How to Write The Maze Runner Fanfiction ✓

59 | titles

i decided to do more mainstream tips because there are only so many tmr clichés and i want to actually help you guys be more comfortable with your writing

when it comes to titles, you'll mostly likely want them to be concise enough to where your readers can get a glimpse of what it's about, themes in the story, a character, etc. it's best for them to not be too long. for example, you'll want your title to be something like "the phoenix" by fall out boy and not "i've got all this ringing on my ears and none on my fingers." (really, guys. i had to google the rest of the song title because the entire thing couldn't fit in spotify or itunes. thanks, fall out boy.)

i'm the type of author who likes to keep her titles really short. all of them are one word except for 2 (excluding this one), and even then, they're 2-3 words. i usually try to come up with a word that will describe the events of the story or something about my OC (or both). for example, Aegis is titled so because minho helped and guarded nadia until she was able to live with her disability on her own, but it was also her tattoo because she was the protector of the glade. additionally, in my peter parker fanfic, Havoc, the title is lena's superhero name and it describes the chaotic events of her life as a teenage vigilante.

i also think it's extremely important to pick an enticing title— one that your readers will be interested in. second to the cover (in my opinion), i think this is the most important part of a story. i could see the best cover in the world but see the title is "gally's sister" and i would not give it a chance.

here are some title clichés to avoid:

1. *insert character here*'s sister/brother/etc. oHhHhhHh my god. i'm sorry, but to me, titles like this annoy me so much because it feels like the author is merely reducing the OC to a main character's sibling. i don't know if that makes sense, but it's like the writer is saying "hi, the only thing i have to offer is that the OC has a canon-character sibling" because the descriptions are almost ALWAYS "klondike is thomas' sister. thomas doesn't like how newt keeps looking at klondike. what will happen when newt and klondike start to like each other?" and i can't deal with that 

2. the girl greenie/the greenie. this is so overused i—

3. the maze/the scorch. 10 points to ravenclaw for originality.

4. really, really overused song titles. guys. i mean, i think song titles are cool ideas for a fanfic, and i have absolutely nothing against any of the stories i may reference, but do you know how many i have seen that are the exact same?? born to die, 21 guns, wonderwall, and bloodsport are ones i've seen across the board (meaning in multiple fandoms) and those are just the ones i can think of off the top of my head.

5. the griever _____. i made an entire chapter about this so y'all already know.

6. the fighter. there are 38191 fanfics titled this, i swear.

7. the savior. i mentioned this before, too. not only is it an overused nickname, but an overused title as well.

8. newt's/minho's/thomas'/gally's/frypan's/winston's/literally anyone's girl. *throws self into a volcano*

these are just some of the ones i can think of. if you guys need clarification, don't hesitate to ask!

titles are tough, which is why i sometimes spend a bit of time thinking about the plot and looking up unique words online. some of the writer's dictionary books on here are really helpful! there's one in my reading list titled "other" if you want to check it out.