But it's fascinating to me that a title might actually be the opposite of what the story is about, or at least not give the full picture, like Moneyball
A feed years ago I read a sci fi story called Happy Ending, and as you read the story you realised that was anything but.
I'll check that one out soon. Let me add here this: Since I’m teaching this course on how to get started writing here, let me explain why science fiction and so much of it that’s being written today by new writers is far from “literature,” meaning too much of this hit or miss getting-started writing doesn’t hit the reader’s heart the way it should and the reader can tell that it also doesn’t hit the writer’s heart on the journey of invention. The problem is that the bar is actually higher than for heightened reality fiction that I’m talking about in this essay: https://marytabor.substack.com/p/autobiography-and-fiction-get-ready and that I’ll discuss more soon in Lesson 16 of this online course that you’re, thank you!, reading. Here goes: John Gardner in The Art of Fiction explains the writer’s task: “…[W]hile verisimilar fiction may be described generally as fiction that persuades us of its authenticity through real-world documentation, using real or thoroughly lifelike locations and characters—real cities or cities we believe to be real although their names have been changed, real-life characters with actual or substituted names, and so forth—the line-by-line bulk of a realist’s work goes far beyond the accurate naming of streets and stores or accurate description of people and neighborhoods. He must present, moment by moment, concrete images drawn from careful observation of how people behave and he must render the connections between moments, the exact gestures, facial expressions, or turns of speech that, within any given scene, move human beings from emotion to emotion, from one instant in time to the next.”
Thanks I'll need to think about that more when I'm more awake. I agree there is certainly a lot of badly written sf around, but some of it is really good, whether in tugging at heartstrings or making you think. I think sf has long been regarded as a poor cousin in literature, which I think is rather a shame 😥
Always understood that titles are attention grabbers. And I agree, I think some love in stories is always wanted. Also, not having a predictable story makes the reader or watcher much more interested. Thanks Mary for the lesson.
I had never given a thought about the importance of titles till recently but it could make the difference between a reader picking up the book or not (zapping if it's an article.)
I definitely agree about the importance of titles. They've also been shown to be highly influential in the way that people frame news articles they read. (I reported on this a few years ago: https://www.teachwire.net/news/read-between-the-lines-how-the-news-machine-mangles-reporting-on-education/ )
But it's fascinating to me that a title might actually be the opposite of what the story is about, or at least not give the full picture, like Moneyball
A feed years ago I read a sci fi story called Happy Ending, and as you read the story you realised that was anything but.
Great food for thought, Mary, thanks!
Terry, Are you referring to Margaret Atwood's story "Happy Endings"?
No. I'll have to try and find it and let you know.
Fab story that I'll be writing about soon, among others.
Oh good, cos I don't know it. Here's the one I was referring to:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/68250/68250-h/68250-h.htm
I very much liked the structure of the story, and based a nonfiction story on it. I enjoyed playing around with the timeline, and kind of lulling the reader into a false sense of security : https://www.writersknowhow.org/articles/creative-writing-experiment-in-structure-unforeseen-consequences
I'll check that one out soon. Let me add here this: Since I’m teaching this course on how to get started writing here, let me explain why science fiction and so much of it that’s being written today by new writers is far from “literature,” meaning too much of this hit or miss getting-started writing doesn’t hit the reader’s heart the way it should and the reader can tell that it also doesn’t hit the writer’s heart on the journey of invention. The problem is that the bar is actually higher than for heightened reality fiction that I’m talking about in this essay: https://marytabor.substack.com/p/autobiography-and-fiction-get-ready and that I’ll discuss more soon in Lesson 16 of this online course that you’re, thank you!, reading. Here goes: John Gardner in The Art of Fiction explains the writer’s task: “…[W]hile verisimilar fiction may be described generally as fiction that persuades us of its authenticity through real-world documentation, using real or thoroughly lifelike locations and characters—real cities or cities we believe to be real although their names have been changed, real-life characters with actual or substituted names, and so forth—the line-by-line bulk of a realist’s work goes far beyond the accurate naming of streets and stores or accurate description of people and neighborhoods. He must present, moment by moment, concrete images drawn from careful observation of how people behave and he must render the connections between moments, the exact gestures, facial expressions, or turns of speech that, within any given scene, move human beings from emotion to emotion, from one instant in time to the next.”
Thanks I'll need to think about that more when I'm more awake. I agree there is certainly a lot of badly written sf around, but some of it is really good, whether in tugging at heartstrings or making you think. I think sf has long been regarded as a poor cousin in literature, which I think is rather a shame 😥
Always understood that titles are attention grabbers. And I agree, I think some love in stories is always wanted. Also, not having a predictable story makes the reader or watcher much more interested. Thanks Mary for the lesson.
Such insight and heart in your comment, Darcy. Grateful here to have you as a reader. More to come ... xo Mary
Another great article, thanks Mary.
I had never given a thought about the importance of titles till recently but it could make the difference between a reader picking up the book or not (zapping if it's an article.)
Enjoy reading the quotes too.
Lovely comment, Isabelle. Means much and I thank you.