tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post7151147445760066011..comments2024-03-18T19:00:03.047-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: From Alice to ZorroLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-82821899923173827982021-04-04T09:51:49.379-04:002021-04-04T09:51:49.379-04:00Yep, these days everyone knows Longmire, but not m...Yep, these days everyone knows Longmire, but not many of us remember Longstreet.<br /><br />Good thought, about using Shakespeare quotes--there are so many of them! You take care, and thanks as always for stopping in.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-10093036905453518942021-04-04T01:11:12.932-04:002021-04-04T01:11:12.932-04:00Oh my gosh! Longstreet! I'm reading one of Bay...Oh my gosh! Longstreet! I'm reading one of Baynard Kendrick's novels (about Duncan Maclain) that inspired the series! As for titles, I usually grab mine from song titles or Shakespeare quotes.Jeff Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00316081079528920123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-61083614112544932942021-04-03T23:21:17.006-04:002021-04-03T23:21:17.006-04:00Hey Elizabeth. Glad you got that Fredric Brown bo...Hey Elizabeth. Glad you got that Fredric Brown book--I believe it includes all his mystery/suspense stories, and some of them are fantastic. Hope you'll like 'em as much as I did.<br /><br />Apparently lots of writers like using song lyrics/titles, etc. in (or as) their titles. As Steve and others have said, titles are so important they deserve a lot of thought. I'm not at all sure I choose correctly sometimes, but I try.<br /><br />Thanks so much for the note!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-74931804825240055612021-04-03T22:37:27.456-04:002021-04-03T22:37:27.456-04:00John, I realize this is off-topic but thank you so...John, I realize this is off-topic but thank you so much for letting me know about Fredric Brown's book of mystery stories, "Miss Darkness". It was available through Amazon, I bought it & placed it on top of Mt. TBR 😎 That book is almost the size of a telephone book, which I'm old enough to remember very well!<br /><br />About story titles, I've never used a character's name in a title. I use words from song lyrics sometimes.Elizabeth Dearbornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14714209544959819305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-73943032045935790222021-04-03T17:51:28.839-04:002021-04-03T17:51:28.839-04:00I didn't take it that way at all, O'Neil. ...I didn't take it that way at all, O'Neil. <br /><br />I suspect choosing a character-name title isn't the first thing any of us think of, when we come up with a story idea. But it sometimes seems to fit, probably if the main character is strong enough--and especially in the case of some of those series TV shows. John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-27453522731973598512021-04-03T17:45:41.695-04:002021-04-03T17:45:41.695-04:00Michael, I didn't remember George & Leo. ...Michael, I didn't remember George & Leo. Interesting! <br /><br />If you recall the first of those series, The Bob Newhart Show, that had some of the best comedy writing ever, at that time (early 70s), along with The Mary Tyler Moore Show, M*A*S*H, and several others.<br /><br />I've long been a fan of Bob Newhart--he often performed live at IBM awards conferences, so I saw him onstage at some of those--and I think he and Jonathan Winters were among the funniest of the old-time standup comics. To see that kind of thing, Google "IBM Comedy--Bob Newhart" and watch "A Call from Herman Hollerith." <br /><br />Thanks for the info!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-6494311508477337302021-04-03T17:37:49.657-04:002021-04-03T17:37:49.657-04:00Looking at my early post on this, I hope no one co...Looking at my early post on this, I hope no one considered it criticism of anyone using character-named titles. They work well.O'Neil De Nouxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03142721824657611738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-62354182954797925242021-04-03T17:00:12.465-04:002021-04-03T17:00:12.465-04:00You mention Newhart, which reminds me that Bob New...You mention <i>Newhart,</i> which reminds me that Bob Newhart may be the only (or one of the few) actors who had four different shows named after him. The first three were <i>The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart,</i> and <i>Bob.</i> I think he once joked that his next show would have to be titled <i>The.</i> Instead, it was titled <i>George & Leo,</i> George being Newhart's actual first name.Michael Brackenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01072019804281421944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-76837066328577421672021-04-03T13:57:11.897-04:002021-04-03T13:57:11.897-04:00I never thought about Shakespeare and his titles, ...I never thought about Shakespeare and his titles, Steve. Good point! And I've always liked the idea of song titles for story/novel titles. <br /><br />I too find myself using a working title that often changes in the course of the story--although I know some writers who say they always have a title firmly in mind before the writing starts. To each his/her own.<br /><br />Thanks as always!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-80531788350665191042021-04-03T13:39:27.839-04:002021-04-03T13:39:27.839-04:00Fun lists, John. Shakespeare used characters as t...Fun lists, John. Shakespeare used characters as the titles of 28 of his plays, so I guess it works. I have never used a character name for any published work, but I have at least one in my list of unused titles, for a Guthrie novel focussing on several of the female supporting characters. It never got beyond the "here's an idea..." stage. On the other hand, I frequently use song titles or allusions to songs...<br /><br />Titles are hard because they have to do so much of the preliminary heavy lifting. I almost always start with a working title and change it when I understand the story and see the important ideas more clearly. Steve Liskowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07107703903536520140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-2592313674698412562021-04-03T11:03:46.771-04:002021-04-03T11:03:46.771-04:00Joe, those names in titles might be working, for y...Joe, those names in titles might be working, for you--Etta has done well for herself, in terms of recognition! (Congratulations again on all your recent accomplishments!)<br /><br />As mentioned, it's hard to say when that kind of thing works and when it doesn't. If you're like me, you often monkey around with dozens of title possibilities until something sounds exactly right. And for me that's sometimes after the story's complete or almost complete. As folks smarter than I am have said, there isn't any right or wrong way to do some of this.<br /><br />Thanks as always!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-20691628702541180642021-04-03T10:57:34.788-04:002021-04-03T10:57:34.788-04:00Eve, I think your track record shows that you'...Eve, I think your track record shows that you're already doing the right thing. My story titles range from locations ("Dentonville") to events ("Stopover") to collectives ("Ladies of the North") to themes ("Survival") to MacGuffins ("The Blue Wolf") to names ("Lucifer") to phrases ("In the Wee Hours") to dates ("The First of October") to double meanings ("Weekend Getaway") to heaven knows what else. Whatever works . . .John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-54503786935272027792021-04-03T10:38:38.565-04:002021-04-03T10:38:38.565-04:00Entertaining read, John! To add to your list, the...Entertaining read, John! To add to your list, there was "Spenser: For Hire" and its short lived spin-off, "A Man Called Hawk."<br /><br />As far as I can tell I've only used a character name in one story title, "Etta at the End of the World." Now I'm going to challenge myself to do it in whatever story I write next.Joe Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06317560144998411460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-65379696614732228322021-04-03T10:24:31.585-04:002021-04-03T10:24:31.585-04:00This is interesting, because I've almost never...This is interesting, because I've almost never had a story with a name in the title. Maybe it's time to change.Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-21849684659914253982021-04-03T10:12:42.080-04:002021-04-03T10:12:42.080-04:00Hey Don! I was going, in those particular lists, ...Hey Don! I was going, in those particular lists, for two-word names, with or without job titles after them. Kildare's first name was James, I think, but that wasn't in the title of the series. Hey, here's some Welby trivia for you: I've heard that Marcus Welby's house (in those external shots) was the same as Beaver Cleaver's. Now THAT's essential information.<br /><br />I still hum the theme from Ben Casey now and then, and picture the gurney bursting through those swinging doors at the beginning. (If I could get this kind of thing out of my head, I'd have room for a lot more story ideas . . .)John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-66306699949597722502021-04-03T09:59:14.870-04:002021-04-03T09:59:14.870-04:00How could you mention Ben Casey and Marcus Welby--...How could you mention Ben Casey and Marcus Welby--but not Dr. Kildare?Don Coffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07198988872512792834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-52560623207119010522021-04-03T09:38:37.640-04:002021-04-03T09:38:37.640-04:00Josh, I remember "Eb and Flo," and I als...Josh, I remember "Eb and Flo," and I also remember thinking that was a perfect title. (Double meanings are always good.)<br /><br />As mentioned before, I think we writers rarely use our characters' names in our titles. I actually remember considering doing it in the BCMM story you referred to ("Rooster Creek") and decided to use a location instead. Choosing titles is sometimes easy and sometimes difficult. BTW, I'm headed over to the EQ blog to read your essay now.<br /><br />Thanks for the thoughts!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-58055780043147110042021-04-03T09:29:11.127-04:002021-04-03T09:29:11.127-04:00Nice synchronicity, John, that your post appears d...Nice synchronicity, John, that your post appears during the week I have a piece about titles at EQMM's "Something Is Going to Happen" blog.<br /><br />I haven't done character-name titles often. My first two published stories both had protagonist E.Q. Griffen's name in their titles, and my third story, "Sam Buried Caesar," was a take on Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe with a kid named Sam as the client of a neighborhood detective agency. "Annika Andersson" was an EQMM story I co-wrote with the late, great Stanley Cohen. And I've used the names of real people twice, in "The Groucho Marx Murders" and "The Stonewall Jackson Death Site."<br /><br />My favorite, though, was a story I called "Eb and Flo," which appeared in the first issue of <i>Black Cat Mystery Magazine</i> (along with your "Rooster Creek"). The Eb and Flo in the story are the narrator's aunt and uncle, an elderly couple living in a nursing home, and they were closely — and lovingly — inspired by my Uncle Ben and Aunt Florence, who had lived in a nursing home not far from <i>my</i> home for the last years of their long and lovely lives.joshpachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123432071405643210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-40566321417732839292021-04-03T08:49:11.388-04:002021-04-03T08:49:11.388-04:00O'Neil, any discussion of the process of choos...O'Neil, any discussion of the process of choosing effective titles is interesting to me. I suppose the key to whether to use a character name for a title is whether that name is "catchy" enough (like John Raven Beau, or Mistik) to serve the purpose. Those two sound perfect, to me. <br /><br />For me, I admit that using character names as a part of the title (like all those possessives) is sometimes a case of not being able to think of a better title otherwise. The reason for examining some of those old character titles in TV was that there were so many more of them that I would've thought. Probably because the main character (and actor) was everything to those little shows (Columbo, Maverick, etc.).<br /><br />Hope all's well with you and yours. Stay in touch!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-24693470525690938682021-04-03T07:34:06.430-04:002021-04-03T07:34:06.430-04:00Great list. I looked though my published short sto...Great list. I looked though my published short stories and discover I have used character-named titles only a few times. Of my 32 published novels, only two have character-named titles, JOHN RAVEN BEAU (first book in a police procedural series) and my young adult superhero novel – MISTIK. Interesting.O'Neil De Nouxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03142721824657611738noreply@blogger.com