Here's something interesting: hawthornbunny has put together a list of the most commonly used fic titles on Fimfiction. Perhaps to be expected, 14 of them are single words. Slightly to my surprise, none of them contains a character name (unless there are some OCs in there). Here's the full list, which I've edited only in terms of formatting:
1. Memories (49 fics)So, if you want your story to be found easily, it's probably not a great idea to call it Memories! Also, this isn't exactly a list packed with hugely popular or well-received stories. Think of your favourite fic, and it probably isn't here.
2. Alone (42 fics)
3. A New Life (39 fics)
4. Broken (36 fics)
5= A Second Chance (31 fics)
5= The Trotting Dead (31 fics)
7. Destiny (26 fics)
8= The End (25 fics)
8= Lost (25 fics)
8= A Night to Remember (25 fics)
8= Redemption (25 fics)
8= Silence (25 fics)
13. Eclipse (24 fics)
14= Forgotten (23 fics)
14= Monster (23 fics)
14= Nightmares (23 fics)
14= The Pony Games (23 fics)
14= Secrets (23 fics)
14= Trapped (23 fics)
14= Wings (23 fics)
Ha, too true. This is one reason why I do a quick search to see if anyone is using a title I want to adopt, and why I generally try and come up with more complex or unusual titles. A fic has to have its own identity, after all.
ReplyDeleteDitto. I have a trusty Oxford dictionary of quotations that I mine for inspiration. (It's a fairly old one, so has a different outlook from most of the online quotations sites.)
DeleteThe Trotting Dead and The Pony Games both seem to stand out, the latter especially. (I guess the Walking Dead is pretty popular.) I mean, that's just very specific!
ReplyDeleteI suppose they're all Hunger Games knock-offs. I haven't actually read any of them, so I don't know for sure.
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