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.

Job Hunting

 Job hunting, I am starting to believe, is very much like actual hunting.

You picture your quarry in your mind.  You know what you're going after... it wouldn't do to arm yourself for deer hunting when you want a duck or turkey, for example, or vice-versa.  You prepare your gear - resume?  Check.  Letters of reference?  Check.  Appropriate certifications and transcripts?  Check and check.

Then, it's out into the field.  You need to get out there early - that's when the game is moving.  And you need to know where to go to find a game trail... wandering around the woods and wetlands, clueless, is a good way to come back empty handed.  Once you've found your spot, you hunker down behind a blind, send out your employment paperwork, and wait.  Or maybe it's more like fishing than hunting... you put out your bait, and then you wait.

And you wait.

And you wait.

And you wait.

I would make a lousy deer hunter.  Or duck hunter.  Or turkey hunter.  Or fishing enthusiast.  

Or job hunter, for that matter.

I hate waiting.

Something to Read

I enjoy a good memoir… with caveats.

One, if it’s an animal-centric memoir (one of my favorite sub genres), the animal needs to be alive at the end of the book. I don’t do MARLEY AND ME books.

Two, if it’s a human-centric memoir, it needs to have a good bit of humor. Yes, I realize that 90% of published memoirs deal with the writer overcoming some sort of trauma, abuse, addiction, etc. Apparently there’s a pervasive thought in publishing that happy people aren’t interesting. But that said, I need to do something other than cringe and cry while I read.

As a result, I’m having a pretty hard time finding “grown up” books to read lately. I’ve gotten about halfway through a memoir about a Boston area dog park… it’s not bad… and have the writing guide BIRD BY BIRD by Anne Lamott on the TBR pile. I’ve got SAVE THE CAT WRITES A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL on both audio and hard copy, though my target audience when I write is picture book or middle grade chapter book.

And I’ve neglected all of them for PENNY DRAWS A BEST FRIEND and ANNIE’S LIFE IN LISTS, two middle grade titles I’d picked up for my classroom last year as possible read alouds.

But you know what? They’re good books. And they don’t make me cringe or cry!

New Paths

 

You'll look up and down streets.  Look 'em over with care.  About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."  With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you want to go down.  In that case, of course, you'll head straight out of town.

- Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

For the first time in twenty six years, I am not prepping for a new school year.  My former colleagues are.  My youngest sister is.  But... not me.  I resigned from teaching last year.  It wasn't an easy choice, but I've come to terms with it as best I can.  

I took some time to rest and heal... it's not easy to just leave a job, particularly one that consumes so much of your time and spirit the way teaching does.  When I'd found some inner peace and balance, it was time to think about next steps.  Over the summer, I decided to seek employment in a new district.  But no district so far has wanted a teacher with twenty six year of experience... new college grads are so much less expensive, it seems.

Now I'm not so sure what road I want to go down.  Like the character in Oh, The Places You'll Go!, I can see plenty of streets that make me say, "I don't choose to go there."  Retail?  Not a chance.  Temp work in an office?  No, thank you.  Substitute teaching pays less than minimum wage, when you break it down, and even long term subbing, a more stable income, is not really an option I want to pursue.  The remaining choice, it seems, is to head "straight out of town."  

I don't feel that this means physically relocating... that wouldn't be right for either me or my family.  It's more metaphor.  I need to break out of what I've BEEN doing and seek a path I haven't tried before.

But what that is, at the moment, I just don't know.

I’m Lousy at Blogging

This really shouldn’t surprise anyone, much less me, but… I really, really am rubbish at keeping up a blog.

As if anyone but me would notice.

I’m out here talking to myself, essentially.