All Change – My relationship with titles

After much deliberation and finally after talking it though with some members who came to the SCBWI Manchester critique group yesterday I’ve decided to change the titles of my Holocaust projects, associated blogs and Facebook pages. Potatoes in Spring now becomes The House on Schellberg Street and The House on Schellberg Street turns into Clara’s Story.

One of my beta readers anyway has already told me that they preferred The House on Schellberg Street as the title for the first story.  It did worry me a little that only one strand of the story actually takes place at the house but in fact only one third of Clara’s story does anyway. Possibly the first story does overall have more to do with the house:

Renate thought she was going to live there when she was being sent to England.

The strand of the story that happens there is really important and leaves the way open for a third book set in this era.

It poses a question at the end.

For a short while anyway, The House on Schellberg Street did become the title of story number one. However, I then decided it was excellent for number two. Now that Clara’s story is becoming more complex it seems less appropriate.  

I think yesterday I talked myself into this.  It wasn’t really so much that my friends persuaded me. The allowed me to persuade myself.

I rarely use the title I’ve worked with for the eventual title of a text. It’s the one thing I’d never worry about if an editor wanted to change it. I’d assume they knew better than me. I’m not good at titles and blurbs but am good at names and synopses. Each according to their strength.

I never worry about the title, though. I’m fairly confident usually that the right one will present itself. I fell reasonably satisfied with the decision I’ve made here.  

If I’d had more time I would have written less

I took the first chapter of the Hani strand to the Manchester SCBWI critique group yesterday. I have actually twiddled with that chapter quite a lot recently. A couple of people made the comment that the first part of the chapter didn’t seem necessary. I am tending to agree. I can skip straight to halfway through the chapter quite probably.

I hesitate a little, though, for I know that the beginning to this chapter echoes the beginning of the Renate strand and may therefore be appropriate. Between the two of them, these chapters really show us how much each girl was looking forward to spending time with the other. It probably won’t be entirely apparent until I do put the whole book together and I haven’t had time to do that yet.

Today, though, I have created a table showing how the three strands weave together in one timeline. I did this because I was struggling a little with the Renate strand. I think I have created something that is balanced now.  

The Hani strand is about right in length. However, I am going to have to cut back on the Renate one. Otherwise we’ll have a novel that is over 120,000 words long – a little too long for a teen novel, I think.   

Much of the extra writing is helping me as a writer to get into the story. I haven’t finished doing that yet nor have I had time to finish the novel.

QED: If I’d had more time I would have written less.