>Titles. Did you see “Titles That Didn’t Smell as Sweet” in the New York Times today? I wish it had stuck with book titles, but the issue is similar with movies. My novel has been through several titles and I don’t even have an agent yet. I’m writing a second book and I’ve given it a placeholder title that doesn’t really mean anything until I finish a draft and have a sense of what it’s really about and what I want to emphasize in revisions. Story titles work the same way. I’ve had some problematic stories that I didn’t feel good about until a new title crystalized the story’s meaning for me. Do painters have this problem?
The Coup. I’ve been president of an organization for the past three years (not counting the year I spent as chairman of the group exploring creation of the organization of which I then became president). Until yesterday, when a new president took over. Not exactly a coup–when I wrote the by-laws three years ago I anticipated difficulty in finding a replacement for myself, so I included term limits that I hoped would persuade the Board that I was serious when I announced my intention to step down. It was immensely satisfying to recruit new people to the Board and to know almost a year ago that I’d found a successor. So as of today, I am “Immediate Past President,” a title with which I am quite comfortable.
Packing. Didn’t I just get back from Sewanee? I leave on Tuesday for Bread Loaf–a bit longer of a drive than it was to Tennessee so I’m allowing myself an overnight in Middlebury, VT before arrival at Bread Loaf on Wednesday–so tomorrow is going to be occupied almost entirely with departure preparations. Didn’t I just get back?
>I hope you’ll be blogging at Bread Loaf, Cliff. You will. Right?
>I plan to, Jim. It’s a little tougher than at Sewanee because I won’t have wireless (or any other internet connection) in my room, but the computer lab is more central. It may not be daily, but I’ll try to stay regular. (I like your new “picture” by the way–and I ordered TKTLB the other day so it should be in my local bookstore when I get home.)