Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Titles, arrrgh
I wrote about 2800 words today. Not bad, but if you look at that as a weekly total, not great, either.
Cracks me up what I’m using as the file’s title: my main character’s name, Lisa. Is that the best I can do? (Apparently so.) But I’m at a loss on this one. The novel wants a different shape than what I had intended — that whole Scheherezade thing may never materialize. I’m reluctant to give this a title without having some knowledge of the finished product.
How about you — when do you title your stories or novels? Do you wait until the end? If you title it at the beginning of the project, does that shape the direction of the work?
If I had to title it now, I think I would want something which resonated with those goofy 50s science fiction movies. Escape from Mars, Mars Needs Women, that sort of thing. Only we’re not going to Mars; but hell, where Lisa’s going, maybe it’s CALLED Mars without being Mars.
See? The title affects the project. Okay, then, maybe I could find a list of titles from 1950s SF movies. Just have to keep from getting distracted by a funny movie trailer. Grr.
Hmm . . . She Came From Outer Space, perhaps? (More accurate would be, She Came From Earth. Not bad!)
In other news: TUCKER CARLSON HAS BEEN CANCELED! WOOOOT!
D.
PS: Ever think how great it would be if the MST3K gang took on a BIG iconic movie? Wonder no longer.Â
I presume you’re familar with the UK BBC TV series “Life on Mars”?
Not set on Mars.
I’ve just gotten back to the writing flow in the last month and a half, and I can completely sympathize with “not bad, not great”. For awhile I worried about editorial calendars, and while I’ll be better about them eventually, the fact is, I usually put more up than I think.
As to naming work, I find that I name the work when I first have a concept, with the clear knowledge that it will change. In the end, the name has to fit the story.
microsoar: No, that’s a new one on me. Was it any good?
Leo: welcome to B&W. Good luck getting back into the flow!
Right now, I’m leaning towards She Came From Earth. With the right cover, I think that title would get across the great FUN of this bit of writing.
I have the feeling that LoM might not appeal to the US market. It’s very retro, set in 1973 in the UK.
The protagonist, a policeman, is involved in a car accident in 2006. He wakes up to find himself a plainclothes cop in 1973. Has he time travelled? Is he dreaming in a coma? We don’t know. In the meantime he has to deal with his co-workers who are unconstructed 1973 coppers using 1973 tech and methods (no DNA, no profiling, no SWAT teams) and with a society and attitudes he only experienced as a small child. Imagine a cop from today finding himself dealing with a Starsky and Hutch world.
I say, yes, it’s very good indeed.
I caught a couple of episodes of Life on Mars (on BBCA) – I thought it was good, but not quite compelling enough for me to follow it regularly…
YMMV, as they say. I’d say that it’s certainly worth a look.
May I suggest a slight tweak to your title: “The Girl From Earth”? To my mind, it’s a kind of double prize, with the “From Earth” for the Golden Age SF vibe, and the rhythm of “The Girl from Ipanema”.
Just my 2¢.
Oh, but She Came From Earth has that ominous monster feel to it! I really have to see how much trouble she causes her captors. If she’s a significant source of dread to them, I might stick with my title.