Doom of the Fizzling Sizzle!

Sometimes all it takes is a little encouragement.  Sometimes we need a little more. 

Insecure Writers Support Group (brainchild of the indomitable Alex Cavanaugh!) is all that and then some!  Stop on by and see for yourself the first Wednesday of every month! :-)

Suppose a title came to you in a dream, or while you were waiting on an oil change but by the time you sat down, ready to run with it you found that your muse had lapsed into a coma. 

Does your finger hover over the backspace button; ready to obliterate your epic title? Sure, you could throw the baby out with the bath water or you could simply set it aside. You know there’s a story, a poem, something you wanted to write, so go for it!  Nevermind the title, for now.  Besides, you can still backspace (or delete) later, or change it to fit what you’re actually writing. 

I can’t tell you how liberating it was when I finally learned that. No really, it was ridiculous (even laughable now) for me think that just because I came up with a title I had to stick with it. After all, isn’t revision part of the process? 

In fact it was nearly a smoldering cow pie once, when an editor loved the story but hated the title.  Turned out it was only one word she didn’t like.  Capers.  The word just didn’t sizzle, she said.  Sigh.  And then she suggested a word that summed the story and crackled it right off the page! “Tortilla Bandits” was a great success and further proof (as if I needed it – ha!) that editors do know their business:-) 

Happy “Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month”!

SIZZLE! SIZZLE!

Neil Eskelin,   Afterhours Inspirational Stories

Everyone likes excitement. When people bubble with personal energy, others enjoy being around them. Business firms like to hire a staff that brings zest to the establishment. Some national restaurant chains, for example, train their staff to form an impromptu ensemble and sing "Happy Birthday: or "Happy Anniversary" to their customers on special occasions. It produces more than noise. People keep coming back.
One restaurant, knowing how people respond to excitement, devised a special plan. When a customer ordered a steak dinner, the chef placed the meal on a hot steel plate. Then, just before the waiter left the kitchen, he would drop an ice cube on the platter.
The waiter was instructed, "Walk slowly to the table. We want everyone to hear the sound of that hot platter." It wasn't the steak that was sizzling, but the ice. The plan worked like instant advertising. If customers were in the process of ordering, they'd hear that sound and choose a steak. The sizzle produced the sale.
Today, think creatively. Ask yourself, "How can I add some excitement to what I plan to deliver?" 

Do you ever have a title in mind before you begin the story? Do you agree the title is the all-important Emissary of your book?