Resonating Titles

Saturday, March 29, 2008

We have just seen how a resonant title lends resonance to a story (e.g., Death in the Afternoon). Resonant chapter titles do likewise. Alternatively, some authors name the parts of a novel with resonant titles. Such titles often use metaphors or play on a familiar opposite. For example, the title "Nothing Comes to Those Who Wait" plays on the familiar opposite saying All things come to those

comments | | Read More...

Resonance of Invoking Death

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Invoking death resonates because it foreshadows. You can invoke the specter of death with imagery, a metaphor, an omen, or a premonition. If the story ends with the death of your main character, invoking death at the outset really resonates.Shakespeare invoked death in Juliet's first words about Romeo after meeting him:Go ask his name. If he be married,My grave is like to be my wedding bed.

comments | | Read More...

"Messed-Up, Untidy" Characters

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Via Curiosities at The Millions:Richard Russo: "My fictional Eliot [Spitzer] would be complex, would contain paradoxes. He would not be a hypocrite. My Eliot would believe with his whole heart in his crusades against the corrupt and the powerful and the privileged, even as he worked studiously to undermine his legacy. Fiction can accommodate such paradoxes, provided they're explained."I'm sorry,

comments | | Read More...

Resonance of Authenticity

Monday, March 17, 2008

The imprimatur of an authority figure lends words credibility via resonance. As a novelist you can take advantage of this fact for greater authenticity. For, in a novel credibility is that all-important commodity known as suspension of disbelief. You can make a character seem authentic by anointing him with the resonance of authority. Just have him expound on the ideas of an anointed authority

comments | | Read More...

A Weekly Writing Prompt

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Get a weekly writing prompt of three words every Wednesday at Three Word Wednesday.This week's prompt is: Apartment, Began, NumbSee an example of how to play at Write from Karen: The Doctor is Human After All.Suggestions:My eyes quickly skipped over the gloves and landed on the waste basket tucked into a hole under the counter top, the huge red triangle stating it was for hazardous materials only

comments | | Read More...

Resonance through Reference to Religion/Invoking Authority

There are many ways to use references to religion for resonance. Poetry and literature often gain it through epigraphs. They also often gain it through Biblical allusions or through allusions to other famous words. Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory and Evan Hunter's Vespers both derive resonance from the religious reference in their titles. Actions like murder that take place at the same

comments | | Read More...