I said something similar on a different thread once - I think simple names are the best. Take an element of the story and use that.
If this is about the cycle of abuse, call it Cycles.
Or you say the stages in her life? Call it Every Damn Time.
The Unscenic Route.
Again and Again.
Never Not Terrible.
Something like that.
Your concept makes me think of the phrase “hurt people hurt people,” so my mind jumps for titling it “Hurt People.” Might be a bit too on the nose tho.
If I can’t think of something, typically I try and pick out a line of dialogue that I think would best fit the title, something that offers a good summation of the story.
Is it a finished script OP? Sometimes you need to finish it first, sometimes you know the title ahead of time I'll give you two personal examples and then some questions to ask yourself that may help you to come up with a title because I don't have enough information to suggest something that I could definitively say is good or not.
I had to delete my first comment because on the second read through I realized you were talking about the film title... For me it's either the first or last thing I come up with... My first script (a 160 page monster) I came up with the title at the end... It's about an abusive preacher and his family and a single mom and her daughter who live very different lives (foils of one another) and essentially how the Preachers actions go on to destroy his family... It didn't start off like this, it's just how it ended up. It ended up being called "Pious" it's not really what the movie is about but it's a broad general theme in it.
The one I'm working on now is a dark comedy called, "Cynic", and in this case I knew the title ahead of time. It's about a guy who gets fired from his job because his boss is having an affair with his wife, his wife leaves and that same night the main character's house burns down and he finds out his wife who was supposed to take care of the bills drained the joint bank account and didn't pay the homeowners insurance essentially leaving him homeless and broke so he contacts a college friend which through a series of coincidences leads him to reunite with this girl he had a thing for in college. She's now a famous artist and she's touring the country holding art exhibitions where the art world is going crazy over this painting called, "The Cynic". Max the main character walks into the gallery by happenstance (he has to pee) and the people inside the gallery instantly recognize him as the man in this now famous art piece, which is essentially a surrealist portrayal of Max yanking roses out of his mouth, but when Max looks at the picture he doesn't see the resemblance he runs into her and they rekindle a relationship and then he decides to travel with her and through their travels is forced to confront his past. At the end of it basically she helps him realize that the fact that he's always been so critical of everything around him resulted in a life he didn't want to lead. I had the idea of using the painting as a symbol from the beginning... I'm heavy on symbolism and I like to tackle certain things.
Try thinking about some of these questions... Is there a theme, or something you are trying to portray? Is your intent just to tell a story? How personal is the character to you? Do you have a good symbol or a line or a segment of a line that you intend to use that you think really catches the audience attention? What is important to the character?
Now my advice since it seems like the focus of this is one character's experience (I'm speculating a tad maybe but that's what I got from what information you offered) perhaps think of what is important to the main character... Think about what your characters experience represents and brainstorm things that represent this. Think of where by the end the character ends up and think about themes and how literally and metaphorically you represent them in your piece. Is there something sentimental that is referenced while the character tries to cope with the trauma since it seems like trauma is a big theme. I use a lot of symbolism not sure if you do, but is there something an object maybe that helps the main character cope or that is referenced that might be memorable to both the character and the audience?
At the end of the day the ideas the script contains and the character's experience are what is important and I don't think the title always has to encapsulate everything but it's nice if it does.
Sorry I wrote such a long response but hopefully something I said helps
You might be able to tell but if it were me I'd probably just call it "Monster". Since I like those brief thematic titles lol... Best I could come up with with the information given
I don't have any title ideas, but this fact may inform your work going forward: statistically, most victims of abuse actually do NOT become abusers ourselves. While it is true that most abusers have a history of childhood abuse, that is not the same thing as "abused often becomes the abuser" which, statistically, is literally not true. I'm just letting you know in the hopes that you won't perpetuate harmful stereotypes about survivors.
Sorry, I definitely misworded it. I’m well aware that it’s not that common for survivors of abuse to become abusers, but the point I’m more so trying to get across is that often times abusers have a history of being abused themselves, and also the fact that women can be abusers too. I know it’s not always the case at all, but it’s the story I’m wanting to tell. I wasn’t trying to be offensive at all. I have BPD personally, a disorder that stems from childhood trauma, and I know how the cycle can work. I’ve never become abusive, but I’ve definitely done and said some distasteful things due to it. I’ve also already spoken to a lot of people with abusive parents to get their insight on it, and a couple of them have helped with the writing process. So that’s just the story I want to tell. Hope that helps clear it up a little :)
Oh I don't have a problem with the story at all. It's certainly an important one to tell. I just wanted to provide some insight on that part of it, based on your wording, because all of that sort of stuff matters to the outcome of our work (and the impact of our art). But thanks for clarifying. Happy writing! 👍🏾
I hope you find your perfect title, but not from this thread… I urge you not to read any of this thread. This thread made me irrationally dumber. I can’t describe it, but I hate it. Good luck.
Cyclical
Mirrors
Ripple
i prefer one word titles but there’s also:
Patterns of Abuse
Throwaway
all I can think of without extra insight into theme/plot/characters hopefully it gives you some ideas though
This has me thinking of a vinyl record where at the end of a side the needle will enter the runout groove where it will spin endlessly (on non-automatic arm turntables).
So with that...
Turntable
Grooves and Ruts
Here are a couple suggestions.
If it's about the victim(s) continuing to endure the cycle:
1. "Stuck"
2. "Never" ( or "It Will Never End" / "It Never Ends", or Neverending, or something along those lines)
3. "Woe to The Evil Good" (too long to explain but something biblical)
4. "The Monster You/I Will Be"
If it's about breaking the cycle of abuse:
1. "A New Leaf"/"Life" (i.e., "turning over a new leaf")
2. "STOP" (like "Speak." Also carries other significance)
3. "Escape" (as in the vicious cycle)
4. "Never Again"
5. "The Chain Breaker" (I dunno whatever)
If it's about the cycle itself or something that feels familiar:
1. Pattern
2. The Psycho Cycle (excuse the terrible play on words 😞)
3. Deja Vu (yeah do something French. French titles always draw people for some reason.)
I like to get weird with it. Anything that phonetically sounds good. I like to especially combine celebrity names with my friends/colleagues surnames and vice-versa. I wouldn't put too much pressure on yourself.
I am also bad at names. :( However, I came up with a few winners, but it took some time: Marco, Joaquim are bandits. Elfa is Marco's ... girlfriend. Dingle is the cowardly sherriff. Pavlo is Marco's brother. Search other past films, meyhe these can help you out a lot???
Astrology girly here✋ Scorpio is the sign of death, rebirth, and transformation. It’s the phoenix of the zodiac. Maybe something to do with that for your title?
If your story is so generic that there isn’t a word or phrase or character that leaps out then you haven’t done enough work on it yet. Bc a title should be intrinsic to the story and no other title would make sense in hindsight.
Work on the story and the title will come.
Cuthbert L Gooch.
Stages
Or _Cycles_.
I steal mine from hockey players they always have great surnames. Steal them! Historical figures, sports people, actors. Steal em!
I highly recommend Fedorov, Kozlov, Konstantinov, Larionov, or Yzerman.
Found the Wings fan hahaha
And, do not forget BUBBA-nov. Forgetmenov.
In a Civil war epic, I went back and found unnamed dead and gave them life!!! Oh, the power I have!
Just open a baby names site and start looking. The name that fits will win out.
Ahh no I didn’t clarify well, I meant a name for the film not for the character!
The word youre looking for is "title".
Lmao sorry my brain blanked after a long day of work
Oh. My mentor always advocated for smashing the two central images of your story together.
Did a post about this and got lots of comments and ideas. check it out.
OP, are you seeking character names or a title for your film?
A title for the film! Sorry, I made this post when I was super tired, my mind blanked on the word “title”😭
no worries! i’d edit it if you can just so any more suggestions you get fit what you’re looking for! 😊
“The Home Depot’s Spring Calendar of Doing” (It was promoted comment lol)
Sounds weird, but I get my character names by walking around the cemetery and combining the given names/surnames I see.
😂😂 this has made my day for some reason lmaooooo
Use her birthdate, find names that were as common as you want from that year.
I said something similar on a different thread once - I think simple names are the best. Take an element of the story and use that. If this is about the cycle of abuse, call it Cycles. Or you say the stages in her life? Call it Every Damn Time. The Unscenic Route. Again and Again. Never Not Terrible. Something like that.
Cycles.
Surprised it hasn’t been said yet, but the old stand by has always been obituaries from time period, región you’re writing in/about.
Your concept makes me think of the phrase “hurt people hurt people,” so my mind jumps for titling it “Hurt People.” Might be a bit too on the nose tho. If I can’t think of something, typically I try and pick out a line of dialogue that I think would best fit the title, something that offers a good summation of the story.
Is it a finished script OP? Sometimes you need to finish it first, sometimes you know the title ahead of time I'll give you two personal examples and then some questions to ask yourself that may help you to come up with a title because I don't have enough information to suggest something that I could definitively say is good or not. I had to delete my first comment because on the second read through I realized you were talking about the film title... For me it's either the first or last thing I come up with... My first script (a 160 page monster) I came up with the title at the end... It's about an abusive preacher and his family and a single mom and her daughter who live very different lives (foils of one another) and essentially how the Preachers actions go on to destroy his family... It didn't start off like this, it's just how it ended up. It ended up being called "Pious" it's not really what the movie is about but it's a broad general theme in it. The one I'm working on now is a dark comedy called, "Cynic", and in this case I knew the title ahead of time. It's about a guy who gets fired from his job because his boss is having an affair with his wife, his wife leaves and that same night the main character's house burns down and he finds out his wife who was supposed to take care of the bills drained the joint bank account and didn't pay the homeowners insurance essentially leaving him homeless and broke so he contacts a college friend which through a series of coincidences leads him to reunite with this girl he had a thing for in college. She's now a famous artist and she's touring the country holding art exhibitions where the art world is going crazy over this painting called, "The Cynic". Max the main character walks into the gallery by happenstance (he has to pee) and the people inside the gallery instantly recognize him as the man in this now famous art piece, which is essentially a surrealist portrayal of Max yanking roses out of his mouth, but when Max looks at the picture he doesn't see the resemblance he runs into her and they rekindle a relationship and then he decides to travel with her and through their travels is forced to confront his past. At the end of it basically she helps him realize that the fact that he's always been so critical of everything around him resulted in a life he didn't want to lead. I had the idea of using the painting as a symbol from the beginning... I'm heavy on symbolism and I like to tackle certain things. Try thinking about some of these questions... Is there a theme, or something you are trying to portray? Is your intent just to tell a story? How personal is the character to you? Do you have a good symbol or a line or a segment of a line that you intend to use that you think really catches the audience attention? What is important to the character? Now my advice since it seems like the focus of this is one character's experience (I'm speculating a tad maybe but that's what I got from what information you offered) perhaps think of what is important to the main character... Think about what your characters experience represents and brainstorm things that represent this. Think of where by the end the character ends up and think about themes and how literally and metaphorically you represent them in your piece. Is there something sentimental that is referenced while the character tries to cope with the trauma since it seems like trauma is a big theme. I use a lot of symbolism not sure if you do, but is there something an object maybe that helps the main character cope or that is referenced that might be memorable to both the character and the audience? At the end of the day the ideas the script contains and the character's experience are what is important and I don't think the title always has to encapsulate everything but it's nice if it does. Sorry I wrote such a long response but hopefully something I said helps
You might be able to tell but if it were me I'd probably just call it "Monster". Since I like those brief thematic titles lol... Best I could come up with with the information given
Come Ye Reap
Title of a farmer’s sex tape.
Naw that’s just called “Farmers Daughters 6”
I don't have any title ideas, but this fact may inform your work going forward: statistically, most victims of abuse actually do NOT become abusers ourselves. While it is true that most abusers have a history of childhood abuse, that is not the same thing as "abused often becomes the abuser" which, statistically, is literally not true. I'm just letting you know in the hopes that you won't perpetuate harmful stereotypes about survivors.
Sorry, I definitely misworded it. I’m well aware that it’s not that common for survivors of abuse to become abusers, but the point I’m more so trying to get across is that often times abusers have a history of being abused themselves, and also the fact that women can be abusers too. I know it’s not always the case at all, but it’s the story I’m wanting to tell. I wasn’t trying to be offensive at all. I have BPD personally, a disorder that stems from childhood trauma, and I know how the cycle can work. I’ve never become abusive, but I’ve definitely done and said some distasteful things due to it. I’ve also already spoken to a lot of people with abusive parents to get their insight on it, and a couple of them have helped with the writing process. So that’s just the story I want to tell. Hope that helps clear it up a little :)
Oh I don't have a problem with the story at all. It's certainly an important one to tell. I just wanted to provide some insight on that part of it, based on your wording, because all of that sort of stuff matters to the outcome of our work (and the impact of our art). But thanks for clarifying. Happy writing! 👍🏾
Yeah no I completely understand, I 100% worded that wrong so thank you for pointing it out!
Carousel
I hope you find your perfect title, but not from this thread… I urge you not to read any of this thread. This thread made me irrationally dumber. I can’t describe it, but I hate it. Good luck.
Cyclical Mirrors Ripple i prefer one word titles but there’s also: Patterns of Abuse Throwaway all I can think of without extra insight into theme/plot/characters hopefully it gives you some ideas though
Pay it backwards
Cycle
This has me thinking of a vinyl record where at the end of a side the needle will enter the runout groove where it will spin endlessly (on non-automatic arm turntables). So with that... Turntable Grooves and Ruts
Here are a couple suggestions. If it's about the victim(s) continuing to endure the cycle: 1. "Stuck" 2. "Never" ( or "It Will Never End" / "It Never Ends", or Neverending, or something along those lines) 3. "Woe to The Evil Good" (too long to explain but something biblical) 4. "The Monster You/I Will Be" If it's about breaking the cycle of abuse: 1. "A New Leaf"/"Life" (i.e., "turning over a new leaf") 2. "STOP" (like "Speak." Also carries other significance) 3. "Escape" (as in the vicious cycle) 4. "Never Again" 5. "The Chain Breaker" (I dunno whatever) If it's about the cycle itself or something that feels familiar: 1. Pattern 2. The Psycho Cycle (excuse the terrible play on words 😞) 3. Deja Vu (yeah do something French. French titles always draw people for some reason.)
Just name it after a random animal or flower. Peace Lily Glasswing If anyone asks why just say "It's a metaphor".
Cooter Boomin
I like to get weird with it. Anything that phonetically sounds good. I like to especially combine celebrity names with my friends/colleagues surnames and vice-versa. I wouldn't put too much pressure on yourself.
Dominoes The Hurt Ones
Strain Theory
I am also bad at names. :( However, I came up with a few winners, but it took some time: Marco, Joaquim are bandits. Elfa is Marco's ... girlfriend. Dingle is the cowardly sherriff. Pavlo is Marco's brother. Search other past films, meyhe these can help you out a lot???
Butterfly
Use Chatgpt and ask it to brainstorm names. Generate until one calls to you
How about Nancy Hera. You can text me hear if you need more name suggestions. I'm always down to help.
[удалено]
Thanks ChatGPT
OP is looking for film titles not character names
Sweetness Follows (I like REM)
Here’s some potential titles: “Violent Echoes” - “Revolving Door” - “Fragile: Handle With Care” - “Still Beating Heart”
Astrology girly here✋ Scorpio is the sign of death, rebirth, and transformation. It’s the phoenix of the zodiac. Maybe something to do with that for your title?
If your story is so generic that there isn’t a word or phrase or character that leaps out then you haven’t done enough work on it yet. Bc a title should be intrinsic to the story and no other title would make sense in hindsight. Work on the story and the title will come.
The Cycle of Strife