We are going to disagree on this, because I know it's important to you. (As an aside, although it's not really relevant, we have a 2 bed flat in London and a similar place near where my wife grew up in the US. We certainly don't think of ourselves as "rich" although, I'd conceed we are comfortably off - thanks to judicious use of borrowing! And yes, I pay a lot of tax - I am ok with 47%, but felt that 52% was too much, and really resent the tapering of the personal allowance even though it's a smallish amount of money in absolute terms)
Pensions tax relief is government spending. An individual pays tax at 20%, 40% or 45% depending on their income. The government then chooses how to allocate it. Historically they have given a significant rebate to people who save for retirement. That's for good reasons - it encourages saving. However, it also undoubtly disproportionately benefits the better off: the 40% and 45% taxpayers. They are certainly not rich, and they are striving to make their way in life & that's to be encouraged. But I'm not sure it's the best use of £15-20bn in scarce resources. You are entirely free to change your behaviour - you may decide that a 20% top up is insufficient to accept the lack of flexiblity that comes with pensions saving, but it's not some kind of moral outrage.
Incidentally, to be on the safe side, if you're a higher-rate taxpayer thinking of making a large pension contribution this tax year, don't leave it too late. There's an outside chance that March 16 (the day of the budget) could be a cut-off date.
Some of us (most of us) aren't in the position to do that - to make large contributions - as we only do so through monthly contributions as part of our paypacket through PAYE/our employer.
It's things like that which are precisely my beef with the whole proposal.
I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that pensions are a complete waste of time and money. The returns aren't great, and increasingly, they look more like a piggy bank for the Chancellor to dip his greasy fingers into, than a savings pot for one's old age.
As for those suggesting that 'anyone thinking of making a large contribution this year, should do so now', Ha Ha Ha. It will simply be 'stolen' in the future.
I am reaching the same conclusion. I will just end up investing in S&S ISAs, betting, property or in P2P lending instead.
Income tax cuts don't encourage saving any more than consumption. Flexibility to do reckless things don't count for nowt. And I'm worried about my retirement, not passing cash on! So you're left with the ISA changes, what pale in comparison to the BTL hammering and the supposed pension relief hammering thats coming.
Sorry, but you are just gratuitously ignoring the facts. Of course making saving tax-free encourages saving. Pension freedom is not 'flexibility to do reckless things' (well, you can if your really want to), it's very welcome flexibility to tune how you take out pension income to suit your circumstances, which makes pensions much more attractive. BTL is a different matter, yes that has been made less attractive, but that's not what we were talking about. And the 'pension relief hammering' is speculation at the moment, but is most likely to affect only those making big contributions.
I just want to say thanks for all the TITLE suggestions yesterday. If I disappeared suddenly and in apparently ungrateful haste that's because I fell asleep - I'm 7 hours ahead in Bangkok.
We still haven't found a title and its getting desperate and my publishers have nixed THE SHINING CHILD
Sigh.
FWIW the reason this is so hard, probably harder than any pb-ers realise, is that the title has to fit certain criteria
1. It has to suit the genre, upmarket domestic literary thriller. I can't call it THE ILLUMINATI'S LAST AMULET. Neither can I give it a literary fiction title: THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF NOVELS
2. Ideally it has to give you a hefty clue as to the subject, and mention a character: child, wife, son, girl, boy, daughter, sister, twins, mother, lover, husband..
3. It has to say "thriller" - give a hint of menace and tension
4. It should be short. Five syllables is considered ideal. A brilliant title can break this rule, tho
5. It must me memorable and easily pronounceable, no overly obscure words
6. It must not have been used before, in any significant way - increasingly hard, as 100,000 books are published in the UK alone every year
7. It must not imply the book is horror or romance or chicklit or memoir
Apart from that. its easy.
I would say the most striking feature of beautiful children (people) are their eyes, and so, if the main character is a beautiful child that has some strange power or has seen something that no one else knows, that would be a good reference
I suggested "My Eyes Have Seen You" but that is a Doors song which is a bit eerie.. it just came to mind "Behind the Childs Eyes" "Your Eyes" from the Nirvana song Scoff, which was about Cobains piercing blue eyes "What He Sees"
Sorry if these are crapola!
Hmm. I do like the "eyes" thing. The boy does have luminously beautiful violet-blue eyes (a fact which actually becomes a plot-point)
Interesting... ta.....
No probs
Read up a bit on Kurt Cobains childhood and the song "Sifting" ( I said "Scoff" earlier, but I meant Sifting.. both mention eyes..) the contrast between his piercing blue eyes, and his extremely troubled mind might be useful research on this one, also his family break up
Incidentally, to be on the safe side, if you're a higher-rate taxpayer thinking of making a large pension contribution this tax year, don't leave it too late. There's an outside chance that March 16 (the day of the budget) could be a cut-off date.
Some of us (most of us) aren't in the position to do that - to make large contributions - as we only do so through monthly contributions as part of our paypacket through PAYE/our employer.
It's things like that which are precisely my beef with the whole proposal.
I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that pensions are a complete waste of time and money. The returns aren't great, and increasingly, they look more like a piggy bank for the Chancellor to dip his greasy fingers into, than a savings pot for one's old age.
As for those suggesting that 'anyone thinking of making a large contribution this year, should do so now', Ha Ha Ha. It will simply be 'stolen' in the future.
I am reaching the same conclusion. I will just end up investing in S&S ISAs, betting, property or in P2P lending instead.
If you decide to go down the P2P route, I have a whole bunch of refer a friend/associate links/codes that will earn us both £25 - £100/other perks a pop. Please, let me know before you sign up with anyone
I am reaching the same conclusion. I will just end up investing in S&S ISAs, betting, property or in P2P lending instead.
How do you know that some future Chancellor won't raid ISAs? And what's the advantage of an S & S ISA over a SIPP? (There's room for both, but SIPPs benefit from tax-free bung on entry).
Income tax cuts don't encourage saving any more than consumption. Flexibility to do reckless things don't count for nowt. And I'm worried about my retirement, not passing cash on! So you're left with the ISA changes, what pale in comparison to the BTL hammering and the supposed pension relief hammering thats coming.
Sorry, but you are just gratuitously ignoring the facts. Of course making saving tax-free encourages saving. Pension freedom is not 'flexibility to do reckless things' (well, you can if your really want to), it's very welcome flexibility to tune how you take out pension income to suit your circumstances, which makes pensions much more attractive. BTL is a different matter, yes that has been made less attractive, but that's not what we were talking about. And the 'pension relief hammering' is speculation at the moment, but is most likely to affect only those making big contributions.
That sounds like a fake sorry if ever I heard one! Go on then, explain me how an income tax cut encourages saving over consumption. I'm all ears.
We are going to disagree on this, because I know it's important to you. (As an aside, although it's not really relevant, we have a 2 bed flat in London and a similar place near where my wife grew up in the US. We certainly don't think of ourselves as "rich" although, I'd conceed we are comfortably off - thanks to judicious use of borrowing! And yes, I pay a lot of tax - I am ok with 47%, but felt that 52% was too much, and really resent the tapering of the personal allowance even though it's a smallish amount of money in absolute terms)
Pensions tax relief is government spending. An individual pays tax at 20%, 40% or 45% depending on their income. The government then chooses how to allocate it. Historically they have given a significant rebate to people who save for retirement. That's for good reasons - it encourages saving. However, it also undoubtly disproportionately benefits the better off: the 40% and 45% taxpayers. They are certainly not rich, and they are striving to make their way in life & that's to be encouraged. But I'm not sure it's the best use of £15-20bn in scarce resources. You are entirely free to change your behaviour - you may decide that a 20% top up is insufficient to accept the lack of flexiblity that comes with pensions saving, but it's not some kind of moral outrage.
Agreed. 'It's government spending' is the killer line.
Middle class voters threatening to sit on their hands if such and such happens don't know they're born. Contributions to bring down the deficit and eventually the debt cannot all come from cutting welfare.
An interesting concept, my only cold water would be my reaction to Hugo Rifkinds collection of My Week. I recalled maybe 15% of the context to his jokes.
I wouldnt buy it again. Or even finished it. And I'm a fan of his.
Why you made your predictions is the interesting bit, and how they'd be useful again sounds a great primer for political journalists.
I just want to say thanks for all the TITLE suggestions yesterday. If I disappeared suddenly and in apparently ungrateful haste that's because I fell asleep - I'm 7 hours ahead in Bangkok.
We still haven't found a title and its getting desperate and my publishers have nixed THE SHINING CHILD
Sigh.
So does "Predicting Politics: A Diary of the Future" work?
(this is for my book rather than yours!
There's no hostage (well, not much); it's a collection of my articles here, reviewed against how events turned out, where I got it presciently (or luckily) right, and where I ballsed up spectacularly. So while the articles were all of the future then, it's now a future that's passed.
So it is in essence a diary (I was thinking of 2009-11 as a first instalment), which follows the events of the times but rather than a regular diary looking back, the nature of the articles here was always looking forward.
Don't know whether people would be interested but I thought it was a concept that hadn't been done before and was worth investigating.
My novel is on the long-term back-burner for now until I have more of a reputation.
Advice on publishing gratefully received.
Yes, those are fair points. I am having to do quite a bit of digging for the context to some shorthand used at the time here. I don't know whether Rifkind did explanatory notes but I'm writing both footnotes to reference individuals and the more obscure events, and reviews of each article which looking back at what happened and where (and why) the analysis was on or off the mark. So it's more than simply My Greatest Hits (of which there aren't all that many anyway: most of my articles are analytical rather than tip-spouting).
I just want to say thanks for all the TITLE suggestions yesterday. If I disappeared suddenly and in apparently ungrateful haste that's because I fell asleep - I'm 7 hours ahead in Bangkok.
We still haven't found a title and its getting desperate and my publishers have nixed THE SHINING CHILD
Sigh.
FWIW the reason this is so hard, probably harder than any pb-ers realise, is that the title has to fit certain criteria
1. It has to suit the genre, upmarket domestic literary thriller. I can't call it THE ILLUMINATI'S LAST AMULET. Neither can I give it a literary fiction title: THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF NOVELS
2. Ideally it has to give you a hefty clue as to the subject, and mention a character: child, wife, son, girl, boy, daughter, sister, twins, mother, lover, husband..
3. It has to say "thriller" - give a hint of menace and tension
4. It should be short. Five syllables is considered ideal. A brilliant title can break this rule, tho
5. It must me memorable and easily pronounceable, no overly obscure words
6. It must not have been used before, in any significant way - increasingly hard, as 100,000 books are published in the UK alone every year
7. It must not imply the book is horror or romance or chicklit or memoir
Apart from that. its easy.
So does "Predicting Politics: A Diary of the Future" work?
(this is for my book rather than yours!
Diary of the Future is an excellent title
I'd have just that, then put the much more boring "Predicting Politics" in a smaller subtitle... or a strap line...
Thanks. Very good suggestion and I'll do just that. Acknowledgement duly earned!
Labour’s biggest union bankroller was facing legal action today over allegedly using zero-hour contracts despite campaigning against them.
Unite was accused of “hypocrisy” as a lecturer today brought a whistleblowing claim against it.
Martyn Reuby, a Unite member for 42 years, says he was sacked after expressing views about Unite using zero-hour contracts and denying basic employment rights.
Shirking from home today (pussy kitten is 6 months old now and I had to take him to the vet to have his nads chopped off - I feel like a right old meanie). Multi-tasking with work pc, emails, teleconferences, and home pc with PB threads, news surfing and cooking. (chicken livers in an onion/port/sherry/brown sugar reduction on spinach leaves) Must do this more often!
Well, as he is saying pretty much exactly what I have been thinking for the last 5 years in which I have ceased to be Labour, I think that is an excellent article from the Great Cravat!
I just want to say thanks for all the TITLE suggestions yesterday. If I disappeared suddenly and in apparently ungrateful haste that's because I fell asleep - I'm 7 hours ahead in Bangkok.
We still haven't found a title and its getting desperate and my publishers have nixed THE SHINING CHILD
Sigh.
FWIW the reason this is so hard, probably harder than any pb-ers realise, is that the title has to fit certain criteria
1. It has to suit the genre, upmarket domestic literary thriller. I can't call it THE ILLUMINATI'S LAST AMULET. Neither can I give it a literary fiction title: THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF NOVELS
2. Ideally it has to give you a hefty clue as to the subject, and mention a character: child, wife, son, girl, boy, daughter, sister, twins, mother, lover, husband..
3. It has to say "thriller" - give a hint of menace and tension
4. It should be short. Five syllables is considered ideal. A brilliant title can break this rule, tho
5. It must me memorable and easily pronounceable, no overly obscure words
6. It must not have been used before, in any significant way - increasingly hard, as 100,000 books are published in the UK alone every year
7. It must not imply the book is horror or romance or chicklit or memoir
Apart from that. its easy.
How about The Secret of the Scion?
Can you adapt the story to fit the title?
Maybe start with the title next time and write the story around it. I did that with an academic paper once to go in a compter journal. Came up with a title first in the coffee bar, High Level Languages for Low Level Users, and then with a colleague wrote a paper around it.
That sounds like a fake sorry if ever I heard one! Go on then, explain me how an income tax cut encourages saving over consumption. I'm all ears.
Eh? By increasing the net interest. Not hard to understand, surely?
But it has a similar positive return on consumption. That's why I asked 'saving over consumption'. Another government defender further down said that taxing saving more was justified because there was a deficit to pay back. That don't square with an income tax cut that most people will mainly spend on consumption.
'Leave are in a dreadful state and way behind the curve. Remain have already got their letters, attack ads, attack lines out there and leaflets through the letterbox.'
Unlike PB,you really think the average voter has even thought about the EU referendum ?
They've done regional launches in about half the country, I think. London is soon (today possibly?) - I was invited but can't make it.
@Casino_Royale Happy to connect you to the campaign if you want.
I just want to say thanks for all the TITLE suggestions yesterday. If I disappeared suddenly and in apparently ungrateful haste that's because I fell asleep - I'm 7 hours ahead in Bangkok.
We still haven't found a title and its getting desperate and my publishers have nixed THE SHINING CHILD
Sigh.
FWIW the reason this is so hard, probably harder than any pb-ers realise, is that the title has to fit certain criteria
1. It has to suit the genre, upmarket domestic literary thriller. I can't call it THE ILLUMINATI'S LAST AMULET. Neither can I give it a literary fiction title: THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF NOVELS
2. Ideally it has to give you a hefty clue as to the subject, and mention a character: child, wife, son, girl, boy, daughter, sister, twins, mother, lover, husband..
3. It has to say "thriller" - give a hint of menace and tension
4. It should be short. Five syllables is considered ideal. A brilliant title can break this rule,
Apart from that. its easy.
How about The Secret of the Scion?
Can you adapt the story to fit the title?
Maybe start with the title next time and write the story around it. I did that with an academic paper once to go in a compter journal. Came up with a title first in the coffee bar, High Level Languages for Low Level Users, and then with a colleague wrote a paper around it.
I can definitely adapt the story to fit the right title. i did that with ICE TWINS. I changed the way the girls looked, halfway through writing, so they'd fit the title, as I knew it was a good title.
Some titles are so good they come first, and then the story comes later.
Scion is impossible. 75% of readers won't know what it means, the rest won't know to pronounce it.
If you can't tell us the plot can you tell us major elements?
That sounds like a fake sorry if ever I heard one! Go on then, explain me how an income tax cut encourages saving over consumption. I'm all ears.
Eh? By increasing the net interest. Not hard to understand, surely?
But it has a similar positive return on consumption. That's why I asked 'saving over consumption'. Another government defender further down said that taxing saving more was justified because there was a deficit to pay back. That don't square with an income tax cut that most people will mainly spend on consumption.
Consumption creates macro wealth, which creates more tax income.
Given the worldwide savings glut and the low yield of bonds, I think we'd have to say that saving does little to create macro wealth.
He didn't do many at all, but even then - it didn't bring the Zeitgeist back which made it so funny at the time.
PB threads are very topical, and immediate. The reasons behind each thread and how you'd apply them/results to the future would be fascinating. I'd buy that distilled history.
An interesting concept, my only cold water would be my reaction to Hugo Rifkinds collection of My Week. I recalled maybe 15% of the context to his jokes.
I wouldnt buy it again. Or even finished it. And I'm a fan of his.
Why you made your predictions is the interesting bit, and how they'd be useful again sounds a great primer for political journalists.
I just want to say thanks for all the TITLE suggestions yesterday. If I disappeared suddenly and in apparently ungrateful haste that's because I fell asleep - I'm 7 hours ahead in Bangkok.
We still haven't found a title and its getting desperate and my publishers have nixed THE SHINING CHILD
Sigh.
So does "Predicting Politics: A Diary of the Future" work?
(this is for my book rather than yours!
There's no hostage (well, not much); it's a collection of my articles here, reviewed against how events turned out, where I got it presciently (or luckily) right, and where I ballsed up spectacularly. So while the articles were all of the future then, it's now a future that's passed.
So it is in essence a diary (I was thinking of 2009-11 as a first instalment), which follows the events of the times but rather than a regular diary looking back, the nature of the articles here was always looking forward.
Don't know whether people would be interested but I thought it was a concept that hadn't been done before and was worth investigating.
My novel is on the long-term back-burner for now until I have more of a reputation.
Advice on publishing gratefully received.
Yes, those are fair points. I am having to do quite a bit of digging for the context to some shorthand used at the time here. I don't know whether Rifkind did explanatory notes but I'm writing both footnotes to reference individuals and the more obscure events, and reviews of each article which looking back at what happened and where (and why) the analysis was on or off the mark. So it's more than simply My Greatest Hits (of which there aren't all that many anyway: most of my articles are analytical rather than tip-spouting).
Sure I can tell the plot, I explained yesterday but you probably missed it. Here ya go:
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
I just want to say thanks for all the TITLE suggestions yesterday. If I disappeared suddenly and in apparently ungrateful haste that's because I fell asleep - I'm 7 hours ahead in Bangkok.
We still haven't found a title and its getting desperate and my publishers have nixed THE SHINING CHILD
Sigh.
FWIW the reason this is so hard, probably harder than any pb-ers realise, is that the title has to fit certain criteria
1. It has to suit the genre, upmarket domestic literary thriller. I can't call it THE ILLUMINATI'S LAST AMULET. Neither can I give it a literary fiction title: THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF NOVELS
2. Ideally it has to give you a hefty clue as to the subject, and mention a character: child, wife, son, girl, boy, daughter, sister, twins, mother, lover, husband..
3. It has to say "thriller" - give a hint of menace and tension
4. It should be short. Five syllables is considered ideal. A brilliant title can break this rule,
Apart from that. its easy.
How about The Secret of the Scion?
Can you adapt the story to fit the title?
Maybe start with the title next time and write the story around it. I did that with an academic paper once to go in a compter journal. Came up with a title first in the coffee bar, High Level Languages for Low Level Users, and then with a colleague wrote a paper around it.
I can definitely adapt the story to fit the right title. i did that with ICE TWINS. I changed the way the girls looked, halfway through writing, so they'd fit the title, as I knew it was a good title.
Some titles are so good they come first, and then the story comes later.
Scion is impossible. 75% of readers won't know what it means, the rest won't know to pronounce it.
If you can't tell us the plot can you tell us major elements?
Sure I can tell the plot, I explained yesterday but you probably missed it. Here ya go:
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
Actually Spawn of Santa is ridiculously 'Chuckyish'. But reminds me of a fabulous true story:
In the 1980s Japan ruled the world and Christmas was very trendy in Japan. The well known department store chain Sogu decided that their new Tokyo flagship store opening ceremony (in Dec) would be Christmas themed. So they got their PR people to investigate Christianity, Christmas, Santa, Jesus and all that stuff. They made a fabulous opening display in the lobby and hid it behind curtains. The chairman made his speech, cut the ribbon and the curtains fell back to reveal - Santa. Nailed to the cross!
@Maomentum_: BITTER right wing of party claiming that @jeremycorbyn will lead us to electoral disaster forget that he has OVERWHELMING mandate to do so.
Elliptical eyes Soul's dark mist-enshrouded well Fleetingly revealed
When are you launching "Herdson's cryptic crosswords" ?
Ha. In the absence of a useful suggestion for a title, the best I could come up as a thank you with was a haiku. Playing with words poetically might be a route to a title anyway if there isn't anything very literal that works.
Sure I can tell the plot, I explained yesterday but you probably missed it. Here ya go:
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
Sure I can tell the plot, I explained yesterday but you probably missed it. Here ya go:
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
The TV show Supernatural has some superb plots. S1-5 are best.
They did a death omen plot that looked like evil spirits. Well worth checking it out for clever plotting in this area. On S11 now so one of few shows to outlive 95% of others. In same league as Greys Anatomy.
I just want to say thanks for all the TITLE suggestions yesterday. If I disappeared suddenly and in apparently ungrateful haste that's because I fell asleep - I'm 7 hours ahead in Bangkok.
How about The Secret of the Scion?
Can you adapt the story to fit the title?
Maybe start with the title next time and write the story around it. I did that with an academic paper once to go in a compter journal. Came up with a title first in the coffee bar, High Level Languages for Low Level Users, and then with a colleague wrote a paper around it.
I can definitely adapt the story to fit the right title. i did that with ICE TWINS. I changed the way the girls looked, halfway through writing, so they'd fit the title, as I knew it was a good title.
Some titles are so good they come first, and then the story comes later.
Scion is impossible. 75% of readers won't know what it means, the rest won't know to pronounce it.
If you can't tell us the plot can you tell us major elements?
Sure I can tell the plot, I explained yesterday but you probably missed it. Here ya go:
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
Yes, the whole book tiptoes between supernatural and thrillerish realism (like the ICE TWINS). Right to the end you don't know whether he can predict the future, or he is just very insightful and scared, or whether it is all in HER mind as she slowly cracks up under the pressure, especially as Christmas gets nearer and all the bloody carol singers come round freaking her out.
Basically the book is all about HOW I FUCKING HATE CHRISTMAS, turned into a thriller. Heh.
Sure I can tell the plot, I explained yesterday but you probably missed it. Here ya go:
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
I just want to say thanks for all the TITLE suggestions yesterday. If I disappeared suddenly and in apparently ungrateful haste that's because I fell asleep - I'm 7 hours ahead in Bangkok.
How about The Secret of the Scion?
Can you adapt the story to fit the title?
Maybe start with the title next time and write the story around it. I did that with an academic paper once to go in a compter journal. Came up with a title first in the coffee bar, High Level Languages for Low Level Users, and then with a colleague wrote a paper around it.
I can definitely adapt the story to fit the right title. i did that with ICE TWINS. I changed the way the girls looked, halfway through writing, so they'd fit the title, as I knew it was a good title.
Some titles are so good they come first, and then the story comes later.
Scion is impossible. 75% of readers won't know what it means, the rest won't know to pronounce it.
If you can't tell us the plot can you tell us major elements?
Sure I can tell the plot, I explained yesterday but you probably missed it. Here ya go:
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
Yes, the whole book tiptoes between supernatural and thrillerish realism (like the ICE TWINS). Right to the end you don't know whether he can predict the future, or he is just very insightful and scared, or whether it is all in HER mind as she slowly cracks up under the pressure, especially as Christmas gets nearer and all the bloody carol singers come round freaking her out.
Basically the book is all about HOW I FUCKING HATE CHRISTMAS, turned into a thriller. Heh.
Sure I can tell the plot, I explained yesterday but you probably missed it. Here ya go:
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
The Spawn of Santa? Spawn of the solstice?
The Osborne
The lines of winter
'The Gideon Children' - plot revolves around Britain 30 years hence, the blasted land crawling with millions of starving pensioners.
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
DARK CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS IS COMING (Game of Thrones fans will know what you mean) or, combined... DARK CHRISTMAS IS COMING
I just want to say thanks for all the TITLE suggestions yesterday. If I disappeared suddenly and in apparently ungrateful haste that's because I fell asleep - I'm 7 hours ahead in Bangkok.
We still haven't found a title and its getting desperate and my publishers have nixed THE SHINING CHILD
Sigh.
FWIW the reason this is so hard, probably harder than any pb-ers realise, is that the title has to fit certain criteria
1. It has
How about The Secret of the Scion?
Can you adapt the story to fit the title?
Maybe start with the title next time and write the story around it. I did that with an academic paper once to go in a compter journal. Came up with a title first in the coffee bar, High Level Languages for Low Level Users, and then with a colleague wrote a paper around it.
I can definitely adapt the story to fit the right title. i did that with ICE TWINS. I changed the way the girls looked, halfway through writing, so they'd fit the title, as I knew it was a good title.
Some titles are so good they come first, and then the story comes later.
Scion is impossible. 75% of readers won't know what it means, the rest won't know to pronounce it.
If you can't tell us the plot can you tell us major elements?
Sure I can tell the plot, I explained yesterday but you probably missed it. Here ya go:
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
Sure I can tell the plot, I explained yesterday but you probably missed it. Here ya go:
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
You need a Stepson in there; a nice counterpoint to Twin(s).
The Unsettling Stepson The Stepson's Prophecy (bit too fantasy?)
Incidentally, to be on the safe side, if you're a higher-rate taxpayer thinking of making a large pension contribution this tax year, don't leave it too late. There's an outside chance that March 16 (the day of the budget) could be a cut-off date.
Some of us (most of us) aren't in the position to do that - to make large contributions - as we only do so through monthly contributions as part of our paypacket through PAYE/our employer.
It's things like that which are precisely my beef with the whole proposal.
I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that pensions are a complete waste of time and money. The returns aren't great, and increasingly, they look more like a piggy bank for the Chancellor to dip his greasy fingers into, than a savings pot for one's old age.
As for those suggesting that 'anyone thinking of making a large contribution this year, should do so now', Ha Ha Ha. It will simply be 'stolen' in the future.
I am reaching the same conclusion. I will just end up investing in S&S ISAs, betting, property or in P2P lending instead.
If you decide to go down the P2P route, I have a whole bunch of refer a friend/associate links/codes that will earn us both £25 - £100/other perks a pop. Please, let me know before you sign up with anyone
Thanks Pulpstar. Will get in touch if I do so! Appreciate the offer.
Oh, and on topic - good antifrank thread as per usual, and Labour are f*cked. Intellectually, practically, and electorally. I don't know if they'll revive - good old FPTP might save them. They have to avoid being eclipsed as the Opposition, and the most likely danger of that (for now) is from within.
Actually Spawn of Santa is ridiculously 'Chuckyish'. But reminds me of a fabulous true story:
In the 1980s Japan ruled the world and Christmas was very trendy in Japan. The well known department store chain Sogu decided that their new Tokyo flagship store opening ceremony (in Dec) would be Christmas themed. So they got their PR people to investigate Christianity, Christmas, Santa, Jesus and all that stuff. They made a fabulous opening display in the lobby and hid it behind curtains. The chairman made his speech, cut the ribbon and the curtains fell back to reveal - Santa. Nailed to the cross!
I was in Tokyo then. They certainty didn't have the hang of the Christmas message.
'Leave are in a dreadful state and way behind the curve. Remain have already got their letters, attack ads, attack lines out there and leaflets through the letterbox.'
Unlike PB,you really think the average voter has even thought about the EU referendum ?
They've done regional launches in about half the country, I think. London is soon (today possibly?) - I was invited but can't make it.
@Casino_Royale Happy to connect you to the campaign if you want.
Thanks Charles. Already signed up to both Vote Leave and Leave.EU so aware of all of that but cheers for the offer.
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
DARK CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS IS COMING (Game of Thrones fans will know what you mean) or, combined... DARK CHRISTMAS IS COMING
Yes, the whole book tiptoes between supernatural and thrillerish realism (like the ICE TWINS). Right to the end you don't know whether he can predict the future, or he is just very insightful and scared, or whether it is all in HER mind as she slowly cracks up under the pressure, especially as Christmas gets nearer and all the bloody carol singers come round freaking her out.
Basically the book is all about HOW I FUCKING HATE CHRISTMAS, turned into a thriller. Heh.
What about "winter" combined with "child" or "eyes"?
Oh, and on topic - good antifrank thread as per usual, and Labour are f*cked. Intellectually, practically, and electorally. I don't know if they'll revive - good old FPTP might save them. They have to avoid being eclipsed as the Opposition, and the most likely danger of that (for now) is from within.
The "No Comment/Pretend its not Happening" approach feeds distrust (of immigrants and the authorities) which in turn feeds feelings of isolation in the immigrants. Enoch Powell's "The Road To National Suicide" predicted this approach from the establishment back in 1977
For tensions to rise and violence to follow you need extreme elements in two groups of people and the establishment pretending its not happening to conduct it in the middle
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
DARK CHRISTMAS CHRISTMAS IS COMING (Game of Thrones fans will know what you mean) or, combined... DARK CHRISTMAS IS COMING
I can predict the reply to those suggestions - anything with Christmas in only sells in November / December?
Sure I can tell the plot, I explained yesterday but you probably missed it. Here ya go:
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
You need a Stepson in there; a nice counterpoint to Twin(s).
The Unsettling Stepson The Stepson's Prophecy (bit too fantasy?)
or even just
The Stepson
Apparently books with step- in them (e.g. Stepmother) don't sell. People find them too instantly depressing. True story. Don't blame me I'm just the writer.
I guess the same is true of orphan, that I was wondering about.
Sure I can tell the plot, I explained yesterday but you probably missed it. Here ya go:
Young stepmother moves into big old Cornish House with ancient Cornish family. Stepson - eight years old, clever, soulful, beautiful - starts acting strangely, predicting things. Then he predicts her death. By Christmas,
The clock is ticking. the young stepmum urgently needs to discover, is he genuinely clairvoyant, or is he somehow troubled by the dark mysteries surrounding his mother's death, two years before?
You need a Stepson in there; a nice counterpoint to Twin(s).
The Unsettling Stepson The Stepson's Prophecy (bit too fantasy?)
or even just
The Stepson
Apparently books with step- in them (e.g. Stepmother) don't sell. People find them too instantly depressing. True story. Don't blame me I'm just the writer.
Oh, and on topic - good antifrank thread as per usual, and Labour are f*cked. Intellectually, practically, and electorally. I don't know if they'll revive - good old FPTP might save them. They have to avoid being eclipsed as the Opposition, and the most likely danger of that (for now) is from within.
I think they have to keep heading down a lunatic route for a long time before they're seriously threatened. Single-Member FPTP was originally set up to entrench two-party dominance and it takes a particularly lengthy and suicidal set of actions to be leapfrogged out of being one of the Big Two. The Liberal Party managed it between 1915-1924, but that took a World War, charismatic PM splitting the Party repeatedly, deliberately spiteful and short-sighted actions (such as not standing in held seats), AND the rise of a popular alternative party.
Labour survived the Eighties, after all, without any genuine threat (in retrospect). UKIP haven't got the wider appeal, the Lib Dems are a busted flush - there's no third party threat outside of Scotland (where Labour ain't coming back - the flipside of the Donkey Vote is that when the voters have forcibly awoken to the fact that the CAN actually make a choice, they won't fall back into hypnotised "I vote this way because I vote this way" meme).
Nah. Next election will just be Labour's second 1983. They need to hold the hard-left line, have no major events derail the Government AND have something like a major Lib Dem revival, UKIP getting huge traction, or an as-yet unanticipated Third Force arise for their existence to be genuinely threatened.
Comments
We are going to disagree on this, because I know it's important to you. (As an aside, although it's not really relevant, we have a 2 bed flat in London and a similar place near where my wife grew up in the US. We certainly don't think of ourselves as "rich" although, I'd conceed we are comfortably off - thanks to judicious use of borrowing! And yes, I pay a lot of tax - I am ok with 47%, but felt that 52% was too much, and really resent the tapering of the personal allowance even though it's a smallish amount of money in absolute terms)
Pensions tax relief is government spending. An individual pays tax at 20%, 40% or 45% depending on their income. The government then chooses how to allocate it. Historically they have given a significant rebate to people who save for retirement. That's for good reasons - it encourages saving. However, it also undoubtly disproportionately benefits the better off: the 40% and 45% taxpayers. They are certainly not rich, and they are striving to make their way in life & that's to be encouraged. But I'm not sure it's the best use of £15-20bn in scarce resources. You are entirely free to change your behaviour - you may decide that a 20% top up is insufficient to accept the lack of flexiblity that comes with pensions saving, but it's not some kind of moral outrage.
Read up a bit on Kurt Cobains childhood and the song "Sifting" ( I said "Scoff" earlier, but I meant Sifting.. both mention eyes..) the contrast between his piercing blue eyes, and his extremely troubled mind might be useful research on this one, also his family break up
The Blue Eyed Boy
Takes in the eye aspect, and implies a favourite, setting up conflict with the step mum.
No idea if it has been used before.
- perhaps still a bit double entendre, but better than the 'inner ring' that first crossed my mind.
Middle class voters threatening to sit on their hands if such and such happens don't know they're born. Contributions to bring down the deficit and eventually the debt cannot all come from cutting welfare.
The BPC polling inquiry shows how we all need to learn to use data better. Me for @ProgressOnline this week https://t.co/7aNLY3BU0c
Unite was accused of “hypocrisy” as a lecturer today brought a whistleblowing claim against it.
Martyn Reuby, a Unite member for 42 years, says he was sacked after expressing views about Unite using zero-hour contracts and denying basic employment rights.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-s-biggest-union-backer-faces-legal-action-on-zerohour-contracts-a3165191.html
How about The Secret of the Scion?
Can you adapt the story to fit the title?
Maybe start with the title next time and write the story around it. I did that with an academic paper once to go in a compter journal. Came up with a title first in the coffee bar, High Level Languages for Low Level Users, and then with a colleague wrote a paper around it.
http://webodysseum.com/art/rare-pictures-of-kurt-cobains-family-and-his-childhood/
"Cold Blue Eyes" sounds a bit Frank Sinatra!
"His Eyes" maybe?
Soul's dark mist-enshrouded well
Fleetingly revealed
@Casino_Royale Happy to connect you to the campaign if you want.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labour-s-biggest-union-backer-faces-legal-action-on-zerohour-contracts-a3165191.html
Given the worldwide savings glut and the low yield of bonds, I think we'd have to say that saving does little to create macro wealth.
PB threads are very topical, and immediate. The reasons behind each thread and how you'd apply them/results to the future would be fascinating. I'd buy that distilled history.
Now if he could chuck in that bad debts can be written off against tax...
Spawn of the solstice?
How about focusing on the mother
The Silent Wife
The Second Wife
The Replacement
Child Alone (or just "Alone" to refer to both of them)
In the 1980s Japan ruled the world and Christmas was very trendy in Japan. The well known department store chain Sogu decided that their new Tokyo flagship store opening ceremony (in Dec) would be Christmas themed. So they got their PR people to investigate Christianity, Christmas, Santa, Jesus and all that stuff. They made a fabulous opening display in the lobby and hid it behind curtains. The chairman made his speech, cut the ribbon and the curtains fell back to reveal - Santa. Nailed to the cross!
The Young/Cursed Visionary
Gets in a slightly supernatural Cornish element, though piskys are generally thought benign.
Lololol
Spawn of the solstice?
SNP about turn.
http://www.thenational.scot/comment/the-national-view-powers-at-too-high-a-cost-must-be-rejected.12839?utm_medium=social&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_term=Autofeed#link_time=1453791883
Code for lets stick with the handouts,might get unpopular if we have to do taxes.
Spawn of the solstice?
The Osborne
Her Inner Thigh
The Ticking Wrong
Will And Antecedent
Chasing The Christmas Tree
They did a death omen plot that looked like evil spirits. Well worth checking it out for clever plotting in this area. On S11 now so one of few shows to outlive 95% of others. In same league as Greys Anatomy.
The lines of winter
or something suitable
'xxxx in xxxx eyes'
'The Power Of The Eye'
'The Darkness Has Eyes'
'The xxxx Has Eyes'
'Eyes That Chase Me'
'Eyes That xxxx Me'
'The Eyes See Beyond'
Unfortunately 'Eyes Wide Shut' has been done, but maybe some pastich...
Oscar Wild has a line which includes
'For none can tell to what red Hell
His sightless soul may stray.'
Paper Cuts, Sifting, Scoff, and many many more!
'The Gideon Children' - plot revolves around Britain 30 years hence, the blasted land crawling with millions of starving pensioners.
(I'll suggest The Gideon Child for Sean's book)
CHRISTMAS IS COMING (Game of Thrones fans will know what you mean)
or, combined...
DARK CHRISTMAS IS COMING
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8-YdgU-CF4
or
Through child's eyes
Her tune Girl With One Eye Open is so creepy
https://youtu.be/hcfoS3TMuUw
HIS GRAVE SIGHT
The Unsettling Stepson
The Stepson's Prophecy (bit too fantasy?)
or even just
The Stepson
Stollen Innocence
December Will Be Magic Again (A Kate Bush title but oh well...)
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/01/why-cant-the-swedish-authorities-be-honest-about-crime-and-immigration/
The Winter Child
Winter Eyes
References to cold in titles could be your thing?
Sounds entertaining anyway.
For tensions to rise and violence to follow you need extreme elements in two groups of people and the establishment pretending its not happening to conduct it in the middle
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/witches-magic-exhibition-john-rylands-10785515
A Death Foretold?
Labour survived the Eighties, after all, without any genuine threat (in retrospect). UKIP haven't got the wider appeal, the Lib Dems are a busted flush - there's no third party threat outside of Scotland (where Labour ain't coming back - the flipside of the Donkey Vote is that when the voters have forcibly awoken to the fact that the CAN actually make a choice, they won't fall back into hypnotised "I vote this way because I vote this way" meme).
Nah. Next election will just be Labour's second 1983. They need to hold the hard-left line, have no major events derail the Government AND have something like a major Lib Dem revival, UKIP getting huge traction, or an as-yet unanticipated Third Force arise for their existence to be genuinely threatened.