Beautiful People: Valentine Edition

Even though I don’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day, the opportunity to delve into my first romantic couple was too enticing to pass up with this edition of Beautiful People. Check out the blogs at Paper Fury or Further Up and Further In to learn more!

Up until last year, I wouldn’t have had a couple to use for this questionnaire. But since my 1930s retelling of Sense and Sensibility, obviously I have one now. Two, in fact, but I’ll focus on my favorite: Ellen Dashiell (aka Elinor Dashwood) and Everett Shepherd (aka Edward Ferrars).

1. How did they first meet?
They met in Ellen’s cousin’s living room. It was totally unexpected on everyone’s parts, including the cousin’s, because Ellen was late and Everett was early. It might as well have happened then, though, because two days later they turned into coworkers when Everett became the accountant at the business where Ellen was a secretary.

2. What were their first impressions of each other?
Ellen noticed Everett was shy, at least around girls. She thought he had a pleasant, endearing look about him, and she felt he needed friendly drawing-out. Everett thought Ellen was strikingly pretty, poised and confident, though quiet, which he especially appreciated. Overbearing girls make him want to disappear.

3. How long have they been a couple?
Well, they’re not really an official couple yet…

4. How committed/loyal are they to each other? Would they break up over a secret or a disagreement? Could stress drive them apart? Would they die for each other?
A certain secret makes it impossible for them to be together. But if that issue were swept away, they would be united for life—even into death. They would die for each other.

5. List 5 “food quirks” they know about each other. (Ex: how they take their coffee, if they’re allergic to something, etc….and feel free to mention other non-food quirks!)
1) Ellen knows Everett can’t make a decent sandwich to save his life.
2) They both choose apple cider over coffee and hot chocolate (can you believe someone would do that? Actually, they’re people after my own heart there).
3) When Ellen works, she always eats lunch at her desk.
4) They each know the other is cold-natured (they noticed almost as soon as they first met, because neither of them are ever quick to doff their coats or gloves in winter).
5) Everett gets absorbed in numbers; Ellen gets absorbed in typing.

6. Does anyone disapprove of their relationship?
No one really except Leona Bingham (aka Lucy Steele). If you know Sense and Sensibility’s plot, you know why.

7. What would be an ideal date?
Although they like working in an office well enough, they love getting out into nature. So a day trip out to Turkey Foot Lake or some other nearby natural spot would be absolutely idyllic to them.

8. What are their personality dynamics? Similar? Contrasting? Do they fight a lot or mesh perfectly?
They’re pretty similar as far as couples go. Both are quiet, though Ellen is more outgoing. Both are neat and orderly. They understand each other very well, often without speaking, so arguments are rare.

9. What have been their best and worst moments together as a couple?
If I answer this question, won’t it give away their story? :) Their best and worst moments as a couple are at the heart of Suit and Suitability.

10. Where do they see themselves and their relationship in the next few years?
At this point, they aren’t sure. They think they want to marry, but the obstacles seem insurmountable.

All in all, Ellen and Everett are rather sedate as a couple—nothing flamboyant or unpredictable, thank you. They love peace and quiet and work and structure, and being there for their friends. We need more people like them in this world!

Beautiful Books: The Editing Process

Happy December everyone! I’m here with another blog link-up from Beautiful Books. Even though I didn’t officially participate in NaNoWriMo, I’m coming to the end of my WIP, Suit and Suitability, so the questions about “The Editing Process” seemed fitting. I managed to write over 27,000 words in November, a record that leaves my other monthly word totals far behind. This month I hope to write with equal persistence (come on, brain, you can do it!). But I am starting to think about the editing process, so without further adieu…

 1.    On a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best), how did the book turn out? Did anything defy your expectations? 
I don’t know; perhaps an optimistic 7? The novel took turns I definitely didn’t expect from the outset but that I really, really like. It also came out way longer than I expected…frighteningly longer. 

 2.    Comparative title time: what published books, movies, or TV shows are like your book? (Ex: Inkheart meets X-Men.)  
Sense and Sensibility meets Grace Livingston Hill’s 1930s novels meets a scoured clean Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, I think. (I don’t want to see that movie, but I semi-know the story, and the rich 1930s setting is similar to how I picture my S&S. Plus, I understand that it involves an actress and two female leads with opposite personalities.)

 3.    Do you enjoy working with deadlines and pressure (aka NaNoWriMo)? Or do you prefer to write-as-you’re-inspired? 
I enjoy working with my own deadlines and goals, such as the 25k words I made myself write last month. That’s the best way to make my writing actually go somewhere fast!

 4.    How do you go about editing? Give us an insight into your editing process. 
I set aside the completed story for a while, until I feel distanced enough to read over it with a fresh, eager, yet critical perspective. I read it once, fixing things as I go (inconsistencies, clumsy sentences, wordiness, length, inaccuracies), then let some other people see it. I keep going through it until it’s as good as I feel I can make it, then I have my special critics read it and help me improve it. After all that, I’ll probably read through it again…

 5.    What aspect of your story needs the most work? 
The law case involving Ellen and Marion’s father.

 6.    What aspect of your story did you love the most? 
Ellen’s and Marion’s spiritual journeys.

 7.    Give us a brief run down on your main characters and how you think they turned out. Do you think they’ll need changes in edits? 
Thankfully, I don’t think any my main characters will need much changing, though I’d like to better develop Calvin Bradley (aka Colonel Brandon) and Everett Shepherd (aka Edward Ferrars).

 8.    What are your plans for this novel once you finish editing? More edits? Finding beta readers? Querying? Self-publishing? Hiding it in a dark hole forever? 
More edits, finding beta readers, self-publishing in the Vintage Jane Austen series!

 9.    Share a favourite snippet! 
This is at a Broadway theatre where Marion has just seen the musical Anything Goes.

     Marion’s hands flew into an involuntary frenzy of applause; she felt as if the whole audience’s applause lifted her somewhere heavenly. She let her tears gather. The show was beautifully madcap—touching and amusing and thoroughly cheering, all at once. It could appeal to the masses and delight critics, planting songs and lines in the minds of everyone to flourish there forever. Someday she would know the actual feel of having acted in a show like that, and this applause would be for her and her friends.

10. What are your writing goals and plans for 2016? 
I’d like to finish S&S and tie it up with a pretty bow. I’d also like to start on a new novel…I have at least two ideas, but nothing definite yet. I also have shorter stories simmering, but we’ll see if anything comes of them.

Check out the original post on Further Up and Further In! How does your editing process work? What are your writing goals and plans for 2016?

Beautiful Books: The Writing Process

For those of you who write, have you ever joined in the Beautiful Books/Beautiful People link-up by Further Up and Further In? I’ve done it just once or twice, but it’s really quite enjoyable! November, as national novel writing month, shines the focus on your work-in-progress.

First, an update: While I’m not officially participating in NaNoWriMo, I have been using the motivation of this literary month to apply myself to my WIP, Suit and Suitability. And it’s going well, praise God! My goal is 25,000 words (half the 50,000 NaNo count), and amazingly, I’m ahead of schedule. I wasn’t expecting this, because so many individual days of my past writing life have felt defeating, as I either didn’t write at all, or rejoiced at word counts of 800 words or so max. And, each day this November save one, I’ve written more than that, and with comparative ease, too. Don’t you just love it when the words flow effortlessly, through no struggle of your own? So far I’ve logged two days exceeding the daily NaNo word count—1,692 and 1,715. I am so grateful to God for giving me clarity of mind as I forge forward with this novel.

And now for the fun stuff—Beautiful Books: The Writing Process!

1.    Is the book turning out how you thought it would be, or is it defying your expectations?
It’s mostly turning out how I thought it would. I had a vague knowledge of what needed to happen to my characters once they reached New York, but having to write so much has forced me to make something concrete out of that vagueness.
2.    What’s your first sentence (or paragraph)?
This may or may not be the absolute first two paragraphs, and I may or may not be happy with them, but…here you go:
“Yes, we find him guilty.”  
      The foreman of the jury’s voice was deep, level, and emotionless; it sounded so uncannily like Ellen’s father’s that she could almost believe her father was convicting himself. The foreman looked nothing like him, though—short, paunchy, and dark-haired to her father’s blond hair and straight, well-built form.
3.    Are you a plotter or a pantser? Have you ever tried both methods and how did it turn out?
I am a plotter and haven’t even attempted being a panster. The latter goes against the grain of almost every piece of my personality, so I doubt I could get very far by trying it. Maybe I will, one day, just to see…and who knows? The results may be surprising!
4.    What do you reward yourself with after meeting a goal?
Feeling a deep joy that I can’t really explain, and then telling people about reaching the goal, hoping they’ll rejoice with me. : )
5.    What do you look for in a name? Do you have themes and where do you find your names?
Since Suit and Suitability is a retelling of Sense and Sensibility, I’ve mostly adapted my characters’ names from the original novel, with a 1930s “flair”—Ellen, Marion, Greta, and Everett are my favorites. (If you’ve read Jane Austen’s classic, do you recognize Elinor, Marianne, Margaret, and Edward?)
6.    What is your favourite to write: beginning, middle, or end — and why?
I have the most experience with middles, because they make up the vast majority of my writing…but I would say either middles or ends. Beginnings worry me…I never know if I’m including too much or too little!
7.    Who’s your current favourite character in your novel?
Ellen Dashiell, the protagonist. She’s based, of course, off Elinor Dashwood, perhaps my favorite literary character ever.
8.    What kind of things have you researched for this project, and how do you go about researching? (What’s the weirdest thing you’ve researched?!)
Good question! S&S requires a lot of research, being set in the thirties. Let’s see…I’ve researched the Great Depression; Canton, OH (I was even blessed to do that on location!); theatre, Broadway, and movies; secretaries; typewriters; houses; New York; trains; cars; education; fashion (yum!); books; telegrams…to name a few things. The weirdest thing? Um…I’m not sure. Maybe the typewriters—figuring out exactly what model Ellen (a secretary) used and loved. Or perhaps it was the senior play of 1935 at Canton’s McKinley High School that Marion (an actress) lost her chance to star in (it was “Secrets,” based off a movie by Mary Pickford).
9.    Do you write better alone or with others? Do you share your work or prefer to keep it to yourself?
Alone. Definitely alone. But I do share my work…though only when it passes my approval, usually after one or two readings.
10.    What are your writing habits? Is there a specific snack you eat? Do you listen to music? What time of day do you write best? Feel free to show us a picture of your writing space!
I don’t usually eat while I write; it distracts me. If I do, it’s tea or fruit. Nope, no music…it distracts me. : ) I seem to write best at night, or afternoon. Usually 8:00pm to 10:00pm. As for other writing habits…a bad habit of mine is to have an internet tab open where I sneak to when my writing drags. The guilt steps in quickly, though, and I scurry back before I lose complete momentum. I don’t have a picture of my writing space, but I do have a video! (No, I’m not an over-achiever…I had to do that for an author program I did over the summer. Here is the YouTube link if you're really interested: My Writing Space.)

That was fun! Feel free to join in. If you don’t wish to do a whole post, how about answering a few of your favorite questions in the comments? I’d love to hear them! And if you’d like to check out more writers’ questionnaires, go to Further Up and Further In to see the link-up list!

And I almost forgot! Amanda Tero at withajoyfulnoise.blogspot.com is doing a giveaway of four e-books by indie authors, including one of mine. The giveaway ends in three days, so if you’re interested, check it out right away! 

Beautiful People: Friendship Edition

Chances are, if you’ve followed any writing blogs long enough, you’ve seen this link-up. However, this is the first time I’ve participated (I was missing out!). It’s fun and valuable to get to know your story characters by answering questions about them. It fleshes out the story in your mind, and the better-developed reality spills onto the novel’s pages, even if you don’t share all the information you find.

Beautiful People’s theme this month is friendship. The characters I’m taking through this are who else but Ellen and Marion Dashiell, from my 1930s Sense and Sensibility retelling. Four months ago was the sibling edition, which would have been perfect, but Ellen and Marion are best friends, so this one works, too! Without further adieu…

1. How long have they known each other, and how close are they?
Marion is 17, so it’s been 17 years, though neither of them remember meeting the other. They’ve simply always been together, like a unit. A disparate unit, each side drifting in different directions—especially once they grew older—but a cohesive one, sharing all their earliest memories (they never remember those memories exactly the same). 

2. What’s their earliest memory of being best friends?
Growing up, they did everything together. They had other friends, and Marion even went through a string of little girls she called her best friends, exclusive of her sister, but Ellen was always there as the confidante of confidantes, the one she could go to when she had trouble with those pseudo best friends. They don’t recall ever not being best friends, though they didn’t always realize it. That most likely happened as teenagers, when their lives got rockier. But only during 1935 and the course of Suit and Suitability does their friendship and sisterhood get thrown in the crucible and they comprehend just what they mean to each other.

3. Do they fight? How long do they typically fight for?
Yes, but their fights are usually a swift rainstorm … they’re over when every word has been shed, within a few minutes of when they’ve begun. Both girls are forthright communicators. If something doesn’t get resolved right away, they’ll go for some time with uneasy feelings toward each other until they rehash things another day, but they never fight off and on over the same issue for days and days.

4. Are their personalities similar or do they compliment each other?
You’ll never find more complimentary personalities in any other pair of friends! Ellen is reserved, responsible, industrious, and pretty unadventurous; Marion is vibrant and outgoing, artistic and romantic, adventurous and blunt. However, both are dedicated to their life goals and fiercely loyal to loved ones.

5. Who is the leader of their friendship (if anyone)?
Marion is more active and has the needier personality, so Ellen often bends to help or accommodate her in whatever way she can; keeping track of Marion is one of her life’s projects. But Marion defers to Ellen on most major issues, because she respects her greater wisdom. Thus the leadership evens out.

6. Do they have any secrets from each other?
Right now, Ellen is consciously keeping a secret from Marion. Besides that, there have been things Ellen hasn’t told Marion—like her deepest fears and desires, the times she’s been angry with someone—but Ellen doesn’t think of those as secrets. As for Marion, she doesn’t keep secrets from anyone. 

7. How well do they know each other’s quirks and habits?
They know them like their own. For example: Marion knows to expect a subdued reaction from Ellen about everything, and that if she’s angry or frustrated she’ll tear paper into thin, even strips. Ellen knows how Marion will sing or say lines to herself, and how mortified she’ll get over a performance gone wrong. 

8. What kind of things do they like to do together?
Once in their teen years their interests split widely, so there aren’t many activities they do together anymore. They used to read, play dolls and games, and act out adventure stories in the beautiful yard their family had on Cambridge Street. But now they simply like to sit in the same room and talk about life, Ellen knitting or needling something and Marion gesturing to illustrate her points. Or sometimes they like to sit in the same room with their own pursuits, Marion reading or playing Aunt Jennie’s out-of-tune piano, and Ellen reading or, again, doing handwork. Out of the house, they like going to movies and bowling, and Ellen likes to hear Marion discuss her plays and to go see the productions.

9. Describe each character’s fashion style (use pictures if you’d like!). How are their styles different/similar?
Well, I have this passage early in the story where Ellen and Marion discuss just this subject:

Marion … fastened a favorite necklace of hers—a long  silver chain suspending a blue glass stone in a sunburst—around Ellen’s neck. “There. That tops everything off and you don’t look like such a secretary anymore.”

Ellen glanced in the full-length mirror. Her dress was light gray, circled with a narrow black belt, with a rippling collar, buttons down the bodice, and shallow pleats in the skirt. Conservative, and correct, and boring by Marion’s standards, it was the nicest dress she owned. The teal-blue one with lace overlays had snags, and it was too youthful for the look she was going for. She grinned. “What’s wrong with looking like a secretary? They have to look nice; not gorgeous like an actress, but dolled up all the same. Haven’t I been doing my job?”

“Sure you have!” Marion laid her hands on Ellen’s upper arms and slid her chin onto her shoulder; both brown-eyed, fresh-looking faces stared into the mirror side by side. “But there’s a secretary look and there’s a dinner date look. I’m going for the dinner date look. Ya need jewelry for that.”

Ellen just wants to look decent and classy for her office job, but Marion pursues fashion. She has no money, but she’s a genius with a needle and can usually adapt her and her sisters’ clothing to keep up with the times. They have their preferred colors—Ellen, gray and blue; Marion, white, pink, mint green … anything bright. (I wish I had pictures, but I didn’t have enough time to find any. But take a glance at my book cover to see their faces, at least.)

10. How would their lives be different without each other?
They’d have one less sister, and as much as they love thirteen-year-old Greta, she just isn’t close enough in age to be as close in friendship. Ellen’s life would be much quieter, and she might even find herself desperately missing the spice Marion sprinkles generously. Life would also be less challenging without Marion to watch over, and Ellen would like that even less. She’d be so bored she might have to adopt another sister, or hope Greta turns out to be a huge handful (not!). Marion would feel adrift … Ellen anchors her just as much, or more, than her parents do. An exciting life is great as long as you have someone who understands you more than you do yourself. Ellen helps her aspire to the good, and deep down she’s afraid she might not be able to stand without her.

I hope you enjoyed this first-ever insider’s look into Suit and Suitability! Which sister would you prefer as a best friend? Do you have any pairs of best friends in your stories?