A rose by any other name... means you weren't paying enough attention in Science class

Like Stephenie Meyer, who woke up one morning with the entire Twilight saga all mapped out and neatly compartmentalised into a trilogy in a dream, you too find yourself struck by inspiration on the evening walk to the corner curry shop. While the man at the till is taking his time totting up the bill, you fret and agonise about being five hundred yards away from your trusty laptop. The minute the curry is in the microwave, you are furiously scribbling the main outline of the plot that promises to shake up the world… you are only about twelve months and one willing publisher away from your destiny...

Read the full article in the April 2011 issue of Writing World

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Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

1645 words
Humour/Science Fiction
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"I definitely enjoyed it! I like it very much. I like the idea of asking authors how they choose names. Perfect! This is a very nice examination of the whole question... a good round-up of how different authors picked names."

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

"Great title."

Suzanne Ruthven

Editor

The New Writer

What's in a name?

“Once upon a time,” I begin my story, “there lived a king whose name was…” Here I stop. Henry? No, too common. John? Too short. George? Nah, I keep misspelling it while typing fast. Besides, why am I limiting this to English names? The story certainly doesn’t require it.

Let’s begin again. “His name was…” Mbwango? Hmm, a bit of a tongue twister. Kwon Yun Ming Chan? Too long. Muhammad? Not exclusive enough, too prolific and popular. Dmitri? Suddenly I’m trying too hard – and am still stuck on the first page of what was supposed to be my masterpiece.

One of my major problems when writing any story isn’t...
Read the full article in the March/April 2010 issue of Writer's Digest

or

Request to read the original article via email for just 99p! (T&C apply)

950 words
Humour
US publication
Includes exclusive quotes from best-selling authors David Baldacci, David Nobbs, Debby Holt, Jeffrey Archer and Jonathan Kellerman!

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Words from the Wise

"I definitely enjoyed it!"

Moira Allen

Publisher

Writing World

"I thought your article was great fun and it was a pleasure to be involved in it! All (the) best, Debby"

Debby Holt

Best-selling Author

The Ex-Wife's Survival Guide, etc.

"(Your) article (was) very interesting"

David Nobbs

Best-selling Author

The Reginald Perrin books series, etc.