Names are crucial for grounding me, but more important than that is the title. It's works like a compass. Some manuscripts have had a new title for each draft, to reflect the deeper emotional truth at the story's core. I'm a pantser, so the title works as my outline.
My favorite line: "You have to trust that all this inefficiency will turn into a novel." I am at the note-taking and free-writing stage of a project right now, and this is so encouraging to remember.
The names are the turning point, I go to babynames too, or I google popular names in 1987. It can be a major rabbit hole
I agree -- and it's weird that until you get the name on the page in the writing, you actually don't really know what works. xoxoxo
Names are crucial for grounding me, but more important than that is the title. It's works like a compass. Some manuscripts have had a new title for each draft, to reflect the deeper emotional truth at the story's core. I'm a pantser, so the title works as my outline.
My favorite line: "You have to trust that all this inefficiency will turn into a novel." I am at the note-taking and free-writing stage of a project right now, and this is so encouraging to remember.
I both love and hate this stage!!
Loved this post.