And the title goes to…

To recap:

After a few false starts and a couple of failed attempts, I began work on my first novel as part of National Novel Writing Month in November 2010. In no way did I complete the manuscript in a month’s time, as was the goal of the event, but I faced my fears about writing the novel and gave it a nice start.

The premise is a simple one and I’ve been wanting to write it for a few years now. I’d envisioned it in my head as a screenplay so delving into novel writing with the story was a nice and unexpected challenge. In my head, I’ve always called the story  ‘Crazy Sue,’ no matter which method of writing  I use to tell it. The plot is a fictionalized account of  my last year as an undergraduate, living with a needy and unstable roommate my best friend and I would refer to as “Crazy.” The title was nailed into my head as being permanent, so imagine my surprise when said best friend suggested “One Year Lease” as a better option.  I thought she loved the original title; we’d been referring to it as that for years so I was taken aback and hurt at the prospect of changing it. I decided to settle the matter the adult way and created a survey for this site asking my readers to choose the better title. Of course, I was sure ‘Crazy Sue’ would win, hands down, so I wasn’t worried. The title held a special place in my heart and there was no way I could sacrifice it. My readers would surely agree.

Turns out, I was wrong. The winner of the title survey was not my own, but my friend’s: One Year Lease. So, with resistance, I tried to refer to my novel with the new title. It was difficult at first, but  now, it’s grown on me and I love it even more than I loved ‘Crazy Sue.’

The new title, I feel, will allow me to branch out and tell a different kind of story: a story of two friends trying to survive their final year of college, instead of focusing on their situation with a roommate from hell, which can serve as a subplot. The new title will allow me to tell the story I initially wanted to, without the reader having a preconceived notion of what ‘crazy’ means.

I’m excited to see where this novel takes me. I have so many I want to write. Let this be a fantastic start.

Until next time,

The Accidental Blogger