She Be Done!

Well, technically, she be done in the sense that I have achieved my 50k goal by the end of November and thus won Nanorimo this year. That means in around 21 days I wrote a crap-ton of words and came up with a novel I love and characters I enjoy getting to know.

Here's the proof!

Ah, sweet victory, you sure are beautiful. There is nothing quite like validating your final word count and having the screen switch to the 'Congratulations, you won!' page. I know I say this every year but I am never competing again!

Until next year of course :)

Here's a quick snippet of the novel-in-progress.

Torn

"It's ridiculous really how things end up. For twenty-five years she's been there for me. For eighteen years she helped me stay on time, do my homework, taught me what was right and wrong, and gave me everything she had. She helped me move into college. Went I went overseas, she prayed for me and my squad everyday. When I came home she was right there at the hospital to take care of me. Now here I am. She doesn't even realize I'm here. She doesn't even know she has a son anymore. I reckon keeping her like this is the least I can do to give her as much time as possible."

I Want You to Make Me Feel Again

That's the phrase that keeps ringing in my head for this book. It's an old writing mantra writers use to remind themselves to make a book so moving, so inspirational and tragic and stunningly beautiful, that a reader can't help but be affected.

A Scene Like This Moves Viewers

Writing a realistic fiction is so different from fantasy. In fantasy book, your enemy is clear, especially in my novels. You know that the guy that's committing war crimes and tearing through the nation is your enemy. You know there's something that has to be done to stop him. There's a slow and steady plot as the enemy's plan is revealed and your characters must fight to prevent it from succeeding.

That is so not true with realistic fiction. Your enemy isn't ripping through the nation. He isn't plotting and planning your downfall - at least not proactively. In this story, you have a person with a damaged background suffering PTSD and struggling to survive while he fights to keep a dog shelter from going under. But there's no black and white in this novel. There's no true and clear antagonist or even protagonist. The characters are a host of flawed people with positives and substantial negatives.

The only way I'm charging through this is by reminding myself that I have to make the reader care for each of these characters in a way that will move them when the ending comes. I have to make the reader love them when they do something wise, hate them when they turn their backs on good, and sympathize with them when they stumble.

The healing a character has to go through in a realistic fiction novel is incredibly different from anything I've worked on before. But I'm learning the tricks. Ethan, my MC, must have flaws that keep him from succeeding. The enemy in this novel is not clearly an outside force. It's an inside force that the character must defeat.

At one point in the novel, Ethan speaks of his childhood and has this to say; "When I think about it, I shouldn't be so upset. It's not like getting hit as a kid destroys the world. I need to move on. But when I think about it, for that kid that I used to be, the day I was first hit was the day my world was destroyed."

That is the point of the 'feel' mantra. The writer must make the reader feel as if the story they are reading is the entire world. They have to pray for their heroes. They have to bite their nails and sit on the edge of the seat when they are caught in troublesome places. They have to quietly weep when they are hurt and betrayed. Because when that book ends that world has come to an end and the reader must feel wholly devoted and confident in the ending provided.

The First Hurdle

I am now only a few days away from starting Book 3. I can feel it in my bones and I'm totally excited. The hardest part now? Picking the title.

I've always had problems picking a title for my papers and articles. In school, when I'm turning in an objective paper I don't spend that much time on picking the title. They basically just get titled by the assignment. But for essays, term papers, and finals, I tend to spend more time on the title, introduction, and conclusion than I do on the body of the paper. I find sometimes that it's easier to just write the paper before making the title.

But with a book this can be difficult. I have dozens of files titled beginning Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, etc, because I'm always making notes, maps, or reminders about that specific book. So I tend to want to pick out my book title before I actually start writing the book. And so my dilemma for Book 3 begins here. I wanted to capture some of the wonder the original title of Book 3 had but since I'm essentially taking out the plot that title was based off of it wouldn't make much since to keep it.

There are a few things writers should keep in mind when selecting a new title....

It's hard to place more importance on one tip over another but I would have to say that keeping it simple is vital. You don't need something amazingly complicated for a title, especially for a fiction book.

Next, it needs to capture the essence of the book. The title must have wording that carries positive connotation and leaves a feeling with a reader that will encourage them to read on.

However, capturing the essence of the book doesn't mean that the title must encompass everything within the book. The title can refer to something as small as just a sentence in the book. For example, a book titled The Beat of Courage can follow the story of an athlete who practices and increases his sporting performance through many personal hardships, but the title may refer to the moment at the end of the book when the athlete listens to a song on the way to his final track meet and that song gives him courage.

Another part of picking a title is that it hasn't been used before. Now, this is easier said than done. Obviously, there have been thousands of books over the years and any writer is bound to come up with a title that has been used in the past. The only thing the writer can do is hope their title hasn't been made famous before. Then they can go ahead and use the title. Just be mindful that you're sharing a title with someone else and, therefore, it may not entirely be yours.

Of course, all these tips are basically useless for a writer because it's the publisher who's making the final choice on title. Writers may swear up and down by a title and feel like it's the perfect one. But if they intend on getting published, they have to be willing to give up that title. The publisher is the one who professionally pitches and sells books and they ultimately know best. Besides, wouldn't the writer rather have the content of their book be the focus of it, not the title?

That's why even when I'm trying to pick out a title, I don't give it so much thought that I become attached to it. Yes, I love seeing that title in my documents list or on paper and I do become rather fond of it but I'm willing to give it up. I try to see the title as a mere convenience. It's just there for me to enjoy until it comes time for the world to see it.

Right now, I have 5 ideas for Book 3's title and only 2 are actually promising. In my mind, I'm already referring to it by one of the titles so I think that may end up being the winning option.