No Writer Is An Island

[image error]As with most aspects of life, if you're serious about writing, you're going to need a serious support system. I know ALL of your ideas are sheer brilliance, but you have to bounce them around a little before you throw them out there as gold. Trust me. I'm no different from other writers, I have several ideas in the works at all times. Of course *I* think they're brilliant since they've made it past the "No, that's stupid" phase of thought. With me so far?

I'm reluctant to share my ideas before they're complete because I fear that they're so brilliant someone might steal them. Please cast my confidence and narcissism aside because I assure you that is not what I'm about. More than anything, writers want to be read. However, we definitely don't want to read our ideas coming from someone else's pen. That being said…I'm going to jump out there and share an example.

I had this brilliant idea for a book that would delve into a genre I have yet to explore: the paranormal. I've been ruminating on this one for more than a year now. I had the perfect title, perfect start, and had even managed to find a couple of willing victims to contribute to the project. As the project neared the collaboration/writing stage, I unveiled my title…what I thought was an intelligent and luring one-word lull to an interesting non-fiction work.

Are you ready, here it comes: PRINCIPALITIES. Isn't it beautiful? The first reaction I received from my comrades in arms was, "What does that mean?" So, I proceeded to explain, "It mean evil spirits." Right? WRONG. The title is based on a verse from the Bible:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. ~ Ephesians 6:12

The second reaction went something like, "If I were searching for a paranormal book to read, I'd never search that. Even if it came up in the results, that title wouldn't prompt me to buy/read the book."

Well, that's a huge problem, so there went my gorgeous title out the window. It had to go. Not only did it not represent the project well, I found that I didn't know the definition of "prinicipality" which is as follows:

prin·ci·pal·i·ty [prin-suh-pal-i-tee]

noun, plural -ties.

a state ruled by a prince, usually a relatively small state or a state that falls within a larger state such as an empire.
the position or authority of a prince or chief ruler; sovereignty; supreme power.
the rule of a prince of a small or subordinate state.

Boy, was I way off. In my defense, it does have a different theological meaning:

principalities, Theology .

an order of angels.
supramundane powers often in conflict with God. Ephes. 6:12.

As a writer, you have to be able to separate yourself from your work and look at it from a reader's standpoint. My title actually fit if you use the second definition, but there's a serious combination of thought that must take place for it to work, and that is why it doesn't work. I'm not writing for an academic paper or journal, I'm not doing my research at the Harvard library, so it's really ineffective to title my book like I am. Keep it simple = reach more readers.

Thank goodness I conferred with my contributors! I was set and completely prepared to proceed with an ineffective title! You can apply this idea to all areas of your writing in progress. Ask yourself a few questions:

Is my title simple and effective?
Who is my target audience?
Does EVERY word in my work cater to that audience?
Have I separated myself from my work by having it edited?

If you answered "No" or "I don't know" to any of these questions, you need to reach out to some objective opinions, and I don't mean your mom. Stay tuned. We will discuss where to go for constructive criticism next.