Don't forget what makes you happy

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Hello Lovely Readers,

I feel I have fallen into a trap.

I am attempting to write a historical novel, set during WWI. The only problem is minus a few books, watching Downton Abbey and following the blog Edwardian Promenade that frequently has post on WWI on Wednesdays... I know very little about WWI. It is not something they focus on here in America as much as they focus on WWII. And even though I was a history student I never took a class on the subject so I feel I am coming to my story with very little information.

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Any way, I am trying to read a lot on WWI but sometimes I feel overwhelmed by information. I want my story to sound historically accurate but I want it to feel like a novel and not some history paper. I am taking some artistic license having a girl fall for a servant (thanks Sybil and Branson for that inspiration)... which I know would probably never happen in real life. As Dowager Countess says "it is better in novels than in real life" (not the exact quote).

But while I am trying to learn so much I feel I have lost my motivation. I feel like someone has already written the story, some will do it better than me, or what if I get it wrong then I will be a fraud. Oh my goodness do these thoughts create other frustrations in writers?

So while I still love WWI and I know I NEED to read more about it and do some research I am going to take a little break and just enjoy writing. My brain is a little overwhelmed at the minute with trying to do research and with life thing, so I decided at least for my next few books I am going to read things that are a little light and fluffy.

I am recently finished Keeping the Castle, it is my 5th book in my 26 book challenge and I picked it because of its cover. But the story is suppose to be good for those who love Pride and Prejudice and I Capture the Castle both of those are on my favorite list.

I think as a writer we can research as much as we want but sometimes we just need to read a novel just for some fun and lightheartedness.

I also know as a previous history student you will never be able to tell the whole story of WWI (as it was pretty big thing) so I need to keep focus on my writing and the reason I was motivated to write this story.

My story Monday

Dear Lovely Readers,

Thank you for reading my blog. I am still working through my story so I wanted to share it with you. However, I have decided I need to go back and do some correcting. I know grammar is not my biggest talent, but beyond that I need to make some historical corrections. Also the more I plot and write my story I have become less satisfied with my title. So I hope to get through these corrections and start sharing my story again. I do so love sharing it as it gives me inspiration to continue writing. 

Have a good day.

 Daphne and Mattie followed Parker up the back stair case from the kitchen to the third floor. Mattie was puzzled where they were going to find dresses for her and Daphne for Lady Welford only had one son. Amongst the splendor of Cranston Court Mattie began to feel the shabbiness of their attire even if they didn't have any mud stains on them. She felt certain that she would never fit into the grandness of a place in this and she felt certain that whatever she did would bring shame to Lady Welford, and she did not want to do that after all Lady Welford was already being so generous to them. Even Daphne who far outweighed Mattie in beauty looked a bit faded against the grandeur of Cranston. After passing through a long corridor that took them to the end of the house and into a wing that was barely touched, Parker stopped at a door.  

   

            He didn't open the door but spoke in hushed by very firm voice. "This was my sister, Aurora's room. I am sure my mother, Lady Welford, would like it to be left they way you found it. Get dressed quickly. Food will be in the nursery shortly."

            When Parker opened the room, the creamy pink color that covered the wall almost made it shine against the dark interior of the hall. The room was so dainty  and sweet with comforter, the curtains, and the pillow all matching in a cheery flower print. Mattie quickly noticed the little doll with curly brown ringlets sitting in a high chair in the corner with a bassinet in the middle of the room all the perfect size for the doll. And in the bassinet there was light pink blanket that matched the colors of the with the initials APW stitched on it. The one thing Mattie noticed the most was the lack of dust, which seemed astonishing for the corridor looked as if no one ever touched this part of the house. Everything though in this room looked as if it had been cleaned all the time. 

            "Mathilda! Don't touch anything," Daphne snapped at her as she was staring at the doll.

 

            For the story to be accurate it must be noted that even though no one was listening the girls spoke in a whisper as if someone was.

            "I wasn't, I was just looking. Don't you find it a bit curious that we have known the Welford family all our lives, at least Parker, and we have never heard of this Aurora Welford. I always thought Parker was an only child."

            "No Mattie, it was not curious at all. You only make things curious because you don't occupy your time with more important things. You read too many novels and it has affected your sensibilities. Now we have to find something to wear, we don't want to keep them waiting."

            Mattie didn't care what Daphne said she still found the revelation of an unknown daughter rather mysterious. She had thousands of questions and though she wanted to ask them all at once she felt it would not be appropriate to ask any further. It was clearly kept a secret, for an unknown reason, and Mattie felt asking them would bring humiliation to Parker and through him Lady Welford and Mattie did not want that. 

To read more click here

Modern stories with Jane Austen Twist

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Hello Lovely Readers,

I have just done a huge accomplishment reading 2 books in one week... I never have done that. It helps that one story wasn't that big and the other as so intriguing I couldn't put it down. I am partaking in a "26 Books in 2015 Challenge". And the first couple of books were really deep so I went with something light and fluffy.

The first one was called Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl. The story is simple Althea Crawley is penniless with a large house that is crumbling around her that she wants to keep intact for your younger brother to inherit. She is beautiful and she trying to find  a wealthy man to marry. She originally thinks that she will fall for Lord Boring (her new neighbor) but she finds his friend Mr. Fredricks annoying. And she even says no matter what she would never been tempted to marry Mr. Fredricks no matter how much money he had... that is the kiss of death.

I liked the story was simple and very light read and it was good to read a teen book that was set in Jane Austen times, but was clearly for a modern day audience. I loved the banter between Althea and Mr. Fredricks.  What I didn't like was Althea was kind of a basic character. She had her flaws of not holding he tongue (when it would have been correctly to do) but she is just labeled as pretty. Not much else is given about her personality. So it was hard to get swept up in the cute moments.

The second book was First Impressions by Charlie Lovett, which was a great bibliophile mystery. Basically imagine you discovered that Jane Austen plagiarized Pride and Prejudice what would you do? It is a dual story one of Jane Austen and her friendship with Richard Mansfield who was also an author. The other is in modern day England where Sophie has begun work in an Antique Book store. Two customers come in asking for a rare copy of a second book she can't even find if it exist. But through digging around she comes to the knowledge Pride and Prejudice or how it was originally know as First Impressions might have written by someone else. Now to protect Jane Austen's legacy and keep herself alive.

The pace of the story was good, it switched back from Jane to Sophie every other chapters. Sometimes Sophie's story got so intense I wanted to skip the Jane chapter and go to the next Sophie chapter. I love the little "Easter eggs" Lovett threw into the book such as Sophie's favorite uncle was Bertram... like in Mansfield Park. I also love how Sophie uses her whits of doing research to help solve her mysteries. It was an intriguing story and I felt Lovett did a good job with his Jane Austen knowledge.

I would recommend this book to any one who loves Jane Austen. However, I give caution there were two mild sex scenes (but nothing that made me blush) and the end a few curse words though if I was fighting someone to save my life I might cuss too. If this should ever get made into a movie it would hard not to see Anne Hathaway in the role of Jane Austen as I love Becoming Jane. 

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Remember your character

Great post about becoming a VAD

Hello Lovely Readers,

I call myself a naive writer because while I have been writing since I was a little girl, I feel like I am figuring things and minus this blog I am not published. I do not call myself "naive" as a negative thing, no I just say it because when I give advice on writing I don't want my readers to think I have this completely mastered because I don't and I might never have it mastered... and to be honest I am okay with that. I write because honestly sometimes it is the only keeps me sane also when I am writing I don't know what else I should be doing.

I read a lot of blogs on writing about how to create characters and how to have great plots. Sometimes in reading these blogs I get so overwhelmed by them that I don't know how to translate it into my writing. For example: I read blogs and have numerous pins that talk about how there needs to be action in every chapter. But I am stuck think how can that be?

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I am the kind of author that uses part of my personality in my characters. My character, Mattie,  is definitely my hopeful romantic self, who wants a happy ending and believes love will conquer all. My character Daphne, is my more practical self who while she wants love believes that following the straight path is the way to go.

Also personally, it is the heroines Elinor Dashwood, Fanny Price, and Molly Gibson that fill my head. Their struggles seem mostly internal. All them are very sacrificial, giving up their own pleasures for the good of  all, they also are not understood by other characters and for much of the story they are in the background. Then it seems all the sudden the man, they have been wanting the whole novel finally realizes how good they are or how beautiful they are and suddenly they are enthralled with the girl. (Wouldn't it be nice if it worked out like this in real life?) But these stories don't really have much action.

How can I take the heroines I love, and want to write about and make them acceptable in the 21st century readers? And how can I do this and still write good historical fiction?

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Right now in my writing I feel I am setting up my characters. Mattie is still "innocently naive" but I think the War will push her out of her comfort zone and that will be good. I think Mattie will become a VAD (voluntary aid detachment) because after her brother gets injured she decides that there must be more she can do for the war effort. Mattie will have to lie about her age because she is 17 when the war starts and VADs couldn't volunteer till they were 23. Which is okay, because I have read a lot of people  didn't have birth certificates. 

But I am still figuring things out...

As I have working out the plot and trying to get Mattie on the train platform where she she discovers Kelby has abandoned her, but yet she still gets on the train to have a life in America (read here) I realizes she needs motivation. Besides not marrying Lord Thomas.

I just finished Vera Brittian's Testament of Youth, it is a memoir of her life during WWI where she becomes a nurse. It has been very insightful and I have underlined a lot of passages.

My copy of Testament of Youth with post-its marking pages of passages I liked

 But after the war she kind of drifts not knowing what to do next, she wrote: "The War came and went; love came and  went; but the dream remained" (pg. 544). For Brittian the dream was to be a writer and she goes to back to that, but I don't think I have given Mattie a dream. She wants to be useful and gives herself to help those around her (esp. Lady Adelaide) and she tries to sacrifice her own heart to love another so her sister can marry the man she loves. But what are her dreams?

Here is where I get stuck.

Okay I think I leave this post with more question than answers. However, to me that is the fun of writing because while I have plotted out my story I let my characters take me on a journey sometimes to places I never thought possible.

So my naive writing advice to remember your character's dreams.