Some of you might remember that when Felicia Day launched Geek and Sundry, she did a 12 hour live Google Air subscribathon in order to help spread the word.
I helped out in a small way, bringing in some other authors to talk about writing. Specifically, we talked about what makes for compelling characters.
I had a blast, partly because I’m terribly fond of the folks involved in the discussion: John Scalzi, Felicia Day, and Amber Benson.
But mostly I had a good time because I love talking about stories.
You see, this stuff is what I think about all the time. That’s a bit part of the reason I write the blog, so I can talk about stories and how they work.
It’s also a big part of the reason I go to conventions. I love getting together with other writers on a panel and talking about the craft of writing.
So after the subscribathon was over, I mentioned to Felicia that if she was interested, I’d love nothing better than to do that sort of thing again.
It would be like the sort of panel you get to see at conventions, I said. I could bring in whoever I wanted. Funny, clever people. Good talkers. People who aren’t afraid to argue a bit. Even better, the audience wouldn’t be limited. A lot of people don’t go to conventions. They can’t get time off work, or they can’t afford it. But if we did a series of these hangouts on Geek and Sundry, anyone could show up and enjoy the show. Y’know, because of the interwebs and the youtubes and such…
(I’m paraphrasing, of course.)
Much to my delight, Felicia took the idea her fellow producers, and they thought it would be a good idea.
So… yeah. I’m going to be doing a show on Geek and Sundry. I get to go play with the cool kids.
It’s going to be a series of hour-long discussions about storytelling. We’ll probably focus on novels a bit, because that’s where I live and breathe. But I have plans to talk about other types of stories too. I want to bring in people to talk about storytelling in videogames. In comics. On the web. On TV.
It’s all story, you see.
So that’s the good news. We’re doing this. It’s going to be cool.
The bad news is that I have no fucking idea what to call the show.
I originally pitched it as Storytelling 101. But I knew that was a shit title as soon as I came up with it. It’s boring. Plus cliche.
I’ve been wracking my brain for a month now, and I still haven’t been able to come up with something I like.
You see, names are important things, or so I hear. I’d like to have a really good one for my show. I’d like something catchy, clear, and a little bit sexy….
But so far, everything I’ve come up with has been mostly crap.
Writer’s Roundtable? – Clear enough, but lacks panache.
Ars Fabula? – Slightly clever, but mostly wankerish.
Narratavores? – Confusing AND wankerish.
Wheaton’s show, Tabletop, has a great title. It’s clever. It’s catchy. And most of all, it’s informative.
So what’s your point, Rothfuss?
Over the years, y’all have proven to be remarkably clever, so now I’m turning to you for help.
What would *you* call a show about storytelling?
Please make your suggestions in the comments below. Feel free to comment on other people’s suggestions, but please keep it polite.
If someone comes up with something I can use. Or makes a suggestion that leads to me having a brainstorm of my own, I’d be ever-so-grateful…
And…. go.
Hit me with your best shot.
pat
242 Comments
How about *Novel Talks*?
*The Rothfiles*?
Why overcomplicate things?
Story.
It got all the criterias you wanted, and infinitely more.
GroupTh(ink)
Tale Spin
Plotsdamn
I haven’t read all the ideas so if it hasn’t already been suggested how about
Chasing the Wind.
seriously? there are only 7 comments at the time of writing! you lazy ‘ma le ge bi’
My vote goes for Story btw.
In spanish “CuentaCuentos” means storyteller. Although a “cuento” is more like a fable, and a cuentacuentos is more like the typical old man/woman that would sit and have dozens of kids sitting around marvelled by the fantastic stories, so that’s my proposition :D
(yay! first comment!)
Crafting Hour
Craft Talk
Story Weavers
Art of Story
Story Cast
Storytellers (VH1 might get pissed actually)
Lords Of Story
Just Spit balling….
Love the books; can’t wait to see this new show whatever it is called. Thanks Pat
Oralation?
What about… gramarye?
sorry im late with the post!
A Land Away. Begin Again. In Between.
A Few Words. On and On. Beginning and End.
Way Land. Infinite Horizon. In The Beginning.
Far Away. The Point. Never End.
Chapter One.
*Book Ends*
No wait!
….*Booked*
…*Plot Roast*?
…*Reading Between the Spines*?
…shutting up now. :D
I like *Shutting Up Now…* :D
I like *Plot Roast*. So how about *Sundry Plot Roast* ?
The Alchemy of the story
Bradbury Country.
I have no precise idea but I thought about something in relation to the Decameron or the Canterbury Tales. Since these are stories within stories…like the concept of your shown somehow.
Maybe something with “Tales” would be cool. Rothfuss’ Tales, Tale-Tellers, …
Epic Tale
Novelty
Shit. That’s really good.
We won’t be focusing exclusively on books though.
Still, that’s really good. Better than anything I’ve come up with…
Thank you. :)
I still think it works for everything, because you can go with both meanings. Novels, of course, are dear to your heart. But it is also a new and exciting experience for you to be delving into the world of web and TV. And your own show!
And, now that I’ve woken up….
CONGRATULATIONS. Dude. You’re going to have a show on Geek and Sundry. Do you know how amazing that is? Completely epic.
Novelty & Sundry?
Or…. Talefuss?
Love this. Can’t come up with anything more fitting!
That is a good one.
I really like this one. Short and to the point.
Novelty is pretty darn good.
That’s probably the one I’ve liked the most so far. Simple, catchy, smart and has a nice ring… congrats!
Or “Novel Tea”?
Story Time
Telling Stories
Inside Stories
Inside Stories is really good. I love that one.
Second that. Inside Stories is short and catchy and informative.
Narratology.
Talking Volumes
+1
The Writers’ Block
I like that one.
I like that one :-) works even better if you’re German ;-)
That one will be hard to beat. It has my vote at least :)
Writing Out Loud
UnderCovers
How about Fireside?
I’ve always loved this quote about David Gemmell from SFX that was on Stormrider:
‘Gemmell is a fireside mythmonger; his characters and plots have the authentic feel of legends handed down through the ages’
SFX
So something like Fireside to conjur up the image of sitting near a fire telling stories?
That’s really good too.
It’s such a relief seeing these ideas, I’ve been wracking my brain and coming up so dry….
There is already a podcast called Fireside book chat
http://firesidebookchat.podbean.com/
How about Heartside instead
Did you possibly mean Hearthside?
I do like “Hearthside”…fits the genre a bit more, although I imagine Mr. Rothfuss will have people from some slightly different genres over time.
I vote Hearthside!
I change my vote to heathrside
I just logged in to post this, Fireside Chats. You could wear a smoking jacket and all.
How about something simple, like Chronicles or The Chronicler.
The only problem I see with “Chronicler” is that not all the people he’ll have on will write about events in a chronological order. I still love the title anyway though!
I thought Archanist would do so, but it relates to the readers of NOW and not everyone watching tv has red it..
That’s the name I’d vote for. It ticks all the boxes for me.
How about Mythmongers?
Nibs & Quills.
Cordially Yours.
Whiff of a Letter.
Alphabeticon.
Stiff Wristers.
Stack & Stuck.
The Letter Map.
that’s all for now :)
Matt
These are awesome Matt.
Writtensanity
Pat n’ Friend’s Story Time
Shut Up and Write
Mastercrafting
Story Geeks
Written Obsessions
Stories and Confessions
That’s all I can come up with for now. Don’t know why I’m still awake.
“Mastercrafting” is quite good and sticks with the Geek & Sundry branding quite well.
Personally I’m with Aragos: “Storytime” was the first thing that came to my mind.
The only other thing I could think of are more or less clever playfull things. The only one that MIGHT be worth a damn (not sure myself yet) would be:
“telltale tale telling”.
This makes me think of Gertrude Stein.
“A story is a story is a story is a story”
Storytailors
ooo I like this one ^^^
I’d go for this^^
OOOH yes!
On a similar track, I’d have to suggest ‘story tinker’.
Myths and Mayhem
Authors often find titles from phrases in their work, so looking at this post…
It’s All Story
+1
+1, too (+2?)
Weaving and Spinning
Shelf Space
Dark and Stormy
Grey Beards
Panel Beating
Clever People, Good Talkers
Deconstruction Reconstruction
Storysmithing
Quiet, We’ve Got Company
A Creative Mind
Process Driven
Club Rothfuss
Story Club (the first rule is everyone talks about Story Club)
What a lovely first rule!
lol, Grey Beards…. only if Mr. Rothfuss and his guests show up dressed as Gandalf for the first episode :)
oooh i quite like Shelf Space
I liked that one too.
Top and Tales (although that could be for when you eventually crossover with TableTop)
Tattle Tale
Heads of Tales
Narratage
Stories High
For a crossover with TableTop, I like FableTop.
This makes me think of a tabletop version of the fable games…ugh.
Narrativium (stolen from Terry Pratchett – I swear I have my own ideas sometimes)
Lost Words
Heartside
Fictionxst.
“A Story Is Born”.
It w0uld be a running tag at the beginning, middle, and end of the show. Open with a humorous, attention-gathering story about any event, even a reflexive event such as a story about writing a story, and close the opening segment with … “and THAT’S how a Story is Born”, fade to opening credits with musical background.
During the witty repartee of guests’ interaction with eachother, whenever there’s something particularly poignant or humorous, you can help alleviate the tension by repeating the tag, “And that’s how a story is born”.
Since you will mainly (I’m guessing) be talking about books/games/movies/comics that are already out there I keep coming back to something with the word ‘Epilogue’ in it, like..
“The Final Epilogue”
“Epic Epilogues”
“Epilogue Diaries”
“The Epilogue of Us”
Although I may have to thumbs up on John’s Fireside idea… although maybe add a bit more to it like “Fireside Stories” or “Fireside Sentiments”
Pen and Paper
Perhaps
Pen 2 Paper
?
Pros and Cons
what about *prose and cons*
+1
Damn auto correct. That’s what I meant.
Prose & cons – I love it!
Brilliant!
My first thought was something to do with epic poetry that also has a modern meaning, like ‘Epic’ or ‘Saga’.
What is that feeling you get, when you are reading a good book or watching a good movie, and something happens, something profound, something awesome, something that makes you want to cry and laugh at the same time. What is the feeling you get when you suddenly suck in a breath because the story has gripped you in such a way that you have suddenly changed in a very fundamental way. It’s like you just opened up your eyes for the first time and are seeing a sunrise, or hearing a good song. It’s a magical twisting of words, song, and visual that can blow your mind. What is that called? Whatever it is, it needs to be the title of your show Pat.
Hmm… Epiphany?
Maybe mix ours up?
“The Epilogue Epiphany”
Change that to “Epilogue Epiphanies”
Catharsis.
Alternatively, Koinonia.
Koinonia: communion by intimate participation.
I had to look up the word but now that I have I LOVE this as a name for Pat’s show.
VERY late to the party, but whatever the word is for that feeling, THAT’S what I felt when I read The Name of the Wind.
Narratable…you even have the table pun…
The Narrative Voice
Entitled
Worldbuilders Inc.
Word Up
Unrealitales
I might think of more…hmm
Worldbuilders would be fitting
I second that.
This one might be better than mine, but mine is on page 5 so no one will see it anyway. So if I get a vote and it’s not mine, then I go with this one.
Or Wordbuilders…
I thought that’s what Worldbuilders was for the LONGEST time X-D I just kept missing that pesky L…
Between Covers
Bleeding Ink
Storytime with Pat?
Time for fabula with Fabulous Pat?
1337 tiemz wit P4t?
Untitled.
I dunno…
telling tales
wordsmiths
thought of this as well.
Susurrus
+1 :)
hee :D
I would almost recommend a play on the word susurrus… if only it wasn’t such an inside joke.
Fussurrus
Noun: A mentioning of susurrus in relation to Patrick Rothfuss.
Or Rothssurrus?
Yep. STILL think Ruthfuss’ Susurrus is the awesomest. And here I see it was on page one. SO…
Five thumbs up–because I’m all thumbs at this point. My ideas old hat. It’s all been done before. A little hopeless, but you could call it that, I suppose, too.
I still like Ruthufuss’ Susurrus, though. Did I mention that I liked it?
HiStory with Pat Rothfuss
Metastories
Imagination Unbound
No More Blank Pages
Tales on Tales
Neverending Stories (might be taken already ;))
is what I came up with off the top of my head.
Maybe Filling the Blank would do it ;)
I personally quite like Sagacious…which mixes ‘Saga’ and world building with the word meaning itself and the idea that it a shrewd and intelligent panel.
PlotRiding
Bookends ?
The show sounds great though. Congratulations.
Could go simple with just Taled. or Tale Tellers.
Plotted works too :)
Storytellers Anonymous.
Authors Anonymous
Although I don’t know why the authors would want to remain anonymous…
Storytellers Anonymous because storytelling is their addiction. Yeah, I’m grasping at straws.
I like it.
And the short hand is S.A., pronounced “Essay.”
Author’s Ink
I like this one too.
Storyboard
That’s a good one, it sort of incorporates the panel element.
Or, tongue in cheek, Storyboarded
Yah, this is really good.
Pat Rothfuss: UnPENned
Or possibly “UninPENded”
It’s almost too many syllables though.
“InPENded”?
Crossword Jury
Puzzled
The Story is just around the Corner
Loom
Rattle the Vocabulary
Readin’ Pleasures
Greasy Monkey :)
m
greasy monkey.
That is all. >.>
Show and Tell
Show and Tales!
Oh God, Pat I thought this up some time ago for my own writer’s group and you are welcome to it.
Modern Inklings
Modern Inklings
It kind of respects the original Inklings and makes a statement of the present pool of authors that want to discuss their craft.
THAT is good!
inklings was such a brilliant name for a group of authors!!! or is it an imagination of authors???
Or, as a different take: Linklings
Kind of an internet age version . . . which also doubles as a Zelda reference.
Eeep, this!! +1
How about just ConText, since it’ll mostly be about things surrounding the story, and you wanted it to be a bit like a board from a con.
UnConventional
Writing Between The Lines
ConCrit
Wordcraft
Storysmith
makes me think of smelting things.
Like Word Smelting.
or World Smelting.
Dang, I like both of yours, they’re image evocative.
“Characteristics”?
…and i can only come up with puns…
You could also simply go with:
Imagine.
Unfortunately, Imaginaerum is already in use :D
Nightwosj?
Tailoring Tales
I feel like it should be something that evokes the feeling of all stories. Or at least the feeling that I get when experiencing a new story, whether I’m writing it or reading it.
A mystery. An adventure. A puzzle to be viewed from all sides. Something that shows humor and irreverence, but also applies to all forms of stories.
How about Threads and Yarns?
I know that really reads like a blog about sewing, but I think it’s perfectly appropriate for stories, Yarns through which various strands and threads are strung to create a whole …
Or, on a similar note, Unraveled.
I think I actually like that better than Threads and Yarns. It conveys that mystery and adventure I was trying to get to.
Unraveled.
I like Unraveled. :-)
Thanks, me too. It could even be unRAVELed … cause the Ruh know all the stories in the world, and the Ruh are called Ravel (derogatorily, but still…) and it’s about stories.
Ooh, “Unraveled” is catchy. Maybe a bit vague, though? How about:
Unraveling the Yarn
the mascot could be a cat! +10 Internets
Oh, er, I spaced on the whole Ravel vs. Ruh connection. On second thought, including a racial epithet of one’s own invention in the title of one’s show is probably not so good.
Hmmm … well if he didn’t want to include Ravel for that reason (which makes some sense) maybe “One Family” would work. It evokes the Ruh heritage, and reminds us all that stories are all related. They are, in a very real sense, one family. So are storytellers…
I think Unraveled works nicely even without considering the Ruh connection, which many people won’t.
Pre-Quills (before the writing)
I love Pre-Quills.
Me too.
How many people would be on the panel? Because you could use that number in front of Stories High; i.e. 4 Stories High
Can I veto this on account of wanting to start a band Five Stories High please?
Simplicity itself! If we allow ourselves to be guided by the first rule of storytelling, it’s right there in the name, is it not?
Pat Rothfuss’s Show Don’t Tell.
Since stories needs to be told somehow:
Do Tell
Ha, I like it because it’s like the motto “show dont tell”
sneaky sneaky.
How about,
The narrative
The Writers’ Den
Or perhaps a nod to those times when you just can’t get it right and spend far too long trying… Up All Night
And finally if you were hoping to create a secret society of cape-wearing writers off the back of this call it The League of Writers Exquisite.
Talespinners.
I like Writers’ Den a lot :)
Pat’s Tales?
Although, that does seem more of a shit attempt at wordplay than a viable option for a show title :/
Or how about ‘Comics and Tales’? Or ‘Comical Tales’?
It would remind people of beautiful childhood moments playing the Sonic&Tales games and, with the great emotions being evoked, will make them love the show from the outset. Sorted.
This one does, however, rely on the assumption that someone will have to be funny and/or mention Batman. :)
Writers Arc
Archetypes
Arcistry
I’m stuck on the word arc, you see.
I like Arcistry.
Some great names suggested so far, here’s mine:
The Back Story
Metaphora or Meta(eu)phoria. Ties in writing, joy, and going deep into a topic.
Masterpiece Weirder
*laughs* Okay…I admit…I like this. >.>
Or just TaleSpin.
Story Spindles
Word Weavers
Tale Traders/Tailors or just plain Taleors.
The Vinters of Voice
Sem-ANTICS
Liter raters
Oh one more, Imagine Nation.
Narrativity
Freeing Fiction
Threw a post linking over here for you up on the Sword and Laser goodreads forums
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/967381-a-new-show-on-geek-and-sundry—help-pat-rothfuss-name-it
Lets see if some of the members over there can give you a few good name suggestions.
Dishwasher in German means *TELLerwaescher*…
Shame that that kind of interlingual wordplay won’t work.
“Fantasizing”
What about something like Anansi’s Assemblage or some tribute to the legendary storyteller? I loved how he was incorporated into American Gods so including that in some way feels right… (Sorry for the alliteration btw…)
Talespinners.
It’s universal, short and to the point. It matches Pat and most people whose storytelling skills he admires (and Kvothe) and is also a reference to William Blake (via Alvin, not that it matters much) :)
The Joy of Writing with Pat Roth(fuss). A little cheesy, but you will portray a lot of what the show is about by pun-association.
Narrative
How about…
“Stirring the Plot”
I actually had a lot of fun with “plot,” though I doubt the usefullness of any of them:
“Cooking Plots”
“Plot Heads”
“Plot Dealers”
“Medicinal Plot” – much too narrow for any realistic application but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Well Master Namers, goodluck… :)
A Part of History
The Tale Told
EmotionStories
And so the story begins
Once upon a time
Storytabling
Four Story (however many people are in it/episode number?)
Tale’s Tales
A Sequence of Events
First Draft
Talltales w/ Pat Rothfuss
Losing The Plot
or alternatively, Finding The Plot
Serial Discourse
Serial Oration
Allegory Analysis
Okey, I’d go with the following (please Pat level with me as this title is better seen with a proper logo/graphic pun)
‘WHY ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?’
So you have ‘fuss’ that is a legit pun w/ your surname, and also a nice idiom who makes the people think about a bit of talk, maybe a bit of argue. And it also lets you add some “…” there and then, for example:
WHY ALL THE FUSS ABOUT? …Firefly
And then you go talk about Firefly.
With a good logo you cand add something like ‘rothFUSS ABOUT’ or maybe only the FUSS in red.
I think it’s pretty neat… :)
That’s “pun”ny.
Ahahah indeed.
Is it a joke or is it “mean”ny?
:)
Writer’s Block
Maybe “Writers On The Block”?
Sorry, I can’t NOT put this suggestion, although I DON’T advocate using it. “New Writers On The Block”? Or “98 Degrees of Separation”? I think I am going to be ill now… Lol
Missed where it had already been suggested.
Writer’s Block is what writers have when they can’t write…
While maybe too Nordic to be of broad use: Skalds! It gets the idea across of storytelling, though originally skalds where poets (sorry) and is geeky enough for people to get the meaning behind the word.
Something like “Skalds and Skeins: Weaving a Story”
Skald is pretty much just an awesome word in general.
Now that I’ve thought about it more, I think this is a better book title.
Homonyms are what are coming to mind for me.
Write On
Human Writes
Writes of Passage
In my write mind…
I might need to sleep and then brain on it s’more.
I like Writes of Passage.
Oh yes! Writes of Passage is so clever :P
Write on is the tag line for the the writing center I work in.
It’s not sexy but…Yarn Weavers
Forge
The Refiner’s Fire
In the Mood for Narrative.
In reference to your own story you could call it ‘The Rookery’. It implies eccentricity and the fact that sometimes the panel could descend into chaos, hilarity and sometimes madness. Also there’s the implication that writers are like namers, describing and creating their stories through a deep understanding of their subject matter.
Or you could call it ‘Unlikely Maths’, it sounds kooky, nerdy and smart and everyone who gets the reference will love it. It all prepares people to be ‘taught’ in a manner that that may be unused to or here things discussed that they wouldn’t have been taught by their school English teachers. Yeah, I like ‘Unlikely Maths’ as a title.
*hear, not here
*hangs head in shame*
The Rookery is pretty cool.
I like The Rookery a lot too. Unlikely to have been used elsewhere. General enough to encompass whatever, but not without personality.
Taleforgers.
Scriptors.
How about keeping it simple…. “Word”
If it’s going to be all about the nuts and bolts of storytelling, you could play off Campbell and call it The Writer’s Journey.
The Writer’s Journey does have a strong appeal to it and it isn’t limited to novels. Of course, the Writer’s could be replaced with any number of other words. mythweaver’s, storyteller’s, wordsmith’s, worldbuilder’s
How about just “Mythweavers”?
Except the problem is there is a book called The Writer’s journey by Christopher Vogler (I found it very helpful when I got stuck.) So that could imply something other than what is intended.
Most of my ideas have already been advanced. But can I just say “PlotRoast” for the win!
I also would like Hearthside Chats.
Novelty (Or Novelties), though, is an awesome suggestion.
I don’t think I saw From the Writer’s Den, so I suggest that. Or maybe a variant: Chats from the Writer’s Den. Stories from the Writer’s Den.
Council of Bards.
I like this one.
How about “Deck of Bards” or “House of Bards.”
How about:
A Novel Idea (my fav)
Writing right (it’s awful, but hey, it’s also brilliant)
The Write Stuff
“Rothfuss & Readers”
Sagas ‘n’ shit,
no?
I’ll show my self out
Ha! That’s amazing.
*snicker* Were you the person who said they added ‘n shit to all the names and it made them statistically better? :-)
Or, The Bard’s Council.