John, and all the drabbles are titled for songs on that album.
Steady Rollin' Woman is a line from the song "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin.
Dick Clark Will Have His Revenge on Times Square is a take-off on the title of a Nirvana song, "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle."
Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe is a song by Okkervill River.
So Fresh, So Clean is a song by Outkast.
Cooler Than Being Cool is a line from the song "Hey Ya" by Outkast.
Something Good Waiting Down This Road is a line from the Tom Petty song "Running Down a Dream."
He's Got a Million Dollar Car is a line from the Liz Phair song "Jealousy."
With One Breath is a line from the song "Synchronicity One" by the Police.
If I'm to Be Your Camera, Who Will Be Your Face? is a line from the song "Camera" by R.E.M.
Don't Stop the Music is a song by Rihanna that David Cook sang in the Idol Gives Back episode of his own season of Idol, and also the song that inspired me to write the story.
Shut Your Eyes and Think of Somewhere is a line from the Snow Patrol song "Shut Your Eyes."
A Good Place We Could Start is a line from the Snow Patrol song "The Finish Line"
We'll Make It Up As We Go Along is a line from the Talking Heads song "Home (Naive Melody)"
Horchata is a song by Vampire Weekend.
They Say You Think I'm Fine is a line from the song "This Boy's in Love with You" written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
That Certain Feeling is a song by Ira and George Gershwin; all of the chapter titles for Different for Girls were also Gershwin songs.
Who Would, Would You? is a line from the song "Someone to Watch Over Me" written by Ira and George Gershwin.
A Dream That Could Not Last is a line from the song "Lost in Meditation" and the chapter titles therein are all based on classic films or books on philosophy and film by Stanley Cavell.
A Few Kisses Ago is a line from the song "I Remember You" written by Johnny Mercer.
To Make the Season Bright is a line from "The Christmas Song" written by Mel Torme.
Where the Love Light Gleams is a line from the song "I'll Be Home for Christmas" written by Kim Gannon, Walter Kent and Buck Ram.
Some People Ain't Me is a line from the song "Some People" written for the musical Gypsy by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim.
The Pajama Game is a Broadway musical.
Shake It Loose and Let It Fall is a line from the song "Help Me Make It Through the Night" written by Kris Kristofferson
So Many Roads to Choose is a line from the song "We've Only Just Begun" recorded by The Carpenters and written by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams.
When The Game Ends, We'll Sing Again is a line from the song "10,000 Men of Harvard."
Titles from books or book titles, 9:
Padfoot and Moony Sing Songs of Love is a take-off on the title of the novelThe Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos.
Or, the White Whale is the secondary title of the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.
One Warm Spark is a line from the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.
April Is Over is a line from the short story "The Sensible Thing" by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
A Room of One's Own is an essay by Virginia Woolf.
How to Be a Domestic God(dess) is a cookbook by Nigella Lawson.
So Much Depends on a Blue Honda Civic is a take-off on the first line of the poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams: "so much depends upon / a red wheel barrow"
The Sun Rising is the title of a poem by John Donne.
Leaves of Grass is a book of poems by Walt Whitman.
Titles from movies or movie titles, 7:
Entr'Acte is a film directed by Rene Clair.
Earth Boys Are Easy is a take-off on the film Earth Girls Are Easy directed by Julien Temple.
26 Short Drabbles about Simon and Ryan is a take-off on the film Thirty-six short films about Glenn Gould directed by Francois Girard.
Ten Short Stories About Kevin and Javier is also a take-off on the film title Thirty-two short films about Glenn Gould directed by Francois Girard.
Takes One to Know One is a slight rewrite of the title of the film the story is based on, To Catch a Thief directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Goodbye, Mr. Seacrest; or, To Simon, with Love is a reference to two films about teachers, Goodbye, Mr. Chips directed by Sam Wood and To Sir, with Love directed by James Clavell.
Caviar Sandwiches and Beer is a line from the film The Philadelphia Story directed by George Cukor.
Titles referring to other things, 10:
Eight Ways From Sunday is a reference to the Eight Paths to Enlightenment in Buddhism.
In Preparation for Arrival is a reference to in-flight instructions on commercial passenger flights.
Helga is a reference to a woman frequently painted by Andrew Wyeth.
The Field Equations of Gravitation is a 1915 paper by Alfred Einstein.
Pinks is the name of a famous hot dog stand in Los Angeles that Ryan is a fan of.
Radio Friendly is a term in the music industry and the chapter titles therein are all advertising slogans for cigarettes.
So This Starfleet Captain Walks into a Bar …is a take off on the beginning of a joke.
Mustang Makes It Happen! is an advertising slogan for the Ford Mustang from the late 60s.
Backchannels is a reference to a type of covert diplomacy.
Keep Your Enemies Closer just sounded like a good title for a mystery, to be honest.
Titles referring to something within the canon, 7:
Let's Take Some E! is a segment on Joel's show The Soup
Simon Loves Me (This Week) is a shirt that Carly was given during her season of Idol.
Leave No Man Behind is a line Barney says to Robin in the How I Met Your Mother episode "Zip Zip Zip."
The Three-Legged Stool is a take-off on the elaborate terms Barney makes up to describe sexual acts.
Ancient Artifacts and Modern Rituals is a reference to the episode titles of the show Community.
Carrying On is a reference to Tim Gunn's catchphrase.
I'm Here to Cook is a reference to an oft-used phrase on Top Chef.
Titles of Ryan/Simon stories referring to books or movies with lesbian themes, 15:
All Over Me.
Go Fish.
Desert Hearts.
Saving Face.
Tipping the Velvet.
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.
Better Than Chocolate.
My Summer of Love.
I Can't Think Straight.
High Art
Bound.
The J-Word.
Serving in Silence.
Affinity.
Imagine Me and You
(list of questions can be found at day one)
one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten | eleven | twelve| thirteen | fourteen | fifteen | sixteen
17 – Titles – Are they the bane of your existence, or the easiest part of the fic? Also, if you do chaptered fic, do you give each chapter a title, or not?
Titles come to you. Usually for me they're from someplace, like an altered title of something else, or a line from a song or a novel. They show up and they just feel right, and usually they show up sometime in the middle of things.
I generally title the chapters in thematic ways. I find a hook of some sort and then find ways to make all of them fit.
Eight Ways from Sunday chapters named after Beatles songs.
With One Breath parts named after John Lennon songs.
Swingers parts named after swing dances.
High Art parts named after paintings by David Hockney.
Different for Girls parts named after songs by George and Ira Gershwin.
A Dream That Could Not Last chapters named after classic romantic films and two books of film philosophy by Stanley Cavell.
Radio Friendly chapters named after cigarette advertising slogans.
Keep Your Enemies Closer chapters named after mystery novels about Lord Peter Wimsey by Dorothy L. Sayers, with slight changes.
Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe chapters named after sections of a boilerplate screenplay.
The Trick Is to Keep Breathing chapters named after solar holidays.
Drabbles in the Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy series named after songs on that album.
Drabbles in the 26 Short Drabbles about Ryan and Simon series named after lines in songs (19), lines in movies (2), lines in plays (2), a line from a poem (1), a line from a humorist (1) and a common expression (1).
Since I had nothing to do the day I wrote this up, hey, I'll list where all the titles come from. I have written 140 stories including two drabble series.
Titles that merely reference the story itself, sometimes with common phrases, 47:
555 Minutes is also bad math; I think it actually was supposed to be 5555 minutes.
Anatomy Lesson.
Arrangement in Orange and Gold.
Automania.
A Belated Inheritance.
Best Laid Plans.
A Bit of Earth came from my beta
slytherincesss.Breakthrough.
Bones and Tongue.
Central Heating.
Chocolate Kisses.
Code Breaking.
Coming Home, Now.
Dinner Party.
Diwali.
Entwined.
Happy Birthday Simon!
His Favorite Sport.
The Hottest Thing in Sickbay.
How to Be a Top.
If At First.
In the Club.
Introducing Katie and Jules.
Itch You Can't Scratch.
Lemon.
Lily and the Marauders.
Make It Better.
Meat.
Myopia.
Ninety-nine.
No One Needs to Know.
One Big Circle.
Out of Character.
Potter 7.
Pretty from Behind.
Re-Union.
Score, score, score, score!.
Score One for the Home Team.
The Secret Life of Couches.
Seven Christmases.
Sounds Like a Party.
Swingers.
Tea Time.
To Match Her Eyes.
Trust in the Process.
We Three.
What Can Be Seen.
Titles from songs or song lyrics, 45:
Count Me In and Count Me Out is a line from the song "Obvious" by Aztec Camera.
I Wanna Hold Your Hand is a song by the Beatles.
Lucy is the name of Jim's stuffed elephant, who is named for the Beatles song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". Bones's stuffed lion is named after "Dear Prudence."
No One Will Be Watching Us is the only other line in "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" by the Beatles.
Sending Postcards is a line from the song "Two of Us" by the Beatles.
Party Goin' On Over Here is a song by Busta Rhymes.
Sensoria is a song by Cabaret Voltaire.
Stanley and Livingstone is the title of a Crowded House song which includes the lines, "I am a white man in Africa ... Switch to record / I get the picture / but I will never understand"
(I Don't Want Your) Photograph is from the song "Photograph" by Def Leppard.
Twist and Turn 'til You've Got It Right is a line from the Depeche Mode song "Get the Balance Right."
All of the Doubts and the Certainties is a line from the song "Love, In Itself" by Depeche Mode
Lips Like Sugar is a song by Echo & the Bunnymen.
I Think I Need a Devil to Help Me Get Things Right is a line from the song "Learn to Fly" by the Foo Fighters.
Feels Like the First Time is the title of a Foreigner song.
The Trick Is to Keep Breathing is a song by Garbage.
Dog and Butterfly is a song by Heart.
Breaking in the Future is a line from the song "Crushed by the Wheels of Industry" by Heaven 17.
Different for Girls is a song by Joe Jackson: "No, not love, she said / Don't you know that it's different for girls?"
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is an album by Elton John, and all the drabbles are titled for songs on that album.
Steady Rollin' Woman is a line from the song "Black Dog" by Led Zeppelin.
Dick Clark Will Have His Revenge on Times Square is a take-off on the title of a Nirvana song, "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle."
Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe is a song by Okkervill River.
So Fresh, So Clean is a song by Outkast.
Cooler Than Being Cool is a line from the song "Hey Ya" by Outkast.
Something Good Waiting Down This Road is a line from the Tom Petty song "Running Down a Dream."
He's Got a Million Dollar Car is a line from the Liz Phair song "Jealousy."
With One Breath is a line from the song "Synchronicity One" by the Police.
If I'm to Be Your Camera, Who Will Be Your Face? is a line from the song "Camera" by R.E.M.
Don't Stop the Music is a song by Rihanna that David Cook sang in the Idol Gives Back episode of his own season of Idol, and also the song that inspired me to write the story.
Shut Your Eyes and Think of Somewhere is a line from the Snow Patrol song "Shut Your Eyes."
A Good Place We Could Start is a line from the Snow Patrol song "The Finish Line"
We'll Make It Up As We Go Along is a line from the Talking Heads song "Home (Naive Melody)"
Horchata is a song by Vampire Weekend.
They Say You Think I'm Fine is a line from the song "This Boy's in Love with You" written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
That Certain Feeling is a song by Ira and George Gershwin; all of the chapter titles for Different for Girls were also Gershwin songs.
Who Would, Would You? is a line from the song "Someone to Watch Over Me" written by Ira and George Gershwin.
A Dream That Could Not Last is a line from the song "Lost in Meditation" and the chapter titles therein are all based on classic films or books on philosophy and film by Stanley Cavell.
A Few Kisses Ago is a line from the song "I Remember You" written by Johnny Mercer.
To Make the Season Bright is a line from "The Christmas Song" written by Mel Torme.
Where the Love Light Gleams is a line from the song "I'll Be Home for Christmas" written by Kim Gannon, Walter Kent and Buck Ram.
Some People Ain't Me is a line from the song "Some People" written for the musical Gypsy by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim.
The Pajama Game is a Broadway musical.
Shake It Loose and Let It Fall is a line from the song "Help Me Make It Through the Night" written by Kris Kristofferson
So Many Roads to Choose is a line from the song "We've Only Just Begun" recorded by The Carpenters and written by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams.
When The Game Ends, We'll Sing Again is a line from the song "10,000 Men of Harvard."
Titles from books or book titles, 9:
Padfoot and Moony Sing Songs of Love is a take-off on the title of the novelThe Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos.
Or, the White Whale is the secondary title of the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.
One Warm Spark is a line from the novel Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.
April Is Over is a line from the short story "The Sensible Thing" by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
A Room of One's Own is an essay by Virginia Woolf.
How to Be a Domestic God(dess) is a cookbook by Nigella Lawson.
So Much Depends on a Blue Honda Civic is a take-off on the first line of the poem "The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams: "so much depends upon / a red wheel barrow"
The Sun Rising is the title of a poem by John Donne.
Leaves of Grass is a book of poems by Walt Whitman.
Titles from movies or movie titles, 7:
Entr'Acte is a film directed by Rene Clair.
Earth Boys Are Easy is a take-off on the film Earth Girls Are Easy directed by Julien Temple.
26 Short Drabbles about Simon and Ryan is a take-off on the film Thirty-six short films about Glenn Gould directed by Francois Girard.
Ten Short Stories About Kevin and Javier is also a take-off on the film title Thirty-two short films about Glenn Gould directed by Francois Girard.
Takes One to Know One is a slight rewrite of the title of the film the story is based on, To Catch a Thief directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Goodbye, Mr. Seacrest; or, To Simon, with Love is a reference to two films about teachers, Goodbye, Mr. Chips directed by Sam Wood and To Sir, with Love directed by James Clavell.
Caviar Sandwiches and Beer is a line from the film The Philadelphia Story directed by George Cukor.
Titles referring to other things, 10:
Eight Ways From Sunday is a reference to the Eight Paths to Enlightenment in Buddhism.
In Preparation for Arrival is a reference to in-flight instructions on commercial passenger flights.
Helga is a reference to a woman frequently painted by Andrew Wyeth.
The Field Equations of Gravitation is a 1915 paper by Alfred Einstein.
Pinks is the name of a famous hot dog stand in Los Angeles that Ryan is a fan of.
Radio Friendly is a term in the music industry and the chapter titles therein are all advertising slogans for cigarettes.
So This Starfleet Captain Walks into a Bar …is a take off on the beginning of a joke.
Mustang Makes It Happen! is an advertising slogan for the Ford Mustang from the late 60s.
Backchannels is a reference to a type of covert diplomacy.
Keep Your Enemies Closer just sounded like a good title for a mystery, to be honest.
Titles referring to something within the canon, 7:
Let's Take Some E! is a segment on Joel's show The Soup
Simon Loves Me (This Week) is a shirt that Carly was given during her season of Idol.
Leave No Man Behind is a line Barney says to Robin in the How I Met Your Mother episode "Zip Zip Zip."
The Three-Legged Stool is a take-off on the elaborate terms Barney makes up to describe sexual acts.
Ancient Artifacts and Modern Rituals is a reference to the episode titles of the show Community.
Carrying On is a reference to Tim Gunn's catchphrase.
I'm Here to Cook is a reference to an oft-used phrase on Top Chef.
Titles of Ryan/Simon stories referring to books or movies with lesbian themes, 15:
All Over Me.
Go Fish.
Desert Hearts.
Saving Face.
Tipping the Velvet.
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.
Better Than Chocolate.
My Summer of Love.
I Can't Think Straight.
High Art
Bound.
The J-Word.
Serving in Silence.
Affinity.
Imagine Me and You
