Naming a (Book) Child

When my husband and I were expecting our firstborn, we had many discussions on the subject of names. We ruled out naming our son after a family member, though Joseph Ivan Vrba (honoring his grandfathers) would have been a strong, dignified name. We also ruled out my more whimsical choice, Griffin, as my husband felt his parents would respond negatively to it. Noah was a strong contender for a bit, until I decided that I didn’t like the singsong way it sounded with our last name. I wouldn’t have minded using my husband’s middle name, Anton, as a middle name - but my husband, who dislikes the name, nixed that idea. And so we listed and relisted and talked and pondered, and eventually came up with Daniel Jonathan, a name we both felt was right.

I never would have considered picking a name without my husband… and neither would I have asked anyone else for input. This was between the two of us, and nobody else. I don’t think it would have occurred to anyone else, family or friend, to try to insert their opinion, either.

When it comes to naming a book, on the other hand, it seems all bets are off.

It’s not uncommon for an author to go through several titles in the process of writing a book. My first published book, GOOD NIGHT CONNECTICUT, named itself; it had to match the other books in the series. THE STABLE CAT, on the other hand, was briefly THE CHRISTMAS CAT and A GIFT FOR A KING before becoming THE STABLE CAT’S CHRISTMAS.

My latest project resisted titling for a long while. Not in a rush to name it, I simply called it DOG STORY. Later, I played around with LUCKY DOG and I AM LUCKY… both a play on the protagonist’s name and the fact that he was, in fact, a lucky dog. But I wanted a title that spoke more to the conflict Lucky is faced with: not wanting to accept being adopted, he decides to misbehave until his new owners return him to Tales and Tails Rescue. So… I settled on I AM NOT A GOOD DOG.

Unfortunately, some friends and family members don’t agree with my choice.

”It needs a subtitle.”

”That title is too depressing.”

”Kids won’t read a book that sounds sad.”

All of this rankles me. I truly don’t mind taking constructive criticism- it’s quite handy, in fact, to have another set of eyes on a project. But it’s one thing to receive input on plot lines and details… another entirely to listen to critiques of a title alone.

I know this may seem odd. After all, advice is advice is advice, isn’t it? But critique of a plot is usually broad, well considered, looking at the bigger picture. Feedback about a title feels as subjective as reacting to a child’s name. And when it comes down to it, only a parent has the right to name a child.

I’ll continue to listen to whatever feedback I receive. As much as it rankles, I do appreciate that these are people who genuinely feel vested in the success of my book. But until the manuscript is picked up by a publishing house, until a trained editor tells me otherwise, the title I’ve chosen will stay.

I get to name my baby.

Gratitude

 

November is a good month to think about gratitude.  In my classroom, during morning meetings, I would have each child offer up one thing they were grateful for... though even at the age of nine, my fourth graders let me know without a doubt that they were So Beyond This.  They repeated the same bland things over and over again... family, food, toys... or tried to make a joke out of it.

I don't joke about gratitude.  It's deeply serious to me, understanding and acknowledging the things that you are thankful to have in your life.  If you don't recognize what your blessings are, you may wake up one day to find them gone.

And so I devote my Novembers, one day at a time, to gratitude.  I post one thing I'm grateful for on my Facebook feed every day.  I begin and end my days thinking of what blessings I can count.  I send text messages to family and friends, letting them know how glad I am that they are in my life.  I'd like to think that it makes them feel as good as it does me.

There's a lot of talk about gratitude these days.  We can buy dedicated gratitude journals.  We are exhorted to be mindful of our blessings.  We wear our grateful natures like a second skin.  But do we let it go deep?  Do we absorb that gratitude past its surface level?  Do we truly, deeply allow ourselves to feel it?

I applied for a new job today... the latest in my job quest.  And I am truly, deeply grateful for the opening I found this afternoon... pet copywriter.  Even if I don't wind up with an interview, let alone with a job offer, I'm grateful to know that such a position exists.  It makes me absurdly happy to think that somewhere, out there, some manager is looking for someone to spend each day writing copy about animals.  I truly hope that someone winds up being me.

But in the meantime, I'll focus on that warm spark of a glow inside... the gratitude that I found the listing, had the time to respond to it, and had fun doing so.

And I'm grateful I have this blog to share those thoughts on.

Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel - Character

 I've been listening to the audio version of Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel - even though I don't write for young adults (yet).  I'm intrigued by the "beat" organization... very similar to what I learned in my beloved The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler, which itself is drawn from the works of mythologist Joseph Campbell.

I'm going to try to work on mapping out my story in this blog... just getting the skeleton of the story down.

WORKING TITLE:  I'm Not a Good Dog

Main Character: Lucky, a Cattle Dog/Corgi/who knows what mix.  He's a pup with issues.

PROBLEM:  Lucky's flaw is that he doesn't see the good things right in front of him... his adoptive owner, for example.  He's fixated on being a Bad Dog so they will send him back to Tales and Tails Rescue.  When that doesn't work, he runs away from his adoptive home.

WANT:  Lucky wants to live with his rescuers, not find a home for himself.  Susan and Tom rescued Lucky and his mom after they were abandoned by their previous owner; Lucky loves living at the rescue, and doesn't want to leave.  When he gets adopted, all he wants is to go back.

NEED:  Lucky needs to learn that home is where you are loved for being who you are... where you have a home, no matter how "good" or "bad" you are.

Lucky is physically based on my own pup, Loki... and no, the name is not a one-off.  Lucky gets his name because he was LUCKY to be rescued and wasn't in as bad of shape as his mom.