Good Morning. As you must know from the last few posts I've written, I'm working on Richard's story -- THE CAPTAIN'S LADY. Research took a lot of time, but lately I've been working diligently on the narrative and hoping to really get the word count up before the end of November. (I know I said I wanted the book finished by Thanksgiving, but... it's not going to happen. I have the discipline, however, the world around me keeps interrupting.)
Anyway, I was reviewing a chapter the other day, when I noticed I had written Richard several coincidences in his quest to find Amanda. The man seems to always be in the right place at the right time. When he gets in a jam, boom, two pages later, help comes in the form of another coincidence.
Now, I didn't originally intend to write this story this way. Believe me, Richard and Amanda have a LOT of obstacles to overcome. For every coincidence that seems to help them, I throw another obstacle in their way. Oh yes, I'm taking the reader on a rollercoaster ride.
But, in the middle of all this, I realized THE CAPTAIN'S LADY wasn't going to work as a title. All my novellas have the name of one of the characters in them. (Winsbarren, Davingdale, Lady Ryder, Lady Cadoret) That's how I differentiate them from my novels. My novels on the other hand have a noun and a verb.
THE LADY'S MASQUERADE -- THE DUKE'S DIVORCE -- THE EARL'S ENGAGEMENT -- THE LADY'S FATE
See. Yes, they are simple sentences/titles. I suck at titles. Always have, so I don't fight it. But with Richard's story THE CAPTAIN'S LADY, that is just the suckiest of them all. It doesn't even make sense or work with any of the others. Sooooo...
I've come up with
THE CAPTAIN'S COINCIDENCE.
Yes, I know, ultra simple, but at least it has a noun and a verb and makes a little more sense to describe what the story is about. Check the above -- Masquerade, Divorce, Engagement, Fate, and now we have Coincidence.
I think it works.
Tell me -- What do you think? Do titles really make a difference whether you read or not read a book? Anyone have a better word? I like coincidence, and it fits the story, but I always second guess myself.
Anne Gallagher (c) 2013
I think that's a good unique title - you don't see "coincidence" much in titles. But if you're looking for alternatives, how about... calamity, crusade or conviction? :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, I like it!
ReplyDeleteI love the title. It's unusual and poses a story question right away. Congrats on getting a back-burnered story going again. I have just dug into my archives and found one I'd almost forgotten. Hey, if you can restart a project, maybe I can too.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteCharlotte -- I do like The Captain's Conviction. I'll have to use it somewhere else.
Bish -- I do too!
Anne -- Thanks. It's not that hard to restart a story, unless you have miles of research to do. Then it's a back breaker. Then I think you really have to wonder if it's worth it.