Pinkbelt

I like that way of putting it. Helpful.

I haven’t seen ‘Downsizing’ but it sounds like a film that is a bit overloaded with ideas and ends up getting lost among them.

Thanks Richard. I will.

Oh my goodness, guys, what great suggestions! I will check out those links too.

@Squidge, I’d love to take a look at your exercise if you can send it?

The focus for the book is about whether and how a family can truly reconcile after such a trauma, and what level of culpability a family must ultimately shoulder. Much time in the book is spent in…[Read more]

You talk about bonds and use the term ‘enmeshed’ so I’m going for The Untangling.

Hi Philippa,

From all the information gathered I would suggest:

– Missing You (works on several level depending on who the sentence refers to or who us doing the miss – if that makes sense)

– The Other You

– The Way Home (again can be interpreted on several levels)

– Little Girl Lost (again lost can be interpreted on several levels)

– Here…[Read more]

Hi Philippa, ‘Lost and Found?’ with or without the question mark, popped into my mind, I think because of the railway scene in your story. Perhaps if you simply included a question mark in your current title it would convey that the abduction is still haunting the family. Also, I really like Jonathan’s idea of using the number seven in the title.

I haven’t either, Sandra! Though in my writing I try to adhere to the RUE rule and thus probably don’t explain enough.

I like the ‘Here Ends…’, but what to say is ending.

…the Seven Years of Pain
…the Seven Years of Separation.
Why not something like Seven Years Apart or The seven years of separation. The End Begins Here…? Just playing now!

I also wonder if some of the other themes are more relevant to the title? There are an awful lot of themes going…[Read more]

Interesting one. Titles can be hard. Sometimes a really perfect one will just present itself. Other times…

I was looking, as I’m sure you have, at a thesaurus to see if it was possible to simply replace ‘abduction’. The best I could do was ‘Here Ends the Absence’, or possibly ‘Here Ends the Departure’ which I’m not sure really does it.

A few initial ideas – not sure if they are anything like suitable:

She once was lost

But now she’s found

(Been playing Amazing Grace…)

Re-filling the nest

Stolen childhood

During the abduction, she believed her family had abandoned her. Now that she has returned, she doesn’t know whom to trust, or where her “real” home is. She clings to cousin Jess, she mistrusts the adults, in the end she turns on her cousin too (bit of an all-is-lost moment there, before the end).

Yes, abducted aged 8, now 15. She grew up enmeshed with her cousin – they were like twins in a fairy-tale. She is blonde, her cousin brunette. Otherwise, an unstable childhood; her biological dad is estranged. Brought up by her step-dad since aged 4, and has twin half-brothers (now aged 7).

One of those moments that tend to restore your faith in human nature. And yes, very moving.

Same moment. Same reaction, Sea!

Yes, Thea – that ‘never apologise, never explain’ – I read, many years ago, that to do so was a sign of immaturity, but it’s one I haven’t always managed (not so much about my writing, I’m glad to say).

Interesting article, Sandra. I agree that many people have a tendency to downplay their work, to lower the expectation of the reader / viewer, as a sort of safety mechanism. And, as Squidge said, there are those who take this to the extreme and are really fishing for compliments.

You make a good point, Sandra re the story challenges being a good…[Read more]

Felt the pressure building up as I read and the dam burst at this line ‘Within twenty four hours enough people from Mousehole had volunteered to form a new crew…’Not a good look when you’re in the restaurant car park waiting for your sister.

Seriously, there are no other group of people who earn this much of my respect.