Balls and Walnuts
more than you ever wanted to know
Quickie poll
Don’t forget the Number 500 Giveaway! I hope to see several more entries before the evening is over.
I’m happy — not about the state of the world, of course, but about my trilogy. In the last few hours, I did a bit of cosmetic surgery on the first novel, and the current word count stands at just under 90,000 words. Ideal! Not only that, but this first novel is one tight sumbitch, and I think anyone who finished it would have to buy the next book. But that’s just me.
I’m chucking the working title (The Brakan Correspondent) because it put the main character’s father front and center. I want to keep Cree (the correspondent’s daughter) center stage. All of the titles below refer to her, although they also have double meanings that spread to a few of the other characters as well.
Tell me whether any one of these grabs your eye better than its neighbors:
Nest
Out of the Nest
Fallen from the Nest
Fledge
Fledgling
Thanks!
D.
Nest or Fledgling both evoked an emotional/imaginative response for me.
Doug, I already have the book (in a German translation), and gift certificates don’t work for me because of the shipping costs, thus I won’t participate.
“Fledgling” is most evocative to me with “nest” coming in second.
*sniff*
Does this mean you didn’t like the title I suggested?
I like Fledgling. Followed by Nest.
And I’ ve been busy trying to not get my ass kicked by my TBR pile. 🙁
Oh, and there’s school, I guess.
I’d opt for nest because of the multiple meanings you’ve given the term.
I like Nest. 🙂
~Sapph.
Maureen, I had a sudden stab of panic because I thought you had given me a suggestion that I hadn’t acknowledged. So I searched my email inbox and found the relevant letter. Your suggestion, To Mock A Killing Bird, has a certain charm to it, but too many people already call me “smart ass” to my face.
Thanks, everyone else. I like Nest, too. Has that one syllable thing going for it, and as Edwin points out, it has multiple meanings in the context of the book.
(Hey, Edwin! I didn’t know you were lurking around here. Glad to have you around ;o)
What you need is not our subjective opinions, but the scientific rigour of the Lulu Title Scorer.
You’ll even be able to compare two titles head to head (beak to beak?)
The Word Verification Pixie suggest that you call it Olsimasp.
Nest is pretty cool.
Well, I’m going to be different and say I prefer “Out of the Nest,” which gives you the bird child image, plus a bit of danger/adventure feel.
The one-word titles “Fledgling” and “Nest” seem too… sweet to me. Of course, the cover art could correct that impression.
Thanks, y’all. Stephen, I really wonder about that thing, but I’m going to do it anyway. I’ll report back on what Lulu says I should do.
I like Nest and Fledgling, too.
Nest makes me think of a horror novel [you know, like, ‘What kind of nest, a vampire nest?’ But that could be because I’ve been infected by Buffy the Vampire Slayer].
Fledgling makes me think of a young person/bird, just leaving the ‘nest.’ Both titles get me because of their ‘brevity’ [which PBW got me thinking about the other day.]
Of course, on a professional level, I’m clueless, but as a reader, I have loads of experience.
How ’bout “The Nestling Falls”?
Here’s what Lulu says:
Nest 63.7% (assuming “Nest” is viewed as figurative, rather than literal)
Fledge 55.4%
Out of the Nest 44.2%
The Correspondent’s Daughter 41.4%
Fledgling 35.9%
Fallen from the Nest 26.3%
Just for fun, my tentative titles for books 2 and 3:
Flight 35.9%
Shrike 35.9%
Looks like I have more work to do ;o)