Welcome to week three. This is the time when exhaustion starts to creep into the edges of things. When reading one more story feels like a nigh insurmountable hurdle. When writing another story feels like torture. (Hey–when does it not, right?)
I’ve noticed a couple of things this week. Class starts at nine AM, Monday through Friday. In the first week we were all rushing to get there at 8:59.59. Then last week we were sliding into our seats with a few seconds to spare. This morning, most of us were in the classroom five, even ten minutes before the stroke of learning. (That’s what she said.)
Another thing is that I find myself seeking solitude more often, and with greater fervency. I expect this theme to continue, to some degree or another. Today, for example, I spent most of the afternoon alone, in the basement. And, since I had such a pleasant few hours down there, I will tell you what I did.
- Critiqued a story.
- Stood up and stretched.
- Critiqued another story.
- Made myself a cup of tea and grabbed a piece of awesome yummy banana bread.
- Watched videos of So You Think You Can Dance (Do not resist the clickage!)
- ‘Finished’ my story for Friday
Good times were had by all. But the intense socialization that ClarionWest can cultivate does get wearing. Even sitting amongst half a dozen quiet writers in the common room, each focused on their own task, takes something out of you. And since the common room was practically deserted when I emerged for dinner, I must assume I’m not the only person here dealing with this particular stressor.
In other news: Pie!
And, furthermore: Margo Lanagan!
We got an interesting mini-lecture from Margo this morning concerning titles. Apparently, we somewhat suck at titles. Speaking for myself, I already knew that. I mean, ‘Phibs, Lies & Whiskey’ was probably my best. Title. Evar. And that was produced a while ago. Like…years, or summat.
She said that a title should sum up the essence of a story, without giving away the plot, a feat at which Debbie Does Dallas fails miserably. Some pointers she gave for choosing a title:
- Refer to reference materials used. Her story ‘Eyelids of the Dawn’ refers to the description of the Leviathan in the ultimate reference book–the Bible.
- Refer to the story itself. ‘A Fine Magic’ came directly from the character in said story, when describing his work.
- Use the setting to inform the title. ’Under Hell Over Heaven’ is a story Margo wrote about, you guessed it, Heaven and Hell.
- Use the action to inform the title. In ‘Singing My Sister Down’ the main character does exactly that. But the actions are so divorced from the world we know, and so intriguing, that even thought this sums up the story, it doesn’t give anything away.
Of course, some stories come with a title attached to them, already. Struck By Chocolate, my attempt at a romance novel, came to me title first, and then the plot rushed in to fill out the space. And I’ve picked up a couple of titles here to stories I will likely never write, but I like the sound of it. Like ‘A Bucket Full of Medical Care’. Sounds awesome, if I could figure out what the hell it means.
