Jane, what were you thinking?

I just had some time off - a full week devoted to Writing - and Art, for a respite...the rain poured down, a  warm and soft May rain, so there were no lawnmowers or trimmers or any machines...just the rain thrumming outside on the roof. Is there any sound nicer? It is like a distant muffled drumbeat. Then it stops for a short while; the birds sing a little aria and then the drumbeat begins again.
I was able to firm up my timeline for Delaford, figure out for good when everything took place and link it up to real events, accurately I hope. The characters are developing nicely. I have taken a leaf from Ang Lee and  call Margaret 'Meg' - she has a prominent role and it is just so easy to confuse her name with Marianne's. Jane, what were you thinking? Didn't you think people would want to write sequels and develop her character? Why did not you call her - Catherine or Georgina?
And you never gave us Colonel Brandon's Christian name. We have had to make that up too. Neither do we know Mrs. Dashwood's Christian name. I am thinking Lenore, though she has been called Mary in an adaptation. But her eldest daughter is Elinor so I think she could be a Lenore and Lenora or Eleanor.
Back to work tomorrow. But I loved my Writing Week.

HEARING THE CHAPTER READ

(sorry for the irregular formatting, I'm a work in progress!)

Good writing must always be pleasant to the ear, and make sense. Perhaps we are ecologically created for oral histories and storytelling; for most stories were heard, and not read, in centuries past, around firesides and camp fires. Even in more recent times, there was not enough good light for everyone in a room to read, and books were read by one family member and listened to by the others. (We see plenty of examples of this in Austen herself).
Therefore the resonance, the tone, the character’s speeches, the pictures woven in events, must sound good to the ear, like poetry or drama.

I read out my Brandon chapter and recorded it on my smartphone. I read all my chapters aloud, to background music which I choose to suit the scene. Brandon was talking to a senior officer who is a rather pompous and mean character; and Baroque Marches from You-Tube helped me write the scene. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH-4NAf5PEc and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOdqvjM7wdU  both from TheClassicalSymphony Channel

  I also play the music while I read it aloud into my cute little android. When I play the recording back, the background music adds atmosphere, which makes me more creative, and helps me to zone in on what mood I want the scene to be.  Also it masks my squeaky chair and my occasional mutterings about necessary edits and illogical elements. Recording is a good practice, and I can listen to it while I am doing chores – mixing it up! Some parts are actually good, and they give me confidence in what I am doing. And most importantly – the creases show up, and I shake my head while wiping the countertop and say – nope, that doesn’t sound right...he is a military man, and wouldn’t wince…make him frown…

RICKMAN OR MORRISEY? WHO'S THE BEST BRANDON?

Alan Rickman…David Morrissey…Robert Swann…Richard Owens…who is the best Colonel Brandon of them all? ( and I had to look the last two names up, (1981 and 1971 respectively) being not familiar with the adaptations, though I have watched them.)

It is not fair to compare Rickman and Morrissey; the latter had a lot more time to become his character. Having said that, Rickman was a great Eamon de Valera in Michael Collins, and that is who he is for me. Morrissey is – more my Brandon. There is something about his face. there is a depth and a soulfulness - .

But who is Brandon? Jane doesn’t even give him a Christian name. Neither does she really explore his character very deeply; there is no necessity for the story. We know certain things about him, and it is so fun to build on that, and fill him out, and make it fit – and be true to the original as much as possible!

Brandon was a Colonel. So he was in command of 1,000 men. What kind of commander was he? Autocratic? Just? Was he liked by his officers and men? He was in India when he was young – maybe an ensign. No - an ensign was the most junior officer, and after a couple of years, he would have been made a lieutenant. In which Presidency of British India did he serve? How did he like it there? How did this experience affect his future thinking?

Did he want a military career? 

Did he retire upon being made a Colonel and inheriting Delaford?  In France, a charismatic General is on the rise…will this affect his plans for his own (and Marianne’s) future?

I’ve done a lot of work on this already. Besides the research –(‘the Dawning of the Raj’, Berstein, Jay. A fascinating read)…I’ve written the chapter where we get to know him most. I have had to invent another character to get to know his background, his character, his fears and hopes, better.

MIX IT UP

 

I don’t think I could be one of those writers who seclude themselves away in somebody’s beachhouse. It sounds attractive in a way; but I think I would not want to come in from the beach, and if I was writing the delighted cries of little kids might distract me. I like writing because it takes me away from a busy, active life which in itself is stimulating.

I’ve worked in healthcare all my life but have no desire to write about it. Apart from my saying to myself, no, that would never happen in real life, and having a real problem with suspending credibility, I like to depart completely from my job when I am not there, and go elsewhere.

It is 7pm Pacific Time in the USA, and I’m ready to write until midnight. But I have stuff to do as well; laundry is a good thing to do when you are writing…it does itself. I hang-dry clothes which gives me a break from the keyboard.

My motto is ‘MIX IT UP’. It works for me.

 

FINDING TIME

 
Mr Celticjaneite (Mr. CJ from now on) is very supportive of my writing, and that is very important. Because I spend a lot of time doing it. Because I am always at the laptop. Because I always have a JA book wherever I go. Because it is almost an obsession. He is tolerant, but at the same time, I make sure I have my priorities correct.  Relationship with God and Spouse and Family; Work –  Essential household work - then thinking about Writing or Doing it. And I find that there is time, if I sacrifice other things.

It means – not surfing the Net instead of writing. It means – not watching that movie that popped up on You-Tube. (but OK to break free and do that sometimes). Not reading that great new book they are all reading at work. Closing my eyes to dust on the cabinet; lint on my carpet. Not fancy, time-consuming baking and cooking. All I have are evenings and weekends.

How do I maximize the little time I have to get the best out of it?

BACKGROUND

 
I want to do this. I have tried and failed several times; given up because of not enough time…forgotten what I have written. Even forgotten the names of some of my characters! Oh what was the aunt’s name?

Perhaps my Blog should be the Challenge of the Part-time Middle-aged Writer. Admit it, after 45 or so, the memory blunts a bit. Not the sharpness! I went back to college at 45 and got straight A’s and a degree in Graphics Communications. It was wonderful to know I could keep up with the 19-year olds in my class. I was very tech-challenged at the time and they were great to help me with that. I like to think I repaid them by offering good wise insights in class discussions.

First, a brief history of my Austen fanship. I read Pride and Prejudice for the Leaving Certificate (the Irish State Exam taken in the last year of formal school) and while I liked it, I didn’t understand the long sentences. (still have trouble with that sometimes). Perhaps I am one of the ‘dull elves’ she talks of…but I digress…I drew Lizzy and Darcy all over the margins. Empire line gowns and knee-length breeches and all, which shows I knew the fashions of the time. My Darcy, I remember, was very skinny.

Fast forward to 1995 Pride and Prejudice. In August of that year, I became Mrs. Van Beethoven. My husband is a huge fan of the composer of that name. His real name is Liam Flannery and he is from Limerick, Ireland. That by the way is the same city that Tom Lefroy, Jane’s love, was from. His old home is now a Bank.

Liam lived in the USA, so I moved here in September after our August wedding. And as I was settling in, the 1995 Pride and Prejudice got it’s American debut on the Arts&Entertainment Network.  I was so excited; here was good old-fashioned familiar stuff from England. Liam joined me in watching it. (since then he has eased himself out of watching romantic movies with me, but as an English Lit fan, he did find P&P very enjoyable).

That Pride and Prejudice Adaptation got me very interested in JA, and I have since bought and read all the books, read Claire Tomalin’s biography; and seen all the adaptations that I could. And I love everything! I don’t want to leave the characters on the pages…I want their stories to go on…and so I am writing my first sequel – when I have Time.

THE CHALLENGE OF THE PART-TIME WRITER

 

I'm a part-time writer. I work full-time and keep a house and take care of Mr. CelticJaneite, the last being the easiest of the three!

Writing and working full-time has its challenges. I work at a computer. My work can be repetitive; my work environment can be at different times very quiet and extremely distracting and I have learned: a. get enough sleep at night to avoid dozing off at the quiet times and help me focus and b. play something in the background to block out the busy environment and help me focus. My work is also demanding at times; pressured with deadlines, and I have to multi-task.

But the most pressing problem I have is: How do I find time to write? To immerse myself in my writing; to read and re-read, edit and rewrite…and in the case of writing a believable sequel, how do I get to know the original work well enough to be true to it?

In this Blog I will write about: environment required to write.
support
commitment and self-discipline
 progress
creative ways to address the most pressing problem described above. How do I find time to write?
and anything else that occurs to me.