On Writing : Title, title. What’s in a title? by Nancy Wilkinson

Your Coming of Age sounds interesting, Nancy Wilkinson. We Didn’t Quit jumped out at me more than the other titles.

I like we didn't quit but I'm gonna tell you, if you don't know which one to choose now, it's normal. Give it some time. I can tell you one day you're gonna say "wait this is the one"

Its is what is in the sales pitch that sells the story to film company executives. This is one thing i have learned ofrfrom experience is the story that will sell. The tiutle and depth of the story that sells when they make their decisions, Plus the scripts if you have any.

Oh, I have the script done and a contract with the University to use the name and mascot. I’ve earned some awards and great feedback. The team thought “ Mission Title IX” would be a good title, but that sounds like a movie about the politicians who supported the legislation,

Hi Nancy, I think it depends on what sport the movie's about. That might give additional ideas you can expand on. Great titles can be hard to come up with. I always like to picture the movie poster and that can help visualize the finished project.

Nancy, your story sounds incredibly inspiring and timely, especially with the growing interest in women’s sports stories! I love that you’re highlighting the determination and resilience of these athletes. As for the title, I think it depends on the tone you want to set. For instance-

“We Didn’t Quit” feels strong and straightforward, emphasizing perseverance.

“Six Packs and Facials” is definitely intriguing and could be a fun title if the story has a bit of humor or irony to it.

As a fan of historical movies myself, this is an intriguing premise. Only you can decide the right title though. However, my personal recommendation: "The Paradigm Shift".

Marcel Nault Jr.

Ooooo. That’s an interesting title and describes what has happened over the last 50 years.

Nancy Wilkinson Hence the paradigm shift. ;) We've come a long way since then.

Ashley Renee Smith

My story definitely has some humor when it comes to the 1-80 that the football players do when they lose the bet on a challenged volleyball game to the women and have to do a pep rally dressed like cheerleaders. Six Packs is a visual game changer making a heart felt change to support and protect women’s sports. The men realize women can be just as intense about playing their game as men are about the quality of theirs. The women just wanted a chance to play. I’ll keep it in the list of options after all. Thank you.

Marcel, I had a chance to talk with last year’s team and they had no idea what we had to do to just get to play; from lack of uniforms we had to buy ourselves, lack of access to the weight room, not allowed to access the training table or nutritionist, doing fund raisers to buy our own warm ups, no money for hotel rooms or scholarships, no trainer, etc. etc. The players today really need to see this to appreciate the opportunities they have now. And how grateful I am that things did change and men started to stand up for us. Wow! What a journey this has been!

Thank you

You could not have picked a better time for a story on women's sports Nancy Wilkinson. All the best to you!

Thanks.

Nancy Wilkinson Keep up the great work! I'm hoping this will come to fruition sooner or later.

Marcel, thanks for the support.

E Langley, ooo I like these too. My grand daughter came up with, “Before the Legends.” I now have so many titles making it difficult to narrow down.

Nancy Wilkinson "Before the Legends" ooooo I like that. If you want help narrowing down feel free to message me.

I like using words or phrases that are rarely used or don't exist: Jockettes; Hoopettes; Legendesses. It may involve the sport itself: Baseballese; Basketballing/ Basketbrawl; or Basketbrawling, that sort of things. Much easier search results.

Jeff, that’s a good point about future search results.

The title is everything along with the poster and Trailer...

Consider a title that isn't a description of the movie. Maybe the team name, or the character name, maybe whatever it is that inspired the character. I think people highly, highly overvalue titles. What is a Led Zeppelin? What is a Beatle? What is Pulp Fiction? What is Blue Velvet? You know? I feel like its easy to feel like you need your title to have some deep meaning or almost be a separate art piece in and of itself, separate from the movie. It's just the name of the thing you made, the thing that you made is what is important, and if the thing you made is good, that will give whatever the title is meaning. For example, what's a Led Zeppelin? It's an awesome rock band from the 70s, that's what it is. Good luck, but I would say don't overthink the title. It's a functional identifying tool. It really isn't going to change the quality of what it identifies.