Ramblings-n-Writings

Archive for August 25th, 2008

I was chatting with an old friend the other day and I was telling her about my story idea. She is nearing the completion of a manuscript and asked if I had thought of a title yet for my story. Um…not really. I remember having this really awesome title idea float through my mind at some point, but silly me didn’t write it down. Yep, you’re right, I don’t remember it.

So I admitted that I hadn’t thought of any titles. She’s trying to decide between three possibilities for her story. I would say that I’m jealous but she’s much more advanced with her story than I am so I guess she deserves to have three.

Then I sat down to write an update and share what I’ve learned so far, and I realized that it would be so cool to have a working title, something better than WIP (work in progress).

What pops into my head? “Uncertain.” You know, like I can’t make up my mind or don’t have a clue? It sounds a little strange, but I kind of like it. As I think about it, I see my character as being uncertain – she’s leaving her home, coming to a new life, is faced with decisions etc. For now, I think “Uncertain” might work.

How much did I accomplish during the past week? Well, there’s the title that I just thought of so I guess that counts. =) Basically I’ve had my nose buried in books and online resources trying to learn as much as possible.

I did narrow down my time period considerably. I was having a horrible time deciding whether to work with the 1910s (pre World War I) or 1920s (post World War I). Without knowing which time frame to work with, it was difficult to focus my research. How did I narrow it down? While doing research to answer some basic questions, I discovered an event that happened on Ellis Island that I instantly knew my character had to be a part of. The event will add a useful twist to the storyline in addition to some historical detail.

In studying about immigrant ships and Ellis Island, I realized that in order for my character to travel 2nd class and still go through Ellis Island, I’ll have to develop a dilemma that will put her there. Second class travelers were screened on board the ship by immigration officials with the travelers only going through Ellis Island if a special inquiry or an illness required it. There’s also a few other details I need to figure out – for example, if a young child is sick, does the parent accompany them to the hospital at Ellis Island?

At this point, I’m happy with my progress. I’m thoroughly enjoying the research and having my story idea percolate in my mind. I think that by the time NaNoWriMo comes around this year, I’ll be prepared to participate!