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Thursday, May 04, 2006
What's in a Name?
All right, so I'm supposed to be plotting my first novella for a "sexy beach read" anthology that will be out from Harlequin Books in July 2007. (I'll be sharing the spotlight with Stephanie Bond & Leslie Kelly, & am really, really excited about it! :-))
But here's the thing...I don't seem to be able to plot a new story or really connect with my characters until I know their names. Other stuff can wait...hair color, eye color, height, occupation, how they dress... But without names, I tend to feel very lost & unable to get a handle on anything that needs to be done.
The same goes for titles. I really need to have at least a working title in mind before I start a book. For some reason, it seems to give me a sense of place & time & tone. I don't care if the title (& sometimes even the characters' names) change down the road, I still have to have them before I start plotting or writing.
So here's what I'm wondering: Am I the only one who works this way, or there other writers out there who are equally obsessive/compulsive?
And do you have any ideas for names that I can use? I'm drawing a bit of a blank. :-p
posted by Heidi Betts at 10:29 AM
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2 Comments:
Charlene Sands said...
Heidi,
I'm exactly the same way. I need names. And I need them before I start the story to even begin to plot. The names sometimes takes days for me to figure out. Silly as that seems. And yes, I need a title too. I don't think you are alone in that. It does give us a sense of time and place and sets the tone somewhat. Funny, I thought it was just me until you mentioned it today!
Charlene
8:17 AM
Heidi Betts said...
I'm so glad to hear it, Charlene! I thought I might be the only one, too. Isn't it odd, tho, that we can't start a new project without names & titles? I mean, you'd think we could get everything else done & throw those in later--but no! :-P
7:15 AM
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