I'm rewarding all of you who have come to my blog, by posting my newest chapter here, a day before I post on the three JAFF sites.
Let me also share that I am in the home stretch. I finally have a clear vision on just how this is going to end, and am very exited, and pretty certain that I will finish the book this month. Knock on wood, or MacBook, whatever is closest....
So enjoy, and let me know what you think.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Yay us!!! How lucky are we? I will be all cozied up tonight reading on my iPod touch! You are a doll.
ReplyDeletexoxo
Carrie
Lovely, as always. One thing, though. You mention something about Wickham's ponytail being clipped.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the style was generally referred to as a "queue" and I don't believe "ponytail" came into usage until later.
Second, by the time of P&P the British army had--for the most part--mainly done away with it and even made short hair mandatory. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponytail)
If you are determined to have Wickham with long hair that gets cut as part of his beatdown, these might be facts worth mentioning.
I have noticed a tendency for modern-day colloquialisms to make their way into your writing that you might want to be wary of. The last chapter you used spoke about something getting on Mrs. Bennet's "last nerve" which definitely is a more modern turn of phrase.
I realize that you have intended to hold off until the end of writing the story to run it by a copy editor, but I would highly recommend you reconsider and employ a beta reader; some hardcore Austenites can be downright vicious about historical accuracy.
I don't claim to be an expert by any means either on correct grammar for the period or trends, fashions, and styles, but I can at least help catch at least a few of the more jarring errors.
Crystal W (from DWG)
Here is another link which seems to indicate that queues (or clubs) might still have been in fashion in Regency times: http://www.janeausten.co.uk/magazine/page.ihtml?pid=154&step=4
ReplyDeleteI can't seem to track down exactly when they went out of style. If they were proscribed by the end of the Napoleonic wars (which would have been 1815) then bu the time of P&P they would have, at the very least, been on their way out.
Hi Crystal,
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you liked Chapter 7. Thank you also for your help. I did actually wonder what a "ponytail" was called back then. I will change that, I think... I'm just hoping that the average reader will know what a queue is. I might get more comments asking me what that is, than getting comments about how the word ponytail was not used back then. Hmmmm. :0)
As far as the Betas go, I'm not too concerned about turning anyone off at this point. I have had very few complaints, and I might not care if I lose people who can't get past a phrase like "last nerve." It seems that they almost have an agenda, and are ready to slap someone like a fly, if they don't abide within their framework. Maybe I should have a disclaimer. "I am not going for strict historical accuracy. I am just trying to tell a story in a Jane Austen-like style, for people in the 21st century."
So, even though I have been doing a lot of research along the way, my plot and my character development are the most important things I want to hear back about. The big picture. Little things can be taken care of later.
I'll get off my soap box. :0) I have been guilty of my own prejudice when P&P is concerned. I HATED the 2005 film version until just last year, when I let all my preconceived notions go, and just enjoyed it as an artist's interpretation, and nothing else. I love it now!
Well, now I get to obsess over what to do about a snipped ponytail/queue. :0)
Thank you again for your help.
Sincerely,
Amy
Thanks for your response, Amy. I really do try not to be nitpicky, and please don't interpret my comments as such, because they're not meant to be.
ReplyDeleteYours is such a wonderful and enjoyable story and tends to flow so smoothly that when something like that crops up, it is very jarring, because it's not something you expect to find in writing of this calibre. It's like hearing a sour note unexpectedly in the middle of a gorgeous symphony.
I look forward to the next installment.
God bless you, Crystal! I don't mind your comments at all. Please don't worry about me. This symphony is only a rehearsal... Can you tell that I'm also a musician? :0)
ReplyDeleteAmy
Three cheers for pimping, er, promoting your blog with the early posting!
ReplyDeleteAll seriousness aside, (snicker) Every red head knows that green dresses are the bomb! Best color ever.
Carry on.
Thank you so much, Amy. I was so thrilled to see your next chapter was posted. I had a very frustrating day at work, with internet and email down all day, (it makes me crazy.) But being able to relax and drink in your lovely story is a great way to end an otherwise useless day.
ReplyDeleteBTW - I will never look at a pheasant the same way again.... and I'm so glad Lizzy finally wore the green dress....maybe we should start a green dress club.
Needless to say, I enjoyed every word and wait impatiently for more.
I am all for the green.... It is, after all, my favorite color.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for the Pheasant... Which we love to enjoy now and then... My family will wonder why I am smirking at the delicious bird. ;)
xo
Carrie
*I am so happy someone kicked Wickham's .... ahem, I mean showed him a lesson.
I'm all for green, girls. I consider it my signature color, but maybe it has something to do with my eyes that change color with what I wear... :0)
ReplyDeleteChapter 8? Please? I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms here...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder Crystal! I totally forgot.
ReplyDeleteMy bad...