What's in a Title?

Knowing that perfection is but an elusive goal, the novel must be as close to perfection as it can be.  The query letter must persuade the agent to read the synopsis and the synopsis must capture the essence of the work in order to dazzle the agent into requesting it.

 

But how about the title??

 

I titled my novel "Silent Words" the day I started writing.  It captures the main characters mood perfectly as he sets on his journey.   But is it a good title?

 

I was never convinced.

 

Choosing a title is exciting in the most excruciating way - it is important because it is the first impression the agent, the editor, and the reader have of the work; it can, if well chosen, capture the essence of the work as it catches the imagination of the reader; and, as a marketing tool it can prompt a purchase.   

 

But how to choose a title?  What is a title, anyway?

 

I stood in front of my book case for about twenty minutes, looking for a pattern, a reason, a revelation.

 

Here it is.

 

Titles vary by:

 

A.  length:

(i)  long titles (some form a complete sentence):   Murder on the Orient Express, The Summer Before the Dark

(ii) short titles (some are comprised of one word):  Speak, Twilight

(iii) phrases (a few words, often enigmatic in meaning):  The Rule of Four

 

B.  conceptual meaning:

(i)   describe a person:  Jane Eyre, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
(ii)  describe an object:  White Oleander, 4:50 from Paddington
(iii) describe an action:  How to Breathe Underwater

(iv) describe a feeling (or two):   An Exclusive Love, Pride and Prejudice
(v)  describe a place:   Bertram's Hotel, Caribbean Mystery

(vi) describe a notion: Thirteen Reasons Why, East of Eden

 

Perhaps there are other, better ways of characterizing or grouping titles, but such methods escaped my notice in those twenty minutes.

 

These are books I like and, for various reasons and during various stage of my life, have enjoyed very much.  Setting aside the genre and ignoring the level of enjoyment garnered from reading each story, I stared at the titles, this time waiting for a connection, a pull to any one type of title.  What is it that attracts me most?  Do I want a no-nonsense title that tells me what happens?  Murder on the Orient Express.  Or do I want to figure out what the story is about and how the title relates to it as I live the story? An Exclusive Love.  Does the geography of a place awaken a sense of adventure?  Caribbean Mystery.  Does it even matter what I want?  What about what agents or editors or readers want?

 

Yes.  An excruciating process.  Yet so rewarding.

 

In The Shadow of Honey Locusts.

What do you think?

Synopsis - It Is Done!

The synopsis is finally finished! 

I wrote the story I had to write - back then, I did not care about a synopsis or a query letter.  I am not even certain I knew what those were when I started writing. 

Then, for a long time, I feared even the idea of a synopsis and did not want to touch it.  It seemed like an unnecessary burden that would neither reflect my style nor capture the message of my novel. 

It took me two weeks to draft it, rewrite it, and finalize it.  It was not a labor of love...

Yet, in retrospect I realize how useful the exercise was and how valuable its product is.  It gives me clarity.  It allows me to better summarize my novel and its key points for whatever purpose and to be more articulate about its characters and their struggles.

It also helped me revise my query letter, which is also in its "final" form.

I have learned my lesson -  for my next novel, I will start with the synopsis.

Lovin' the Language Blogfest

I am still not sure what exactly a blogfest is or what it is supposed to achieve, but the subject of Jolene B. Perry's Blogfest is too interesting to pass up.  For me, reading and writing are about the language, the way the words transport me into the character's world, the way their mere sounds can change my mood.  So - lovin' language, here we go!  My five-sentence entry from my WIP:

"I have been lucky.  I haven’t been to a hospital in forty-three years.  I received my conscription papers from the Serbian military a week after my seventeenth birthday and I was ordered to submit to a physical exam.  All young males had to serve and my kind, the ethic German and Hungarian teenagers, were the first to be called in.  I was just a boy then, short and bony, and my hand felt the barrel of a gun before it ever held a razor."  

And here is another:

"The long white curtains are dancing to the afternoon wind, flowing like the skirts of lithe dancers.  The breeze is warm but refreshing, cleansing the air of the putrid smell of disease that has infiltrated every molecule around me.  I wish it would dissolve my gaze glued to the old man walking the hallway and dragging his skeletal frame behind his gray cane.  I must close my eyes; I must stop polluting his dignity and feeding my fear.  But it is too late.  I missed the opportunity the second I laid my eyes on him."

 

The Girl and the Synopsis

I have received some valuable feedback to help me recognize the moment when my story may be really "done."  While one fellow WD group member suggested that the third draft may be the charm, another person told me that a novel is complete when you get to the point of replacing and removing commas and periods - and nothing else.  Yet a friend observed that there is no such thing as a completed novel - there are only various stages of imperfection.  

 

So, while I am working on that.... I also started drafting a synopsis.  When I first sat down to write my novel, I knew where I wanted to go with the story, understood its theme, and had a mental blueprint of the structure - although I would not have been able to actually name these as key factors.  On the other hand, I had not an inkling about synopses, queries, pitches and all the other unpalatable aspects of writing with a goal of publication. 

 

One week into writing a synopsis I discovered that drafting a query letter first works better for me - starting with a short plot summary and clarification of the theme came more natural and now I am building on those elements to create the various parts that comprise a synopsis.

 

Yes, queries, synopses all need to be done, but mostly, I think, I am focusing on these just so I can avoid another dreaded revision and face the possibility of my novel still not being done.

How Do You Define "Done?"

A well-respected agent to whom I am hoping to send my novel (at some point anyway) noted on the submissions page of his web site that he accepts queries from aspiring writers  - but in that sentence he also asked that nothing be sent to him until it is complete; until the writer of the full-length novel "would not change one single word."
Quite a tall order, isn't it?
Can we ever really get to that point?  Be so completely and absolutely satisfied with a sizable work that we truly believe we cannot improve upon it?
I don't know.  I learn something every day, a new experience, a different point of view, an unusual word - the world around us is complex and inviting and I have (almost) never reached the point of absolute satisfaction with bringing to life the experiences it allows me to have.  After I am "finished" and let the story rest, a read a few weeks or months later inevitably produces some changes. 
Of course there are always exceptions.  There is one short story I wrote - 1,500 words of perfection in my eyes. 
Yes, quite a tall order for 80,000 words.

How do you know when you are done?

You'd Think I Am Depressed

The third draft of my novel has been sitting on my dining table for a month now, waiting patiently for me to decide.  Re-write?  Add another chapter?  Take one out?  Or let it sit a few more weeks to gain (more) perspective?
While I am agonizing over that decision, I have spent some time to organize my writing in general.  I have read a few books on queries and synopses, agents and publishing houses, and made a list of my works.
And here it is.  They are all about death and loss, desperation and suffering.  Every single one of them.
I tried to write happy stories, ones that sing of contentment, joy, and perfectly balanced personalities, but everything that comes out is boring and unoriginal. 
What is that all about?

The Stories Are In ...

The Annual WD Competition deadline came and passed.  I entered only one new story  - a personal essay to be more specific.  I wanted to enter a (sort of) stand-alone chapter from my novel but somehow I did not get around to finishing the necessary revisions. I was going to do it last night, but a nap turned into a full-night's sleep....
What am I expecting to get out of this year's Annual WD competition?  Mostly five months of a restless subconscious as I wait for the results.  It was last year that I first tested the waters, that I wrote my first short story and personal essay.  Both of my stories received honorable mentions, and, emboldened by my unexpected success and perplexing courage, I wrote two short stories for the Writer's Digest Short Story Competition.  I was certain as only a novice can be that I will receive at least honorable mentions, and secretly hoped that I would do much better.  Of course my hopes were dashed by the sharp blade of reality and I felt embarrassed (more like a fool, really) in front of my own self. 
So, let's wait and see what happens this time!