Wednesday, June 6, 2018

IWSG~Pondering Labels

I'm not one to stand on a soapbox. Or a ladder for that matter - long, ugly, painful story for another time. But with everything that's going on in the world today this month's IWSG
For more participants.
question got to me. 

The question is: What's harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names?

Sounds like a justifiable bookish question. And it is. But coming up with a book title or character name (at least for me) labels said book or character with specific subliminal insights into what the book/character might be about. We guess, surmise, and think we know what we'll find on the inside. This got me thinking about the state of the world today and how lots of people preach about not being racist or a bigot or a religion hater or a hater in general, but don't really show that in their actions.

My view on this comes from my experiences in raising four children. The more I talked about or pointed something out to the kids the more emphasis they in turn put on it. Good or bad. Like the idea that climbing out a second story window to watch your five-year-old brother play hockey in the driveway is not okay. (My 2nd son may or may not have done this. O_o) I freaked out when I found him on the roof, kept talking about it - well, because I was freaked out - and that steered his attention to the roof and wanting to climb on it again and again. Bad. But when I talked about reading books, how that can take you anywhere you want to go and you can be anyone you want to be while reading, they wanted to read more. Good.

I see the political, religious, and economic issues of today through the same eyes. I see people for who they are because of the way they treat others, not for any other reason. If the world would focus on the good here - because there is a lot of good out there - then slowly, maybe even methodically, the world would begin to glow with the goodness we share instead of the hate and discontent spewed through the news and social media. I honestly see everyone as a human being. Plain and simple. And, even if I don't agree with your opinion, I respect it because it is your right just like breathing.

So I guess I do the total opposite while naming characters and creating titles, and both come easy to me. I purposefully give the reader a prejudice as to who this character might be or what this story could be about. And that can be as misleading as real life.
SPLAT ALERT!
YOU GUYS are A-mazing! I still can't believe you're my friends. I'm so lucky. Remember last month when I asked for support because Marked Beauty was up for an award? Well . . . she won, not one, but two awards! 

And it's all because you are my writer friends and readers and actually think what I'm doing matters. 

2018 Maine Romance Writers 'Strut Your Stuff' Grand Prize Winner - Readers Choice

2018 Maine Romance Writers Readers' Choice; YA/NA category

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

AND if you look closely you'll see what looks like a large pin with a heart and a silver book dangling from it. Every writer receives one of these pins with the heart engraved Maine Romance Writer. Each time the writer has a new book published, he/she receives another silver book! I absolutely love this pin!

Oh, and make sure you ENTER for your chance to WIN $250 cash in the Splash into Summer Giveaway I posted on Monday. Many ways to enter - even a FREE entry! Either scroll down to the post below this one or click HERE. Good luck!

So Readers (this includes writers because we're all readers), what intrigues you more the title of a book or the main characters' names? 

21 comments:

  1. Hi Sheri!

    CONGRATS! CONGRATS! CONGRATS!!!!!! So happy for you! It's nice to see some happy news on a blog for a change. YAY, YOU!!!!!

    Thanks for the caring comment on my blog... I appreciated it more than you know.... hugs.

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  2. Congratulations! Two awards.
    The news focuses so much on negative, which keeps the downward spiral going. There is still a lot of good in the world and that's what we should be sharing.
    If he likes the roof so much, maybe you are raising a mountain goat?

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  3. Woohoo! Congratulations to both awards!
    The roof trick is a heart stopper. And you're so right about not mentioning a word of the danger to the kids while talking them down. My own decided to sit on a balcony railing two stories up one day with her feet hanging outward. She was three.
    I sometimes wonder if the media focusing on all the negatives makes it worse. As with kids, positive often opens so many more doors.

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  4. Congratulations on your awards! That's amazing!

    I never really thought about naming characters and or coming up with book titles in that way, but you have an excellent point. A real eye-opener.

    For me, the title of the book intrigues me the most. Usually with the cover, it's the first thing I see that captures me.

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  5. Congrats! That's so amazing.

    "I see people for who they are because of the way they treat others" <3 this

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  6. Congratulations on the TWO awards!! Amazing:) I love that feeling when something good and right happens in a writer's life. We deal with enough rejection over the years.

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  7. Congratulations! That is wonderful. :) Yes, we should talk more about the good than the bad. I only have one kiddo, and I see the same thing, especially when he gets together with his friends and they start scheming.

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  8. Congrats!

    "I honestly see everyone as a human being." That's exactly how I feel. I never even knew what prejudice was until I moved to Arkansas.

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  9. I like how you approach characters' names. Congrats on the awards! That's fantastic news!

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  10. Huge congrats on the awards! I like that focus--intentionally creating a bias. That puts a whole new spin on it.

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  11. Hi Sheri - congratulations on the two awards ... brilliant - while the little pins with tiny silver books are a delight ... lovely - your story of your kids - ah well that's life as youngsters ... I didn't climb on a roof but managed other things! Cheers Hilary

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  12. Oh wow, congratulations on your well-deserved awards!! So exciting! I love the pins - awesome. :)

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  13. I can what you mean. At first glance it could change how we feel. Labels and tagging can be magical that way.

    Anna from elements of emaginette

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  14. Congratulations!!!! I'd seen your awards on Facebook, you must be glowing!!!

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  15. YAY!!!! Congrats!
    I love an intriguing title, but I find them so difficult to create! :)

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  16. I love your take on titles/names/labels.

    Congrats on the win and the obvious support you have. So awesome!!!

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  17. Congrats on the award! Excited for you. And I really like your approach to titles.

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  18. My younger sister and I would climb out the upstairs bedroom window and sit on the roof of the first story. We were preschool. And supposed to be taking a nap.

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  19. Congrats! That is such awesome news!

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  20. Congratulations on the rewards. You deserve them. Does a happy dance for you.

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  21. Congrats on the awards, and I love that pin!
    It's true names are labels. I think there are really two kinds of names, those given to us by others and those we choose ourselves. I think a lot about names in general, what they mean what they imply. And often my "placeholders" end up being the perfect fit for my characters. I guess they grow into them. Or maybe they were right all along.

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