I was thinking the other daythat it pays to give a work-in-progress a name.
Even if it’s a working title, unlikely to remain, just give it a name.
It’s like having a kid – you kind of need to have something to call it. “Hey, you”, “WiP” or “That thing that’s tormenting me constantly” (hey, just like a kid!) just doesn’t cut it.
“I don’t want to give it a name until it’s finished” … that’s like waiting until your kid presents a personality before you name her/him … on the 34th birthday you can yell “Hey! He’s a Norbert! Norbert, your years of being Number 5 are over. Congrats!”
Giving it a name, a title, makes it real, crystalises it, makes it something serious – it makes you take yourself seriously as a writer.
So. Give it a name, even it it’s Hal.
Brilliant!
The wee yins have grown into their names. Are books the same?
The drive-bys are sensational!
Well, at least you don’t have to pay to send the books to uni.
hahaha I like that, I think I’m going to give my next book the pet name of Hal!…or maybe Petunia…
Anything that doesn’t present a name to me becomes Bertha – male or female characters, book wip titles…
They don’t seem to like it and correct the missing information. (Although son’s name arrived a bit before birth with a “Aha! That’s it moment. Very considerate of him really).