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Right, so lately I've been making myself miserable trying to think of a possible new title for Swacit (since "Somewhere a Clock is Ticking" is the name of a Snow Patrol song). I'm not sure you're allowed to name a book after a song that isn't yet public domain, even though bands steal names from books all the time (My Chemical Romance comes from an Irvine Welsh novel and Steely Dan is the name of the dildo in Naked Lunch, which, heh...)
The trouble is I now have the title so interwoven into the themes of the book that I don't want to change it and even if I did, wouldn't know what to change it to.
How about...
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill... and Came Back Down Dead.
Wait... shit...
Chase's suggestions: Someplace A Clock is Ticking or A Clock Ticks... Somewhere
AHA! I see what you did there.
Lol, I'm screwed when it comes to naming the second one.
I did go ahead and change Adge's last name to Landau. It needed to be more Jewish. I've been writing a scene with his grandma, btw. All I'll say is that it includes a good deal of Yiddish and the line "Mama, please don't rub Melanie's uterus." Good times.
When Katelyn was over the other night, we started weaving plot bunnies which I'm going to post here lest I forget them:
1. It started off with the fic Katelyn is writing about Alan's parents, Scott and Nicole, taking the children fishing in the stream when they're about 7. The children use sharpened sticks that Scott gave them much to Nicole's diapproval. None of them are successful, except Alan who spears possibly the ugliest little kipper God ever made which naturally no one wants to eat. Realizing that no one wants it, Alan begins to wail about how "he has taken a life" and the little kipper has died in vain. "Please! Someone has to eat this!" he cries, not understanding why no one would want to put a raw fish ugly as sin into their mouth. Gael offers to eat it, if only to calm Alan down, but seeing the kipper's twisted little... kipper face, promptly changes his mind. Geoff then tries to appease Alan by telling him that the kipper impaled at the end of a freaking stick is not dead, but merely stunned. Alan calls bullshit. Eventually they hold a little kipper funeral while Scott and Nicole amusedly look on and two years later, when Alan takes his first confession, he confides to the priest that he has "taken an innocent life". The priest tries to explain that Christ, The Lord, took the lives of many fish, but Alan will have none of it.
2. You know who'd be a big fan of confession? If you said Gael, you get a door prize. We figured, of course, he wouldn't be very willing to reveal the whole gay thing to a priest, since it was hard enough for him to even tell his friends, so his confessions would often be half-truths. Mostly it'd be him popping in every now and then: "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I have commited the sin of lustful thoughts. It has been... two hours since my last confession." He'd go to confessions, sit out on the pews next to Alan for Mass, find himself glancing sideways at Alan and rush back to the confession box lest he burn in hell.
Gael: Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned! It has been... fifteen minutes since my last confession...
Priest: *sigh* Go home, Gael.
Gael: Father, you're not supposed to know who I am...
But of course he would. It's a tiny, predominantly Church of England town. There are maybe seven Catholic families in the area. It'd be a small church. I've decided to call it St. Sebastian's and if you can figure out why, I'll give you an even better doorprize (er... my undying admiration?) There are two parts to it: a visual Biblical reference and a general, somewhat inexplicable pop culture one. It shan't be explained in the book; it's just going to be one of those throwaway, catch-it-if-you-get-it allusions.
Hee, Katelyn also went on about how Gael would tell tales of a redheaded girl called Alana to the priest.
Priest: The only redhead I know is young Mr. Hart.
Gael: Er... she's his cousin. She lives in... Montana.
3. This one came about after watching The Great Mouse Detective and laughing about why on Earth two sworn enemies would keep portraits of each other above their fireplaces? (The obvious answer being: to shake their fist and shout oaths at)
It made us think of Geoff keeping a portrait of Ben above his and Alan's mantel. Geoff just puts it up one day, this oil painting of Ben all smarmy, in a smoking jacket and shit, and Alan hates it and wants it taken down, but Geoff just shushes him and begins shaking his fist at the portrait, shouting, "ONE DAY! ONE DAY!" Mel comes in on this scene and insists Geoff take the thing down immediately before she kills him with a bit of firewood. Geoff does so, but grudgingly, "You never let me have any fun. You're always, hurrrr, I share genomes with him, hurrr."
Mel: Where did you even get this?
Geoff: I... found it.
Mel: You found an oil painting of my brother wearing a smoking jacket?
Geoff: .........yes?
Ben, of course, keeps a photo of Geoff that he uses as a dart board (he has ones of Adge and Rufus too). He keeps them in his closet until Lena discovers them and gives him a withering glare and makes him throw it all out.
4. Speaking of which, there's also the idea that Geoffrey simply cannot get his head around the fact that Jenny actually loves Ben so it's probably not a good idea to conceal rocks in snowballs and throw them at his face.
Geoffrey at Eight: Honestly, I don't see what the fuss is. *takes a drag off a blade of grass since I for one can't get my head around the thought of a time Geoff didn't more or less always have a cigarette in his hand* Ben's a dick. It's not your fault, Jenny. You and Robert have raised six other perfectly good children. Ben's just... well, a dick.
Ben at twelve: *glares, holding a rag to his bloodied head*
Geoffrey at Eight: Jenny, would you make me some marzipan?
Jenny: *stunned eyes* ...............no.
Geoffrey at Eight: ...Please?
Jenny: I'm calling your mother.
This ones actually had a tiny mention in the book, in which Geoff becomes annoyed with Jenny's loyalty to Ben.
Alan: She's his mum. You know how mum's are. It's all... wrapped up in their wombs.
Geoff: *rolls eyes* What do you know about women's wombs?
Alan: *blushes* I know... things...
5. And finally, one I might actually want to write a fic of. That is, what would happen if Jenny tried to give Ben a sex talk.
Naturally, it'd be all Geoff's fault. He'd pull Jen aside all, "Jenny, it's probably not my place, but I really think you should sit Ben down for a talk. I have my suspicions that this Lena girl is not entirely virtuous" and Jenny would be delighted by the idea, mostly because she's so freaking excited that Ben found himself a steady girlfriend (who is relievedly not batshit insane). She'd trap Ben in the kitchen (of course) and start merrily yammering away and shoving brochures at him while he desperately scrambles for the knifeblock to try to find something to kill himself with. Geoff will have perched himself on the table and every now and then will throw out advice while Ben gives him glares that say plainly, "You are dead. You, sir, are an ex-Geoff." Eventually, Lena will wander in with that slightly amused look she always has.
Jenny: Ah! Lena, you're just in time! I was just telling Ben about how to please a woman!
Ben: Mother, for Christ's sake...
Lena: *slightly predatory smirk* No, no, let her carry on for a bit.
And then Lena will pull up a bit of, um, table, beside Geoff and just enjoy the show for the next fifteen minutes or so before she finally just starts to feel sorry for Ben.
Lena: Jenny, it's alright. Ben and I have already covered most of our... surfaces.
Geoff: *slightly leery glance* You mean bases?
Lena: *mouth quirks* Yes. Bases. That's what I meant. Anyway, Jenny, Ben has nothing to worry about.
Jenny: *beams* He's like his father.
Ben: If you'll all excuse me, I have to go hang myself off my balcony. Good day.
Lol, I love riffing with Katelyn about this sort of crap. I always end up laughing until my throat hurts. Often, the voices are the best part, not that you can tell here. (btw, the priest occasionally sounds inexplicably like Yoda).
P.S. I've decided I still want to do the Ben/Lena book. Tonight I discovered tha when Paris was bombed in 95, the first station to be hit was literally right across the street from where I had them living. I am intrigued.
The trouble is I now have the title so interwoven into the themes of the book that I don't want to change it and even if I did, wouldn't know what to change it to.
How about...
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill... and Came Back Down Dead.
Wait... shit...
Chase's suggestions: Someplace A Clock is Ticking or A Clock Ticks... Somewhere
AHA! I see what you did there.
Lol, I'm screwed when it comes to naming the second one.
I did go ahead and change Adge's last name to Landau. It needed to be more Jewish. I've been writing a scene with his grandma, btw. All I'll say is that it includes a good deal of Yiddish and the line "Mama, please don't rub Melanie's uterus." Good times.
When Katelyn was over the other night, we started weaving plot bunnies which I'm going to post here lest I forget them:
1. It started off with the fic Katelyn is writing about Alan's parents, Scott and Nicole, taking the children fishing in the stream when they're about 7. The children use sharpened sticks that Scott gave them much to Nicole's diapproval. None of them are successful, except Alan who spears possibly the ugliest little kipper God ever made which naturally no one wants to eat. Realizing that no one wants it, Alan begins to wail about how "he has taken a life" and the little kipper has died in vain. "Please! Someone has to eat this!" he cries, not understanding why no one would want to put a raw fish ugly as sin into their mouth. Gael offers to eat it, if only to calm Alan down, but seeing the kipper's twisted little... kipper face, promptly changes his mind. Geoff then tries to appease Alan by telling him that the kipper impaled at the end of a freaking stick is not dead, but merely stunned. Alan calls bullshit. Eventually they hold a little kipper funeral while Scott and Nicole amusedly look on and two years later, when Alan takes his first confession, he confides to the priest that he has "taken an innocent life". The priest tries to explain that Christ, The Lord, took the lives of many fish, but Alan will have none of it.
2. You know who'd be a big fan of confession? If you said Gael, you get a door prize. We figured, of course, he wouldn't be very willing to reveal the whole gay thing to a priest, since it was hard enough for him to even tell his friends, so his confessions would often be half-truths. Mostly it'd be him popping in every now and then: "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I have commited the sin of lustful thoughts. It has been... two hours since my last confession." He'd go to confessions, sit out on the pews next to Alan for Mass, find himself glancing sideways at Alan and rush back to the confession box lest he burn in hell.
Gael: Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned! It has been... fifteen minutes since my last confession...
Priest: *sigh* Go home, Gael.
Gael: Father, you're not supposed to know who I am...
But of course he would. It's a tiny, predominantly Church of England town. There are maybe seven Catholic families in the area. It'd be a small church. I've decided to call it St. Sebastian's and if you can figure out why, I'll give you an even better doorprize (er... my undying admiration?) There are two parts to it: a visual Biblical reference and a general, somewhat inexplicable pop culture one. It shan't be explained in the book; it's just going to be one of those throwaway, catch-it-if-you-get-it allusions.
Hee, Katelyn also went on about how Gael would tell tales of a redheaded girl called Alana to the priest.
Priest: The only redhead I know is young Mr. Hart.
Gael: Er... she's his cousin. She lives in... Montana.
3. This one came about after watching The Great Mouse Detective and laughing about why on Earth two sworn enemies would keep portraits of each other above their fireplaces? (The obvious answer being: to shake their fist and shout oaths at)
It made us think of Geoff keeping a portrait of Ben above his and Alan's mantel. Geoff just puts it up one day, this oil painting of Ben all smarmy, in a smoking jacket and shit, and Alan hates it and wants it taken down, but Geoff just shushes him and begins shaking his fist at the portrait, shouting, "ONE DAY! ONE DAY!" Mel comes in on this scene and insists Geoff take the thing down immediately before she kills him with a bit of firewood. Geoff does so, but grudgingly, "You never let me have any fun. You're always, hurrrr, I share genomes with him, hurrr."
Mel: Where did you even get this?
Geoff: I... found it.
Mel: You found an oil painting of my brother wearing a smoking jacket?
Geoff: .........yes?
Ben, of course, keeps a photo of Geoff that he uses as a dart board (he has ones of Adge and Rufus too). He keeps them in his closet until Lena discovers them and gives him a withering glare and makes him throw it all out.
4. Speaking of which, there's also the idea that Geoffrey simply cannot get his head around the fact that Jenny actually loves Ben so it's probably not a good idea to conceal rocks in snowballs and throw them at his face.
Geoffrey at Eight: Honestly, I don't see what the fuss is. *takes a drag off a blade of grass since I for one can't get my head around the thought of a time Geoff didn't more or less always have a cigarette in his hand* Ben's a dick. It's not your fault, Jenny. You and Robert have raised six other perfectly good children. Ben's just... well, a dick.
Ben at twelve: *glares, holding a rag to his bloodied head*
Geoffrey at Eight: Jenny, would you make me some marzipan?
Jenny: *stunned eyes* ...............no.
Geoffrey at Eight: ...Please?
Jenny: I'm calling your mother.
This ones actually had a tiny mention in the book, in which Geoff becomes annoyed with Jenny's loyalty to Ben.
Alan: She's his mum. You know how mum's are. It's all... wrapped up in their wombs.
Geoff: *rolls eyes* What do you know about women's wombs?
Alan: *blushes* I know... things...
5. And finally, one I might actually want to write a fic of. That is, what would happen if Jenny tried to give Ben a sex talk.
Naturally, it'd be all Geoff's fault. He'd pull Jen aside all, "Jenny, it's probably not my place, but I really think you should sit Ben down for a talk. I have my suspicions that this Lena girl is not entirely virtuous" and Jenny would be delighted by the idea, mostly because she's so freaking excited that Ben found himself a steady girlfriend (who is relievedly not batshit insane). She'd trap Ben in the kitchen (of course) and start merrily yammering away and shoving brochures at him while he desperately scrambles for the knifeblock to try to find something to kill himself with. Geoff will have perched himself on the table and every now and then will throw out advice while Ben gives him glares that say plainly, "You are dead. You, sir, are an ex-Geoff." Eventually, Lena will wander in with that slightly amused look she always has.
Jenny: Ah! Lena, you're just in time! I was just telling Ben about how to please a woman!
Ben: Mother, for Christ's sake...
Lena: *slightly predatory smirk* No, no, let her carry on for a bit.
And then Lena will pull up a bit of, um, table, beside Geoff and just enjoy the show for the next fifteen minutes or so before she finally just starts to feel sorry for Ben.
Lena: Jenny, it's alright. Ben and I have already covered most of our... surfaces.
Geoff: *slightly leery glance* You mean bases?
Lena: *mouth quirks* Yes. Bases. That's what I meant. Anyway, Jenny, Ben has nothing to worry about.
Jenny: *beams* He's like his father.
Ben: If you'll all excuse me, I have to go hang myself off my balcony. Good day.
Lol, I love riffing with Katelyn about this sort of crap. I always end up laughing until my throat hurts. Often, the voices are the best part, not that you can tell here. (btw, the priest occasionally sounds inexplicably like Yoda).
P.S. I've decided I still want to do the Ben/Lena book. Tonight I discovered tha when Paris was bombed in 95, the first station to be hit was literally right across the street from where I had them living. I am intrigued.
amused