What Comes First?

/ Beem Weeks

Greetings, SE’ers! Beem Weeks back with you again. Today, I pose the question: What comes first?

Hands of a person writing in a small notepad

What comes first: the title or the story? Until recently I figured this to be a silly question. You know, a rhetorical thing meant to mock the foolish. Of course, the story comes first, Goofus! Nobody writes a story based on a title.

Or do they?

I discovered recently that there are authors who do indeed come up with a title first, adding the story afterward. I happened to be snooping around in a writers’ chat room some years ago—you know, one of those internet sites where people group together to discuss whatever may be the topic. Anyway, the question was asked: When do you come up with the title, before or after the story is written?

Okay, so call me old fashioned. I’ve always written the story before deciding on a title. It just makes sense to me. I write a story, get the rewrites out of the way, develop a feel for the content, and decide on what to call the work. I’ve never considered starting with a title and crafting a tale according to it. That very idea seems so foreign to my way of thinking.

But here’s the kicker: Nearly half of those commenting on that thread claimed to start with a title first. How does this work? I mean, do these authors sit around dreaming up titles to turn into stories? I can see this as a practical means in the case of a low-budget film.

“Hey, Bob,” Danny said, speaking over the drone of silliness filling the room. “I have a great idea for a movie called Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.” The title is self-explanatory. There’s little need to plot out something so ridiculous. Just write the script and surely somebody in Hollywood will green light the project.

Books and short stories are different, though. Novels take time in plotting, outlining, and writing. Certainly, the title wouldn’t reveal itself until everything is in place, right?

The title for my novel Jazz Baby didn’t come about until the week I sent the manuscript to the publisher. Even then it came down to a pair of titles—the loser being the moniker In the Time of Jazz.

The way I see it, until the story is written, nobody—not even the author—fully realizes the personality of the work. Once the story is finished, the plot and all those characters—the story’s personality—shines through, giving the author a clear understanding of what the story is truly about. This is how people get nicknames in life. Personality traits that aren’t recognizable at birth take time to show up, to develop.

But the thing is, starting with the title apparently works for some authors. So, who am I to disparage another writer’s means to an end? Just write. That’s what we authors do, isn’t it? It’s the end result that matters.

And just for the record, the title of one of my current works-in-progress, The Secret Collector, came about during the fifth chapter. Certainly not the beginning, sure, but not the end either.

Just write. A productive writer is a happy writer.

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66 thoughts on “What Comes First?”

  4. HI Beem, I suppose it depends on what is meant by having the title first. When I start a story, I always start with the title page and I usually have the title that will remain until publication. Through the Nethergate changed names because Nemesis seemed a little to wicked for the final book and it is also well used as a title. However, I don’t come up with the title before I have the concept. I suppose I am a semi plotter as I always have my basic outline and ending before I start writing any story, long or short. Admittedly, I keep it all in my head because that is how I operate and that is why I say semi plotter because I think plotters make notes and spreadsheets. I never take notes in work meetings either. As a result, the story does come before the title, but I write the title first.

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  5. I’m sorry I’m late to this post and haven’t read through the comments yet, but I thought I’d share a strange experience with you.

    For me, titles come anywhere from when I have the concept worked out to well after my last revisions (when the editor has the work). But I once worked for a story studio that, in addition to writing fiction, was trying to sell online courses and book covers. The covers they sold were pre-done, including mock titles and fake author names that the artist made up and would change upon order. When the studio got out of that business, they had many covers left over.

    I told you all that to tell you this: my boss chose a few covers and asked me to write books that matches the work so the work done on the covers wasn’t a waste. That was the only time I was asked to conceive a plot based on a title. I struggled with the process quite a bit but finally came up with something. Now that I’m no longer with the studio, I have the rights to release that book on my own. It required a complete revision. I never want to have to write that way again.

    But like you said… if you have a process that works for you, why change it?

    Great post, Beem.

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    • Wow. That’s an incredible tale, Staci. I can imagine it would be a struggle to craft a story around a predetermined title–starting out cold. I think yours is one of the most interesting comments on this post. Thanks for sharing your experiences on the subject.

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  6. You’re right, Beem. Some authors start with a title and the title steers the story. But for many, like you, the title doesn’t reveal itself until the characters and the stories are put in place. I changed the title of my two books many times. I changed the title of my WIP many times also but I settled on one now. Great post, Beem!

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  7. Such an interesting topic – and a nice discussion of it.

    For me, story first. Usually.

    In many ways, my novel trilogy is a modern retelling of The Book of Job – with a change in gender and age – a woman who starts out with one family, loses part of it to tribulations beyond her control, remains steadfast in doing the right thing, and ends up in an even better place, including a new family. It is mainstream fiction.

    There are a lot of epigraphs at the beginnings of chapters that speak to the biblical underpinning (and plenty of non-biblical quotations, plus some of my own poetry), and I was especially drawn to Job 41:34, the entirety of which reads: “He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.”

    A final tweak, because it connected with both the biblical sense, and the sense of a lion’s pride, and it became Pride’s Children.

    More and more I’m happy I found that particular verse – and use it in one of the final epigraphs of the first volume, PURGATORY, because it fits so perfectly.

    But I did start the prequel short story with a title – Too Late – because that’s what I was looking for in that main character’s background – something that had partly made him what he is. Not the best title in general, but PC: TOO LATE works well enough.

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    • Thank you for sharing that, Alicia. I love the book of Job. There is so much going on there. I have written short stories based (loosely) on Biblical passages. Those are usually fused with a lesson learned for the character. Your story sounds fascinating. Coming up with the title for a prequel or a sequel before writing it is understandable. You’ve already written the characters and a portion of the story. I can see it working that way.

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  8. I began by thinking ‘of course the story comes first. In the three prequels to The Wolves of Vimar series, I finished the books and then agonised over titles. The same goes for the series books. My publisher suggested titles for my fantasy duo, though.
    Then I remembered a title that came to me. I hadn’t written the story, though. It’s a good title, I think, and I began to write it, only to stall part way through. Is that because the title came first and I had little idea as to where it should go?

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    • Hmm. That’s interesting, V. M. I don’t know if a story stalls because a title came first. Perhaps an outline would get it back on track. Thank you for adding your own experience to the conversation.

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  10. Great post, Beem!

    For me, the title of a prospective story almost invariably presents it with the premise — i.e., when I come up with one, the other is right there along with it. Titles tend to just “appear” for me. But they’re the only thing that does: figuring out the characters and breaking the plot and drafting the manuscript itself is always a laborious (if joyous) process!

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      • It is tricky, coming up with a good title. Is it any wonder Steven Spielberg’s The BFG bombed — with a title like that? I don’t care if it was the name of the book on which its screenplay is based — it’s an awful title that tells you nothing about the story. At least with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Spielberg gave you some indication of the subject matter!

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  12. I hadn’t given this any consideration before! I’ve always written the story first and then agonised over the title afterwards, followed by the torture of the blurb. Reading the comments here, I can see how that order has different permutations and all of them resulting in a book that has a spark that drives it forwards. Great food for thought, Beem.

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  13. Great post, Beem 🙂 l have come up with a title at the same time as my idea, but never a title first. Usually, though, titles come later once the feel of the story emerges. I think it would work for a short story for me but not a novel.

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  14. I love this post, Beem! It’s a great topic! I used to think the same way. The title comes after you have the story idea and after you know your characters. But my opinion quickly changed when I started playing with cover design on Canva. I actually created the cover to Ella before the story was even an idea. So for me, first was the cover, then the title, then the writing. Strange how the brain works sometimes. Because any other time, my writing has always come first.

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  15. I have to have SOME title before I start writing the draft. I’ve already outlined it, so have an idea what the theme of the story is, but for some reason, the title grounds the idea of the story for me, keeps me on track. Sometimes, the working title changes, and sometimes, it sticks. When I sold my first cozy, the editor wanted every book to start with The Body In ….., and those titles are fun to think of and help develop the story. The Body in the Attic made me think of a skeleton in an old trunk. How did they get there? Why? It led to the actual mystery. Before that, a long time ago, I wrote a story that came close but didn’t make it about a little girl’s skeleton found in a suitcase, and I titled that The Bones of All Iphigenias. The book’s theme. My editor made it a lot easier:)

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  16. A fun post, Beem. One of the fascinating things about writers, for me, is how different we all are and how differently we write different stories. Ha ha. I actually have found inspiration in a lot of different ways, starting with a single character, or a scene, or a blast of an entire plot, a theme, and yes, even just a title (my current WIP). That initial inspiration has to expand into a story outline before I start writing, but it can start anywhere. 🙂 Happy Writing!

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    • I’m right there with you, Diana. I am fascinated with the rituals or quirks or techniques we writers use to create our stories. We are so different in our approach but similar in our end results. I am pleasantly surprised to see so many writers offering their take on the subject here. Thank you for adding to this conversation.

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  17. I’ve only done it once–before I wrote I AM MAYHEM. Oops. Correction: I also have the title for book 1 of a new series I’ve been kickin’ around for a few years. Since the concept continues to haunt me, I slapped on a title to see how it fit. Other than that, I find my title while writing the first draft.

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  18. I love how you focus on the story’s personality, Beem. Brilliant! I hadn’t thought of it that way before, but you’re right. And like a personality, there are many aspects and qualities to a story that shape its uniqueness. I’ve never thought of a title before writing a story, though I’ve been responsive to the evoked sentiments and sometimes jotted down ideas as they emerged. Great post!

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    • I’ve jotted down ideas as well, Gwen. The two novels I’m working on at the moment both currently have working titles (though one has already been changed). These titles came to me around chapters 5 or 6 in both stories. That’s when I got a sense of their personalities. Thank you for adding to the conversation, Gwen. I always enjoy hearing your input.

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  19. Titles are the last thing that comes to me. I find them more difficult than writing anything that I work on. I have never had a title come to me. EVER. But, everyone works differently, and I think it’s great for them to have a working title.

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    • A lot of writers struggle with titles, Michele. I’ve chosen titles that, upon a Google or Amazon search, had to be scrapped due to others having beaten me to it. A title may come to me as the story progresses, but not usually out of thin air. Thank you for your comments.

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  20. I seem to always create my title in the planning stages. For my Diasodz series, the title to the first book came almost before I started writing the first chapter. I had planned out the first three books and felt I already knew my characters and their journey. (They threw in plenty of unknowns once the story started being written.) Once I knew the first title, the other titles to the story came to me effortlessly. The title for HYPE came to me around the second or third chapter. My short story titles also came during the planning stages. I have an idea for a new short story. I have yet to plot it out but the title is already there. Lol! For me, a title feels like ownership over the story. I’m not sure I could write a story without having at least a working title on hand. Great post, Beem! 🙂

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    • You have made some interesting points, Yvette. Writing a book series would certainly call for figuring out the titles early on. If you’ve already outlined a story, planned it out, then it’s not such a strange thing to get a sense of the title before writing. I like your notion that a title feels like ownership of a piece–even before it’s written. Thanks for adding your thoughts.

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  21. I love that last line, Beem. And isn’t that the root of it all? Just be a happy productive writer. This is such a fun topic. The title to the story I am just now starting to work on came months ago in the line of a song, “A Beggar’s Bargain.” Now, I’m writing the story. So, it does happen both ways. I’ve grappled for a title after finishing a story. You just never know what’s going to hit the creative mind. Great topic!

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  22. I liked this post because I am grappling with a title for the sequel to Eternal Road – The final stop. While writing it, I had a working title of On the Road Again. Unfortunately, that title can’t be used for obvious reasons, so I sit with two days until beta reads without a title. I think I’m going to go with Eternal Road – The path forward. Super post, Beem.

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  23. I’ve done both. My current WIP has no title and I’m on the verge of finishing it. Many times it comes to me during the daydreaming phase, like The Ballad of Mrs. Molony. I knew the title before I ever produced a word. I’ve also spent some time coming up with potential titles for works still in the daydream phase. I consider the daydream phase to be writing these days.

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    • That’s an interesting approach, Jill. I tend to work without a title until nearly finished (or until I have a good feel for the personality of the story). Then, once I get a title to fit the story, I’ll do a Google and Amazon search. If it doesn’t already exist as a title, I’m good to go. If there exists another book with that title, back to the drawing board. Thanks for sharing your experiences, Jill.

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  26. I’ve done both. I wrote the first book of my Driscoll Lake series under the working title Hidden Intentions. There were umpteen million books with that title so I used a thesaurus to come up with Unseen Motives. I planned two more books in the series and wanted cadence, so I named Unknown Reasons and Unclear Purposes before writing them. Same thing with my Legends of Madeira series – the titles came first. On the flip side, I struggled to find a title for the prequel to Cold Dark Night. I was near publication when (with input from my critique partners) the title House of Sorrow came to me.

    I’m currently writing a collection of short stories. Most of them have working titles.

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    • I think a series will often lend to the need of titles before writing, Joan. I like your approach in using a thesaurus. I’ve had to discard titles because of other books with the same name. Had I taken the time to search out titles way back when, Jazz Baby would go by another name today. I learned my lesson. Thanks for sharing.

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  27. Titles are normally hard for me. For the most part, they don’t appear until after the book is finished–and then it’s trauma to come up with one!–but occasionally the planets align. I had the title for three of my books (Weathering Rock, Twelfth Sun, and A Cold Tomorrow) before writing the first sentence. On the flip side, Cusp of Night didn’t receive its title until after I sent the finished manuscript to my publisher and together we brainstormed over two dozen titles. I threw the title for Cusp of Night out as a last ditch effort when we were down to the wire on deadline and it was accepted. That had to be the most difficult time I ever had with a title! I do think it makes sense that the final title usually comes after the story has been written, and characters and plot have both had the chance to shine.

    Great question for discussion, Beem!

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    • Thanks for chiming in, Mae. I’m pleasantly surprised by the variety of comments on this subject. I’ve written over fifty short stories, and some of those titles were difficult to come by. Other times, a first proofread will offer something that seems so obvious.

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  28. Sometimes I’ve got the title, cover, and blurb written before I’ve finished the first chapter, lols. Of course, all of these remain in the “subject to change” realm until the book’s a done deal. For Finding Katie and my current WIP, Angelica, the titles came first and stuck. Interestingly, both these are strongly character driven. Perhaps that makes a difference to when the titles come to us?

    Great post, Beem. Thanks for sharing 💕🙂

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    • I am impressed that you can come up with a blurb before you’ve written the first chapter, Harmony. I struggle with the blurb for a finished work! I agree, character-driven stories lend to an easier time in deciding titles. It’s that personality shining through. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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