Title Help and More Write Stuff

Hey, writers, this post's for you, and you'll be pleased to know it links to other, better posts.

First up, get tongue-in-cheek help naming your novel from National Public Radio via Redlines and Deadlines, the blog of those witty editors at Ellora's Cave.

Uh oh, CARPOOLING FANNY appears to be the title of my WIP.

In a week when the Department of Justice filed suit against Apple and five publishers (three of which have agreed to a settlement), we need a feel-good story. Larry Brooks, author of psychological thrillers and the "story fixer," gave an advanced workshop to about 100 romance writers in Portland Oregon—his first time giving a workshop to a group of romance writers—and came away from it with respect for the genre. That's right; you won't hear him make a snide comment or a passive-aggressive aside. Indeed, he describes the Portland writers as "killer smart."

Sci-fi writer Lynette Burrows is back with another installment in her "Re-visioning Your Story" series. Here, she reminds us great beginnings hook the reader but emotionally satisfying endings compel them to buy an author's next book.

Still trying to define "voice" as it pertains to writers? Social-media expert Kristen Lamb's recent post (the third in a series) demystifies the term by using actors as examples. "Let’s say I have a role to cast. I want a male actor to play a cowboy. I have three different actors. I have Clint Eastwood, Jack Black, and Robert Deniro. Same story, different actors. Can you see how the choice of actor–the choice of the voice–becomes essential to how the story will play out? If I cast the wrong actor for the story I as a director want to tell, I can have a disaster, even though ALL THREE ACTORS are highly skilled and talented."

Hope these links are useful. Now it's back to CARPOOLING FANNY for me.

Tag! I'm It.

The Lucky 7 Meme is a virtual game of tag played amongst writers. Sure, there's a whiff of procrastination technique hovering over it, but, more importantly, it allows us a peek into others' works in progress. We get to hear our friends' authorial voices and meet one or more of their characters. In addition, because the meme's rules drop us into the story's flow and only give us a few lines, we're left wanting more.

Paranormal and contemporary writer CC MacKenzie at the Fizz and Fangs blog tagged me. I'm honored--I think.

First, the rules:
1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP

2. Go to line 7

3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs, and post them as they’re written.

4. Tag 7 authors, and let them know.

Here's my snippet:

Midge cleared her throat. "Find the baby's mother for me."
"Why? What's she to you?"
"If you find the mom before the police do, I might convince her to assign custody to me."
A vein stood out in Chet's neck. "You're sixty-one years old."
"Grandparents get custody every day of the week."
"You're not the baby's grandmother."
Midge pulled the edges of her cardigan across her middle. "That's right. Rub it in."

I'm tagging the following:

Sarah Andre

Lynette Burrows

Debra Eve

Suzan Harden

Lark Howard

Kay Hudson (who just earned a Golden Heart nomination from Romance Writers of America)

Jennette Marie Powell

Soon enough, I'll get to read excerpts from those writers. Ah, now I see where "lucky" comes in.

Re-imagine, Reconstruct, Revise

"Books aren't written- they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't quite done it." Michael Crichton

Some writers enjoy revising, but most view it as a necessary evil. Who, after all, writes a perfect first draft?

Whether your manuscript needs its first or eighth rewrite--and whether you're a pantser or a plotter, it's smart to approach revision with a plan.

Lynette Burrows, who prefers the term "re-visioning" to revising, focuses on the big picture . Her five-part series, "Revisioning Your Story," starts here. In part two, she turns her attention to characters' goals. Third, she looks at conflict.
Fourth, she stresses characterization. Fifth, she examines plot. Finally, she looks at setting.

Jami Gold turned to Blake Snyder's Save the Cat--and a spreadsheet—to revise a manuscript she "pantsed." Gold shares her experience here , and it's so intriguing, I downloaded a copy of the spreadsheet she followed. Even if Excel may makes your eyes cross, give this technique a try.

Once revisions are past the big-picture stage, we must make sure our words have the desired effect. At Jenny Hansen's blog, writing teacher Margie Lawson gives a lesson in writing fresh and eliciting emotion.

At edittorrent, writer and editor Alicia Rasley offers insight into pacing that inspired me to tear apart scenes.

That's it for now, but I've got lots of revising to do—and will pass along nuggets of inspiration and advice as I need and find them.