THE MAGPIE'S TALE
Well, I haven't made much headway on the novel over the last few days. The biggest problem has been work. I work in elections and the run-up to November 3 plus the 16-hour workday on Tuesday has left little time to do anything else.
But I have come to one big decision: a working title. I got the idea for calling the book "The Magpie’s Tale" from a bit of doggerel I found while looking for something else.
The Magpie Rhyme:
One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
And seven for a secret never to be told.
This rhyme has been floating around in the UK and Ireland for a long time. It fits in perfectly with my main plot, especially the last line. There is sorrow aplenty, maybe a dash of joy, a girl and a boy for sure, the silver of betrayal, the gold of greed, and a secret never to be told.
This title also has the added benefit of being conducive to a series of similar titles in the event I have more than one book in me. For sure, one would have to be named after the goldfinch, which figured strongly in one of my earliest and favorite essays.
Perhaps my favorite prefatory verse was in a book written by Richard Condon, called "Winter
Kills." These sayings are the creation of the author but are attributed by him to something he
calls the Keener's Manual:
Spring seduces,
Summer thrills,
Autumn sates,
Winter kills.
Minutes trudge,
Hours run,
Years fly,
Decades stun.
November 4, 2009
| blog comments powered by Disqus |
