"Two wrongs may not make a right but a thousand wrongs make a writer.”

Saturday, April 2, 2011

FOR WANT OF A TITLE

I have trouble with titles. If I can write a novel, why can't I compose a clever title? Sometimes I can't even think of a title for a post. But March is behind us, and I got through April Fool's Day without being made one, as far as I know.

Allow me one more toot of the horn. Author and fellow blogger, Judy Croome posted a lovely review of NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND on Amazon and Goodreads. Her review gives you a brief snapshot of what's under the cover. Speaking of, we were all enticed by the front cover, I, so much, it took me a week to notice the back. Make sure you check out the back cover. No, I don't have an image of that to share, but it's sheer genius from the folks at the Literary Lab.
From the flip side.....I don't know a damn thing about my illness. I am not even sure what it is that hurts....


Michelle from the L.L. recently wrote an interesting post titled Where Have All The Bloggers Gone? Maybe we're just all bogged down. I don't know how some of you find the time to be as prolific as you are. And of course, the more you comment on others, the more comments you will receive, but keep in mind for every comment you receive, ten or more have visited, read, absorbed and moved on. I myself read a lot more than I comment. Sorry. I just don't have the time. The writing comes first.

I write before the sun comes up, make coffee, feel guilty, and write some more. I move my laptop to the couch to escape the blinding rays coming through the kitchen window. I drink coffee and read what I've written and pencil edit and drink more coffee. I feel guilty. I look at my blog roll, dream of agents and editors and what it would be to have a deadline (which I would never fail to meet, I might add). Lord, give me deadlines and a contract and a book of my own. Give me give me give me give me. Selfish little writer. Self-centered, obsessed little writer.

Just don't ask me how that novel is coming. Don't ask me what the current one is about. Oh, the questions people ask us….. Are you still writing that novel????? But what do you really do? Elspeth Antonelli at The Blood-Red Pencil says, “the best answer I’ve ever given to this question is, I kill people."

OK. It's true. I kill them and I bury them in the compost pile, but you can't talk about a work in progress. It would jinx it. The work would dissipate like chaff on a breeze. Talking about it contaminates it, like plutonium in the jet stream from failed nuclear power plants. Radioactivity in the milk and in the vegetables? Oh Lord, save us from ourselves. Man is the beast, as Deon Meyer poignantly shows us in his novel (my current read), BLOOD SAFARI, an adventurous journey through South Africa.

Money controls everything. People are not truly capable of conservation though they make all the right noises. It's just not in our nature. Whether we're talking about pumping oil or chopping down trees for firewood, the environment will be the loser. Nothing can stand in the path of man.


We do what we can. We plant crops and grow vegetables without chemicals and raise happy chickens that can scratch in the dirt and cattle that are free to graze under the open sky, but we can't control what's in the air that we breathe and in the water that comes from the well. No farm is an island, no city dweller alone in their condo, no country in control of their borders. The Earth is a circle of one. What happened in Japan happened to you and it happened to me.

It'll bog you down, if you let it, and there is no title for that.

12 comments:

Frances Garrood said...

Yvonne, I have a nice title that you can use (don't ask where it came from - its a long story):
"Eating the Nanny's Mango". How about that?

Oh - and good luck with the novel. And the killing.

Rosaria Williams said...

Ivonne, you are at a good place, networking with other writers, passionate about your work. All good stuff.
I keep starting new blogs, always expanding my platform, hoping for encouragement and mentoring.

It's lonely at the keyboard.

Anne R. Allen said...

Rosaria--it's especially lonely at the keyboard this month if you're not doing the A-Z thing.

Judy's review was spot-on. Great story!

I've read that most blogs that make it past a month have a lifespan of three years. I think it's not that there are fewer blogs, but different people have them. I still think they're a great way to meet people in the publishing business and connect with readers.

Suzanne Casamento said...

I love the way you described your writing process. Kind of romantic in a way.

And I love "The Earth is a circle of one." That should really make people stop and think of how they treat the Earth.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Frances,
I like that title. Maybe I can write something that wraps around the nanny. Now that could be a goat or a babysitter...right? Thanks!

Rosaria,
It's always lonely at the keyboard. But that is the attraction. Until it's time to put yourself out on a limb, Then it's scary AND lonely. Why don't you stick with one or two blogs. It always confuses me when I look up a writer and they have several because I don't know where to start.

Anne,
Thanks! Yeah, I'm so out of it, I didn't know what the A to Z thing even was. I agree with you about blogs. I have no intention of quitting, I'm just not a frequent poster.

Suzanne,
Thank you very much. I'm glad you find it so. Why do I always feel guilty?

Jemi Fraser said...

The bloggy-verse is certainly going to be busy now that's Arlee's challenge is up and running. I think in May we're going to see a lot of bloggers take that first week or so off :)

Anthony Duce said...

I Enjoyed your words today, and can relate with so much of the conversation you have about writing, and where this blogging fits in. I have good and bad days.

Talli Roland said...

I'm rubbish with titles, to be honest. Congrats on the review! Hope you're having a good weekend.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Jemi,
I'd like to take the month of May off from everything. Well, except the writing, of course! Thanks for stopping by.

Anthony,
Thank you so much! I love your comments.

Talli,
I don't believe that. Thanks for the comment.

Michelle D. Argyle said...

Hehe, great title. Oh, if you want to post a picture of the back cover, you can find it here:http://www.theliterarylabpresents.com/

Thanks for the link to my post! It's interesting what comments I got on that post and how much I didn't realize the people who are paying attention and just not commenting. I must remember that. :)

Sarah said...

Some blogs are worth coming back to visit, no matter how frequently the posts come. :)
You feel guilt because you're a woman. It's built in or something.
LOVE that last paragraph. So true, spread the word.

Yvonne Osborne said...

Michelle,
Thanks for the link. That's very cool. Yeah, the average visitor does not leave a comment.

Sarah,
Hi! And thank you. Very much.