Finding Something (Fun) Friday: Better Book Titles

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Dan Wilbur is my new best friend. He doesn’t exactly know it, but whatever. His blog, BETTER BOOK TITLES is genius. Simple concept, brilliantly funny execution.

He takes well-known books and re-titles them so that you, the over-worked reader, don’t have to actually read the whole book to get the gist of things. What a time-saver! Because I, for one, do not have time to read Jane Eyre again. But a simple glance at Dan’s better book title, and I’m good.

Basically, I’ve found a way to fit in at those get-togethers where everyone’s talking about the lastest best-seller (or classic) that I haven’t got ’round to reading yet (implying that someday, I might actually read these best-sellers/classics).

And now you can be cool and well-read, too! But I’ve got dibs on Dan Wilbur if he shows up.

Finding a Color-Writing Keeper

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Before I write an F & K post, I check my Favorites (on Precious the Laptop). That’s where I keep all the links to websites or blogs of interest. Often, I share those favorites with you. Like today, for instance.

Originally, I’d marked The Storyteller’s Scroll (a blog by Gayle Krause) for a poetry contest. Usually, I save a specific post. But for some reason, I threw Gayle’s blog address into the Favorites file. So what came up today was a post about a colorful critiquing method wherein one uses different colors to highlight different elements in a manuscript. Say, red for tension/conflict and blue for dialogue. Or you can highlight descriptive phrases or “telling” phrases. What you end up with is a manuscript where you can quickly and easily find your strengths and weaknesses.

Now, I’ve used this method before, but it’s been a while back. The funny thing is (at least, to me) that I’ve seen this technique mentioned several times now. And I don’t believe in coincidences. So I figure my muse is trying to tell me something.

I grabbed a few colored pencils and a manuscript to show you how this technique might work for you. But I think I’ll keep my colored pencils handy. Because when Gladys the Muse Goose talks…I listen.