A friend came up with four more alternate titles for Sarah’s Gift. When and if it comes time to choose a different title for my girl and it comes from one of the ones on my lists (I know who has suggested what), they will be mentioned in the acknowledgements of my book as being the one who came up with the title. That’s why I said in my earlier post about alternate titles, it was a contest of sorts.
The latest additions are:
Doubtful Destiny
A Date with Destiny
Forever After
Dreams of Yesterday
Pretty good eh? After all, we’re talking time-travel going back in time.
Last September when I pitched to an agent (unsuccessfully), she told me my story sounded fun but that the title didn’t do it justice. Well, since it began its life as a short story about ten/eleven years ago, it’s always been known as Sarah’s Gift.
Here is a list of alternate ideas suggested by writers in the groups I belong to. So, how about some input as to which one(s) you like the best? A contest if you will, to determine the title for my first novel.
Weetshill Revisited
Dreams and Consequences
Reality or Make Believe
Lost in Time
Time Lost
Yearning for Home
To Dream of Love
The Lady of Weetshill
A Time of Splendour
In the Eye of the Beholder
Smoke and Mirrors
Fast Falls the Eventide
Deja Vu
Perception of Reality
Perchance to Dream
Paradise Postponed
Tread Softly on Dreams
Dreams of Desire
Flickering Shadows
Rendezvouz with Destiny
Lost Bride
Lost in Time
Sarah’s Journey
The Reluctant Bride
The Time-Travel Bride
A Dangerous Proposal
Weetshill Manor
The Winds of Weetshill
Moonlight at Weetshill
The Craigs of Aberdeen
The Girl of Weetshill Manor
Moonlight over Aberdeenshire
Sarah of the Hills
Sarah of Aberdeen
I managed 134 words yesterday. Not many but still keeping my butt in the chair and working. I did manage to find that pesky bit that I wasted some writing time looking for. I did have it in twice so deleted the second occurrence. So lost some words there.
Hopefully today will be a productive one. My opening number for today is 91909 words. We’ll see where I end up.
I started last night at 91619 words and finished with 91775 – an increase of 156 words. Not a lot of words but I ended up skimming over the same passage looking for something that I was certain was still there but I must have deleted it. I wanted to move it to a different spot further along in the scene.
In the end, I put it back in from memory. It was only a single line of dialogue.
As I said last night, I had a dyslexic moment when I recorded my last word count the other night. I had written down 91542 words. You can imagine my dismay when I opened the document last night and it only read 91452. The only good thing is, it makes my efforts from last night look more impressive. When I called it quits last night with a fried brain, my word count was 91619. Still not as many words as I’ve been able to peel off in some nights and I didn’t get to the scene that I intended working on but I’m getting there.
I decided to work my way to it rather than jump to it and have to go back and make sure my ducks were in a row, the plot bunnies lassoed etc.
Well I worked on my manuscript some more tonight. I discovered before I even started that I had a dyslexic moment when I last recorded my word count and I hadn’t accomplished as much as I thought I had. Oh well, it makes for a more impressive number for today’s efforts.
My after work activities didn’t go the way I’d planned. I thought leave work, call for petrol and come home. Nope. Add in stop by the lawyer’s office to sign still more papers. Streets in town were and likely still are CRAP! Ice at every intersection and lucky me, I got stuck behind someone who couldn’t get up the CN overpass. At least I was able to get around him but even with winter tyres, it was interesting. Well after 5:00 by the time I got home.
At least, I got my entries and my cover letters for the Writers’ Union Postcard contest printed. So now just some labels, write a cheque to cover the entry fee for the three of them and they’ll be ready to send off.
Every now and then life gets in the way of the best intentions. Will still try to get something done on/for my manuscript before I call it an evening but I’m thinking tonight is going to end up being more of a planning/plotting session than actual writing. But that still counts doesn’t it?
I’ve managed another 234 words in my manuscript. Not bad after spending the entire day at work in front of a computer. This is about the time I tend to crash and burn on weeknights so the more I get written by this time, the better.
I’ve got a few ideas percolating for upcoming scenes but at the same time, I’m going to end up deleting a great chunk. What can I say other than it’s just the direction this revision is taking me in. When I get to that point, I’ll try to document the word count in the new material as well as the same in what I end up chopping. All those lovely words… hitting the cutting room floor.
But in this revision of my novel, my heroine is a far more likeable person… even if she does have the occasional “all about me” moment.
After having a couple of lean days (still managed to write though), I succeeded in getting 644 words committed to “paper” yesterday. Hoping for about half that for today. Time will tell if I’m successful.
Well I wrote for a bit, but deleted a lot too so am calling tonight a word-count neutral night. With the changes, I could even end up in a deficit situation. Oh well, will remedy that over the weekend,
In the meantime my computer needs charging so will let it rest and rejuvenate for tomorrow.
My Scottish roots and writing by Melanie Robertson-King
