Now, you have your monster, and your plot, set for you already - otherwise you wouldn't be reading this. But the problem is, you just can't think of a catchy title for your series! How are you ever going to become the next RAPTURE Logs or EverymanHYBRID without a decent name? Everyone knows that the first thing a Slenderfan or Fearfan sees and judges you on is the title of your story and how creative it is! And so, you've come to me today, begging on your hands and knees for hints on how to make a good vlog or blog title. Well, little Museling, you're in luck, because I have a handful of hints on how to make your story stand out from the rest. You see, I'm not only a Fearblogger and Slenderauthor, but I've also created my own series - you might know it as a little series called WalkingWithGiants87, or you might not. So as you can see, I am more than well-equipped to take on any questions you might have about how to make your story's title stand out. Just try any of these simple methods below to get started, and you'll be coming up with names for things in no time!
- Use the first two objects/words you find to title your story. You can even use yourself as one of the objects! Remember - a noun is a person, place, or thing. Troy Wagner, otherwise known as one-third of the creative trio behind Marble Hornets and the actor behind Jay in that series, originally was talking to his friend Joseph DeLage (Alex Kralie) about titles for his new Slenderman vlog. In the car and driving at the time, and pressured to come up with a title, Joseph told him to just use the next two things he saw. Troy looked out the window and saw a truck carrying slabs of marble from a quarry, and a pest extermination van with a hornet on it. Combining the two, Troy blurted out "Marble Hornets" as the title of the vlog, and the rest is history. Lest you think I'm kidding here, I'm not - I'm a member of Hornetcon, a Skype group with origins on Tumblr, and they hosted a Q&A with Troy that I was fortunate enough to take part in. Someone asked how he came up with his vlog's title, and the above story was the response he gave. Notable Blogs/Vlogs Using This Method: Marble Hornets (obviously), MyBloodyMirror, Michael's Camera.
- Use the word "dark" or "black" somewhere in the title. This will let everyone know you're edgy and definitely telling a horror story. Plus, it just sounds really, really cool and foreboding. And hey, it'll bring plenty of emo kids to your story. Notable Blogs/Vlogs Using This Method: MyDarkJournal, DarkHarvest00, Dreams In Darkness, FallBlackStar.
- Use a location from your story or even something that sounds like a location. If the Path of Black Leaves is there, just use it in the title! If you're in the Empty City, use the word "city" in your title! Even an implied location or destination works. Just use or describe any location you want, or someplace your character goes, in your title... just don't make it too spoilery, or it might turn people off of your story. Notable Blogs/Vlogs Using This Method: DownMyCellarDoor, Monochrome Forest, ToTheArk, PavelHall, Drywall and Wiring (my Fear Mythos story about the Empty City).
- Name it after something relevant to your character. This can be a religious thing, a personal belonging, or something the character did/does. The more relevant you can be while staying cryptic, the better off you'll be. The character's name doesn't have to be in the title either, so long as it makes sense. Hell, it doesn't even have to outwardly make sense! Notable Blogs/Vlogs Using This Method: TribeTwelve (related to the Twelve Tribes of Israel, something religiously important to a character in it), IBoughtACamera, ICANSEETHEGIANT, CaughtNotSleeping.
- Name it flat-out after your character. Including the name of your character(s) can cement that they are the protagonist, and if it's a weird enough name people won't have any choice but to notice a clever pun or wonder about hidden meanings... Notable Blogs/Vlogs Using This Method: EverymanHYBRID, CaughtNotSleeping, Michael's Camera, WillowAdder, Anna (short Slenderman story of mine).
- Name it after a song you like. Roughly 95% of all my Fearblogs, and indeed, most peoples' Fearblogs, are named after songs or include song references in their titles or somewhere in the blog. If you don't use it as a title, use it as a blog entry title or a URL, or even just refer to it in your story - Fear Mythos fans eat that shit up. Notable Blogs/Vlogs Using This Method: Twelve Days (references two songs - one in the URL and one in the title), Monochrome Forest (references the song "Breeze in Monochrome Night" from the Silent Hill series), ICANSEETHEGIANT (titles some of its entries after songs and uses music extensively).
- Name it something humorous. Of course, this only works if your story is humorous - don't do this if you want it to be serious. Unless you like cutting off your own nose to spite your face, then by all means, go ahead. Notable Blogs/Vlogs Using This Method: CoyoteIsAwesome, FearMyTie.
- Name it after your monster. If it's a Plague Doctor story, use references to disease. If it's a Slenderman story, choose something that relates to him. It's easy! Slenderman in particular has so many names that you'd be hard pressed to find something that doesn't suit your story. Give it a try! Notable Blogs/Vlogs Using This Method: KindVonDerRitter, WalkingWithGiants87 (Slenderman is the "Giant" as are the trees he lives among), ICANSEETHEGIANT (similar explanation).
- Add numbers somewhere. Numbers are awesome and make your series' title look more unassuming! Plus then nobody can steal that particular iteration of your title... Notable Blogs/Vlogs Using This Method: DarkHarvest00, WalkingWithGiants87, BrokenBranches117, 004Steps.
- Name it after a piece of literature or something educated-sounding. This will make you look clever, as well as pique people's interest and cause them to search for hidden meanings in your series that may or may not exist. It can even fool people into thinking you're intelligent and well-read! Notable Blogs/Vlogs Using This Method: Melanchandria, GimbleAndGyre, 004Steps, OctarineNight, CompileTRUTH.
- Name it "The _____ Project/Experiment/Records/etc." or something else related to collecting evidence. This makes your audience feel like it's an official documentation of something, or at the least, as if it's severely important. If anything, it can sound really, really cool. Notable Blogs/Vlogs Using This Method: TheWestRecords, Project Him, CompileTRUTH.
- Combine any of the methods above! If one of them works, why wouldn't all of them work equally well together? Everyone knows that there's no such thing as having too much of a good thing! Notable Blogs/Vlogs Using This Method: Too damn many to list.