"A word after a word after a word is power" - Margaret Atwood

BRIDGET WHELAN

A blog for readers and writers

A blog about the stories we tell each other and how we tell them...

Tuesday 14 September 2010

Fanfare! Trumpets! Announcing new blog title

I'm thrilled by the response to this competition - not only by the number of responses, but also the many thoughtful and reflective suggestions made and the few that made me laugh out loud. There were also a few I didn't 'get' and I can't help feeling, dear reader, that the fault was in me. 
In true competition tradition, I'll give you the ones that didn't make it, but deserve an honourable mention.

UNDERTOW - suggested by Elizabeth who was inspired by a line in a Seamus Heaney poem. It's good, isn't it?  An undertow is a strong current that flows  away from the shore, going literally against the tide - something that writers have to be prepared to do. In the end though it didn't make it because, although it works as a title, as a blog title it wouldn't attract casual readers interested in writing.


THE FIVE RULES OF WRITING - suggested by Maria. I'd read a blog called that. I might not agree with it, but I would definitely read it. I haven't chosen it because I don't know what the five rules are...

THE INFINITE MONKEY THEOREM- suggested by Jill. She also supplied this helpful illustrative quote is from Wikipedia

Mr Burns states: "This is a thousand monkeys working at a thousand typewriters. Soon they'll have written the greatest novel known to man. Let's see. (reading) 'It was the best of times, it was the "blurst" of times'? You stupid monkey!"
Why didn't I choose it? It's good, it's very good but it's not quite me. Jill, you can have it back on one condition: use for the title for your own writing blog -  I'll be the first to follow.

THE WRITER'S BLOCK - suggested by Chuqua. Almost went with this - the only reason I didn't was because I found a very good and active blog with that title. (Difficult this title business, isn't it?) 

FRIPPERY - suggested by Stephen because "Frippery is a word that is just not being used these days but I hope it conveys the ephemeral nature of blogging...".
He's right, frippery and blogging go together and it is a word that deserves to be part of our vocabulary.  Still, it doesn't have that immediate writerly quality.... so reluctantly no...

INVENTING THE WHELAN - suggested by Heather. Love it. Love it. May use it (or a variation) somehow someway soon.

There were a lot of very good ones that nearly made. THE DIGITAL INKWELL from Maggi, WRITING BY-WAYS and WORDS TO WRITERS from Vic, WRITE UP YOUR STREET from Alice and no less than 11 from Jazz including WORD CATCHER, ADDICTED TO THE WORD and FOR THE LOVE OF THE WORD.

But finally I've made up my mind....no more flaphing around...

Da-da! Da-dum!I've gone for Eileen's CONNECTING THE POETRY AND PROSE....

-- because I've loved E.M.Forester's Howard's End since I studied it for A level 
-- because I'm a prose writer who enjoys poetry, (when you're writing a novel read poetry - you don't want to get immersed in someone else's story but you do want to surround yourself with rich language used with precision...)
-- because I think it works. Hope you do too.
Although I said there would be no second prize, Jazz offered so many good ideas - all of them workable - that I really feel she deserves a reward. So if she emails me her address I'll send a copy of A GOOD CONFESSION to her too....




 


3 comments:

Jazz said...

I love the new blog title, it's very fitting and literary. I think you made a great decision and looking at the other suggestions (not so much my own) I can see it was a tough decision: there are some great titles there. I hope those who suggested them will put them to use.

I'm very honoured to receive a copy of A Good Confession, that is very kind of you. I will send you my email immediately. Many, many thanks.

Jazz

Moja said...

I like your new blog title but I love "Inventing the Whelan" even more. It's short and memorable, and an excellent play on words. Makes me wish my own surname was Whelan! I hope you use it sometime in the future.

BRIDGET said...

Inventing the Whelan is just brilliant (or a variation - Reinventing the Whelan, especially as writing has changed my life...). Doh! Should I change my mind...and make connecting the sub heading. What do you think? I told you I was rubbish at titles and now I am fickle as well..