A highly effective title is not just catchy. It is true to the book. It provides a sample of the writing style and the story to come. That's a big job for one little sentence fragment! Luckily, fantastic titles have some elements in common. Mix and match these elements to create your own legendary title.
Around the World in 10 Books
One of the things I'm most grateful to my parents for is their push for me to travel. By the time I was sixteen, I had tramped all over the United States and visited six countries. Not bad, especially since we always lived in the same small town in Tennessee (which I love dearly). Still, … Continue reading Around the World in 10 Books
Pictures of Hollis Woods: can places have souls?
I've devoured several new and brilliant books in the last few weeks, but today I'm in the mood for a throwback. The first time I read Patricia Reilly Giff's Pictures of Hollis Woods, I was ten, maybe eleven? I read it again when I was fifteen or sixteen, then again when I was around nineteen. Something I've noticed … Continue reading Pictures of Hollis Woods: can places have souls?
Let’s Get Meta: a look at analogies and why we use them
As I read a novel, I like to collect some of its most evocative phrases and store them in my journal. Leafing through that journal, I've noticed that analogies (metaphors, similes, and the like) far outweigh all other types of phrases, which has led me to ponder the allure of the gems that make up … Continue reading Let’s Get Meta: a look at analogies and why we use them
Dress Up Your Prose with Poetry
Confession: I am not a poet. That’s not to say that I don’t appreciate poetry. I do! I admire many little turns of phrase, EE Cummings writing that "nothing, not even the rain, has such small hands” or Anis Mojgani concluding that his wife makes him feel “like honey and trombones, like honey and trombones.” … Continue reading Dress Up Your Prose with Poetry
Song of Achilles: Imagery of the Gods
Have any of you had one of those moments when your senses are all in harmony? The colors and shapes around you, the feelings in your heart, the taste on your tongue, the sounds in the background, the scent in the air? I had one of those moments at approximately 12:48 AM, Friday night. I was in … Continue reading Song of Achilles: Imagery of the Gods
Tess of d’Urbervilles: the Devil’s in the Details
Read a few passages that demonstrate Thomas Hardy's mastery of detailed imagery.
