What makes a good story title?

[SoftGameHunter]

My objection to my own title of Pheromonica is not that it isn't clever, but its meaning sounds kind of pretentious. If the title were just put out there with no context, what would it suggest? The story of a pipe organ magically powered by perfume scents? Well, it's not terrible, and I'm not inclined to try to 'fix' it. We do have context here. It's a ravishment site, and the tags should ground it for the interested reader.

[RapeU]

My objection to my own title of Pheromonica is not that it isn't clever, but its meaning sounds kind of pretentious. If the title were just put out there with no context, what would it suggest? The story of a pipe organ magically powered by perfume scents? Well, it's not terrible, and I'm not inclined to try to 'fix' it. We do have context here. It's a ravishment site, and the tags should ground it for the interested reader.

When I first saw the title I thought it involved pheromones. You used the suffix onic, which typically means "pertaining to" and made it feminine with the a at the end kind of like how Spanish does it with different words like hermano and hermana. You've actually created a brilliant title because it's exactly what the story is about.

[SoftGameHunter]

My objection to my own title of Pheromonica is not that it isn't clever, but its meaning sounds kind of pretentious. If the title were just put out there with no context, what would it suggest? The story of a pipe organ magically powered by perfume scents? Well, it's not terrible, and I'm not inclined to try to 'fix' it. We do have context here. It's a ravishment site, and the tags should ground it for the interested reader.

When I first saw the title I thought it involved pheromones. You used the suffix onic, which typically means "pertaining to" and made it feminine with the a at the end kind of like how Spanish does it with different words like hermano and hermana. You've actually created a brilliant title because it's exactly what the story is about.

I duplicated Romance language word endings without even knowing it?

Alright, I yield. I admit I have tremendous blind spots in how I and my words can come across, and evidently I judged myself far too harshly. At the very least, my title works with some of my readership. Thanks all.

[Blue]

I openly admit that I don't put much thought into the title of a story.

Sometimes it's simply the name of one of the main characters, like in "Anna." Or it has something to do with the character's profession, as in "The Rider" or "The Mountain Biker." Only rarely does the title give a direct indication of what follows in the story.

I put more thought into the teaser. It should contain an interesting excerpt from the story so that the reader has a general idea of ​​what to expect. And that's often the beginning of a rape scene, designed to entice the reader to continue the story and find out what happens next.

[Lucius]

My objection to my own title of Pheromonica is not that it isn't clever, but its meaning sounds kind of pretentious. ...

I've been thinking -- can a title be pretentious? Like, a high-minded line from Shakespeare or, I don't know, Yeats stuck upon a run-of-the-mill gang bang story?

[SoftGameHunter]

My objection to my own title of Pheromonica is not that it isn't clever, but its meaning sounds kind of pretentious. ...

I've been thinking -- can a title be pretentious? Like, a high-minded line from Shakespeare or, I don't know, Yeats stuck upon a run-of-the-mill gang bang story?

Ruminations Upon Virtue of the Inundated Undercarriage
The Grasping and the Longing of Man's Nefarious Wronging
The Libidinous Fetters of Lady Jane's Secret Cradle
Aphrodite's Lament of Pan's Cooked Salacious Hot Sausage
Madame's Special Beau Cake and the Party of Jubilation

[Lucius]

Ruminations Upon Virtue of the Inundated Undercarriage
The Grasping and the Longing of Man's Nefarious Wronging
The Libidinous Fetters of Lady Jane's Secret Cradle
Aphrodite's Lament of Pan's Cooked Salacious Hot Sausage
Madame's Special Beau Cake and the Party of Jubilation

Those promise either a good parody... or something completely insane.

[HistBuff]

I want the title to reflect the story's main them without giving out a spoiler. This is why "Mongol Bandits Attack Train" became "The Steppe's Devils". Less on the nose and shorter with a double entendre as to who the Devils are. "Red Sunset" is the result of a similar process, and the original title was so forgettable that I can't remember what it was!

In general, a short effective title that will spur a reader's curiosity.

[Darinost]

I usually aim for something clever or catchy that’s more about the theme than the literal events, but I’ve occasionally just given up and gone with the latest idea in my head. I also have a fondness for dumb jokes, so when a title related one occurs to me I’m likely to pick it over more sensible options because life is short, why not? A good example has to be my latest anthology, shorts loosely connected by the theme of innocent victims meeting terrible ends, which I couldn’t resist naming Spilled Milk.

[SoftGameHunter]

For some updated info on my own story names, I started posting Pheromonica on AO3 (can't remember if I mentioned that earlier or not) and just posted the tenth installment today. At about 20k words and eleven days up, I finally exceeded the hit count of the 3k word single chapter story 'Fuck Me Like You Hate Me!' posted twenty days ago. I'm not saying there are no other differences, but I'm not convinced a title like 'The Petite Girl Rape Hunter' wouldn't have gotten more hints.