Entitlement, Part I

Titles.  What we know first about anything is its being, its existence; and so we give it a name so we can talk about it.  What we know first about any story or novel is its title.  Before the reader knows the names of the characters, he knows the name of their story.  In fact, the latter may be a precondition to the former, since a bad title can drive readers off.  Well-known writers may get by with so-so titles.  Their books will sell regardless.  And some readers will buy anything in their favorite genre, and again the title will not be the deciding factor.  But for the most part, a book will sit among other books, each clamoring for attention.  The browsing reader, who is neither fan nor fanatic, will pick up one and not the other. 

Why?  The title, the cover, and the opening passages.  Now short stories seldom have covers, and even for novels the cover is usually not controlled by the writer.  So let’s consider titles, as such.  We will consider the opening in a later post at some uncertain date. 

Thanks and Acknowledgments.  I was assisted in this essay by helpful inputs from the Committee of Correspondence.  They include old hands and neo-pros, hard SF and fantasy, novelists and short fiction writers. However, they are not to blame for what I did with their comments.

• Jack McDevitt, Nebula-winning author of the popular Alex Benedict and Priscilla Hutchens novels
• Bill Gleason, a neo-pro with several short stories in ANALOG
• Nancy Kress, multiple Hugo and Nebula winning author and one-time fiction columnist for Writer's Digest
• Geoff Landis, author of Crossing Mars and winner of both Hugo and Nebula awards for short fiction.
• Ed Lerner, author of multiple novels including the Fleet of Worlds series with Larry Niven
• Michael Swanwick, author of the Nebula-winning Stations of the Tide and numerous fine short fiction
• Harry Turtledove, regarded as the master of alternate history, has won the Hugo and Nebula for his short fiction
• Juliette Wade, a neo-pro with several noted short stories hinging on linguistics and culture.
• John C. Wright, author of the Golden Age series and Chronicles of Chaos and the forthcoming Count to a Trillion
  

What are the Qualities of a Good Title?
In his book Twenty Problems of the Fiction Writer, John Gallishaw addresses the title in his chapter "How to Make a Story Interesting." 

Now the ultimate Beginning of any story, that part which comes at once to the reader's attention, is the title.  From the point of view of interest, a good title is, then, your first consideration in arousing the reader's interest.  The title should be arresting, suggestive, challenging.  Kipling's "Without Benefit of Clergy" has all these requirements.  So has Barrie's "What Every Woman Knows."  So has Henry James's "The Turn of the Screw."  So has O. Henry's "The Badge of Policeman O'Roon."  So has John Marquand's "A Thousand in the Bank." ..... You may say definitely that the first device for capturing interest is in the selection of a title which will cause the reader to pause, which will whet his curiosity.

The Glorious First

On this day in history, the first of July, 1863, the 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteers, "Northampton's Own," along with several thousand heavily armed friends, came to the aid of Buford's cavalry north and west of Gettysburg, Penn., where it took its stand on Blocher's Knoll, now called Barlow's Knoll.  The 153rd was part of von Gilsa's brigade in Barlow's division of Howard's XI ("Dutch") Corps.

Barlow's Division was supposed to delay Ewell's advance down the Harrisburg Road long enough for von Steinwehr's Division to complete the fortifications on the fall back position on Cemetery Hill.  His "advanced" position to the knoll is often regarded as a blunder; but may have been the best move available given the situation of the moment.  Had the knoll been occupied by rebel artillery, it would have rolled up the right of I Corps and led to disaster.  See here for an appraisal. 

News From All Over

from the WSJ Best of the Web, news from all over. 

• "Douglas, Davenport Lead Fever Past Mercury"--headline, Associated Press, June 29
• "Roddick Flops Early Again, but Venus Stays on Course"--headline, St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, June 25
• "Earth, Wind & Fire Still a Shining Star"--headline, Wilton (Conn.) Villager, June 30
• "Mars Invests in New US Facility"--headline, ConfectionaryNews.com, June 30
• "DNA Samples Will Determine if Jupiter Residents Aren't Picking Up Behind Their Pooches"--headline, Palm Beach Post, June 29
• "Saturn Friendship Club Meets"--headline, Gonzales (Texas) Cannon, June 30
• "Hands-On: Dead Rising 2: Off the Record--Playing in Uranus Zone"--headline, SiliconArea.com, June 9
• "Neptune's Grant Request Sent Back to City Hall"--headline, Chronicle Herald (Halifax, Nova Scotia), June 29
• "LeBron James Made His Decision, Now the Cavaliers Make Theirs: Terry Pluto"--headline, Plain Dealer (Cleveland), June 22

Modern History Explained

Google Ngrams give the frequency with which specific words or phrases occur in their database of 5.2 million texts in the Google Books Library.  It is interesting how well this tracks the opinions of certain historians dating the end of the Modern Ages to the Late 19th/Early 20th Century, with the 20th century standing to the Modern Ages as the 15th century stood to the Middle Ages. 

Clearing the Tabs

Eifelheim

Contracts received for the French e-book edition.  No front money, as is typical for many e-books, but a higher percent of the sales.  So if you can read French, your opportunity to cross my palm with silver will come soon.  Remember, this won the Prix Julia Verlanger while the original did not win the Hugo.  So the French translation must be better than the original.  Right?  Someone buy it and let me know.....

Meanwhile...

The January Dancer

Author-copy paperbacks for The January Dancer have arrived, so it must be in the book stores.  This is the first volume in the series, even though the second volume was paperbacked already last year.  Big bungle-oo.  They put Up Jim River on the schedule... and bumped The January Dancer to do it! 

"The Return of the Zombie Sea Monster"

A thousand-word short-short was sold to ANALOG as a "Probability Zero" piece.  It marks my first short-short involving zombie sea monsters and their return.  I'll let you know when it is to appear. 

Worst Idea of the Month

Unfortunate Headline of the Day

"Weiner Finally Yanks Himself"--headline, New York Post, June 17


(We're really going to miss him when he's gone.)

Double Helix

The BBC TV movie Life Story about the discovery of the structure of DNA is on YouTube in ten parts.  I saw it years ago, and for those who remember science and what discovery feels like, it is a very true film.  Follow this to YouTube and you will be cued to continue on each of the parts.