NaNoWriMo
Yes, I know NaNoWriMo is in November, but there's nothing like thinking ahead :-) I'm seriously thinking about doing it, so I have something writerly to aim for. I'd have to clear the decks of anything archaeological. Anything with any sort of deadline would have to be done before then so my brain doesn't have an excuse to get majorly distracted. Should be doable ... But then there's the matter of the subject of the perfidious-manuscript-of-doom. Frankly my view of SoD (6th century) has changed so much, I could perhaps start again. Hmmm. And I really must find a better title than SoD, which btw stands for Sword of Deira. It was suggested by Batman, so it's his fault. I think it's a historical fantasy cliche type of title. But it's stuck as it abbreviates to SoD, which is all too appropriate on occasion, especially when I get frustrated with it. Trouble is, I couldn't think of anything better, which in its turn was not a good sign. Will have to mull some more.NaNoWriMo actually has a section for historicals, so that makes it feel friendly for starters.
posted by Alex Bordessa @ Friday, January 19, 2007
10 Comments:
Nano is fun - I fall for it every year despite the fact I never make 50K. But the forums are a good place to meet interesting people, provided you restrict yourself to a few, else they're a great distraction.
I've still an ongoing conversation on the Norway Country forum with a girl who writes about the Batavian revolt. :)
Ah-ha - I guessed the 'D' correctly, and the 'S' was among the half-dozen I'd thought it might be :-) I couldn't make a commitment like NaNo because if I'm busy at work I might not write a word in the whole month, but I admire people who can. Good luck if you decide to try it!
Gabriele, I like the sound of it being a bit of fun. You normally mention NaNo on your blog, so that should remind me to enter, come the time.
Carla, I don't think the title reflects the book too well either, as quite a lot of it doesn't take place in Deira. I have another title in mind, and that also sounds like historical fantasy ... I give up :-)
What were the other possible 'S's you had in mind? Song of Deira? Savage of Deira? Snake of Deira? (that could be a reference to a dragon or worm)
I didn't write them down, but as I remember the other S's I'd thought of were 'Song', 'Son', 'Sea', 'Serpent', 'Sunset' and 'Sunrise'. I couldn't make 'Sea' fit easily with the 'o' because 'Sea of Deira' didn't sound right. 'Sunrise' I thought might have been 'Sunrise over Deira', since you'd said once that the story was about the founding of the kingdom, and I thought that was more likely than 'Sunset' which would have fitted better with a story about the passing away of something.
If that is any help to you? It probably shows how limited my imagination is :-) I'm hopeless at titles. Struggling to think of a good one myself at the moment.
Olga, yes I think it's great motivation, something to aim for, length-wise and also date-wise.
Carla, all the variations give a bit of inspiration - thank you :-) Serpent would be better than snake, too. I wanted to use something like In Deira Wudu , but it's too obscure, as well as mostly inaccurate. Current idea is King Slayer, which does reflect the main character's career some what. Again it sounds like a fantasy novel.
btw, the kingdom that's founded is Bernicia - bit contentious, I know, but the Deiran ASs seem to be around *generally* earlier (archaeologically) than the Bernicians, so ... And it really suited my harebrained story too. For my main character, it comes as a bit of a shock as to who's the king.
What a good idea! It gives you time and added incentive to get your achaeology stuff done, and sounds a great opportunity to get your fiction muscle back in action. Maybe in the coming months you'll have time to think more about your novel so you can get writing as soon as the comp begins - I hope so.
Not especially contentious from my point of view, I'd just misremembered which kingdom was founded in your novel. Sorry about that!
I quite like King Slayer as a title, especially if the character makes a habit (or a career) of it :-)
The main character is directly responsible for the death of one, mistakenly seen as very culpable for another, can't save another, and doesn't quite finish off one more (shame). So I think King Slayer, or Kingslayer, is a fair title. On checking Amazon, I see it's been used before, but I don't think that stops people using it.
An awful lot of titles have been used before. I think it was PG Wodehouse who said he hoped his novel might get on a list of The 100 Best Books Called Summer Lightning.
For what it's worth, I like Kingslayer as a single word better than King Slayer, perhaps because it sounds a bit like a title or a nickname.
Yes, I was thinking of using the Kingslayer as a nickname in the book at some point. And, yes, Kingslayer in one word sounds best :-)
Post a Comment
<< Home