Simon The Time Travelling Cat's Dubious Advice | IWSG

The Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is a place to share and encourage, where writers can express their doubts and concerns without appearing foolish or weak. It's a great place to mingle with like minded people each month during IWSG day. I'm co-hosting this month, along with Beverly Stowe McClure, Tonja Drecker, and Tyrean Martinson.

Every month there's an optional question which may prompt folks to share advice, insights, a personal experience or story. Some folks answer the question in their IWSG blog post or let it inspire them if they're struggling with what to say.

This month's question is:

"What's harder for you to come up with, book titles or character names?"

Check out how people have answered this month's question, as well as the other insecurities and writing topics they may have shared by visiting the IWSG sign-up list here. If you want to see how I answered the question, have a look below. 

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Cat image via The Graphics Fairy

I was lying down with my eyes closed when Simon the Time Traveling Cat jumped on me. He pressed his gray paws into my stomach firmly. When I didn't respond, he inched upward and then batted me in the face. "Wake up, lady!"

"Shush, Simon. I'm busy," I said trying unsuccessfully to push him away.

"Busy with what? Digesting that entire pack of Oreos you just ate?"

I opened my eyes, wiped a few telltale black crumbs off of my shirt. "No, I'm trying to think of character names for the cozy mystery I'm working on. There are two young guys who work on fishing charter boats, a real estate agent, and a young couple who live on a catamaran. Any ideas?"

"That's easy. Simon."

"Simon? Maybe. But for which character."

"All of them."

"Huh?"

"Geez, lady. Sometimes, you're so dense. Name everyone in your book Simon." He curled up on my neck and played with my earring. 

I turned my head and stared at him. "Don't you think that would get a little confusing?"

"Well, only if your readers are as stupid as you. Besides, it will be good for sales. Who wouldn't want to read about me?"

I picked Simon up and placed him on the table. "You do realize that this book isn't about you, don't you?"

Simon lay down on top of the empty Oreo bag. After washing behind his ears for a few moments, he turned to me and said, "I guess that explains your really poor Amazon ranking. Your characters and their names suck."

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I find character names a lot harder to come up with than book titles. Although I'm not sure how great they are, it was pretty easy to come up with the titles for my cozy sailing mystery series. Basically,  variations on murder with a nautical theme (Murder at the Marina, Bodies in the Boatyard, Poisoned by the Pier etc.). Having said that, the names in my cozy mysteries are heaps easier to dream up, than the ones were for my fantasy short story published in last year's IWSG anthology (Hero Lost). I wrote a blog post about the process - Imaginary Language & Character Names in Fantasy Stories - if you want to check it out.

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And in other news, the release of my debut novel, >>Murder at the Marina<< is on June 21st. Tons of people have volunteered to support the release (thank you!), so there's going to be a blog tour & fiesta running from June 21st - July 4th. More details about the participants on Wednesday, June 20th.

If you signed up for an ARC, you should have received an email by now with a link to download it. If you haven't, please drop me an email at ellenjacobsonauthor (at) gmail (dot) com.

A dilapidated sailboat for your anniversary - not very romantic. 

A dead body on board - even worse.

My cozy mystery, >>Murder at the Marina<<, will be released on June 21, 2018 and is now available for pre-order at Amazon (US) | Amazon (CA) | Amazon (UK) | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Apple iBooks | Google Play

A paperback version will available closer to the release date. Find out more on Goodreads, check out the advance reviews, and add to your To-Read list.

Have you ever been given some really dubious advice? Did you follow it? What do you find harder to come up with - book titles or character names?

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