The Sister

I grew up in a family of four daughters, and so I feel that I know a great deal about female relationships. However, the relationship in my novel, or more accurately, a certain disturbed characted in my novel has thrown me for a loop. As happens sometimes when you are writing, you become distracted by a character, feel like you are neglecting them, their story, or some part of their make-up. It is imperative to get this character right, suddenly so important, that you almost want to abandon the project for the fear of tangling the entire story because of this one difficult character.
Her name is Elizabeth, but from childhood she has been called Bitsy. She is a tangled mess of highs and lows, following doctor's directions to be shut away from her family during her lows, leaving so much of her responsibilities on her sister's shoulders that she no longer functions as a wife or mother. Not that all women of her place in society had to deal with what we think of us motherly duties today, but she had even less than that. And so when I first began writing of Bitsy, I could see she had emotionally, spiritually, and mentally (yes, it was considered harmful for an overwrought female to read or think -- too strenous) shrunk. Her body was lax, full, rarely clothed in anything but morning gowns and robes unless going out to accompany her husband on hotel business at the balls during the summer season on her "good" days.
Perhaps I struggle with Bitsy because, (unintentionally, of course)I relate. I have been shut away with depression and had my share of "good days" and "bad days". Those who know me know of my history of chronic migraine-tension headaches, hospital stays, medications, numerous doctors and clinics, etc. Without realizing it, I have been writing a character of whom I can truly say, "yes, I understand" but I have held her away from me, because I don't want to remember all of that ... So I suppose in this area of the novel I need to be courageous and say, "I've lived some of this research" and use the parts of my life that apply to tell Bitsy's story. Silly to realize I've been trying to figure out what was wrong with all my research before this, it wasn't the research that was wrong, but my unwillingness to honestly deal with it.

Gone?

For part of my research I have begun and finished Margaret Mitchell's Pullitzer prize-winning novel, Gone With the Wind. Some might question why I would consider this research. It is, after all, set much earlier than my novel, in a different area of the Southeast, and absorbed historically with the Civil War issues that my novel is only touching on. Why do I consider it worthwhile research? The attitudes portrayed in the novel are rather telling of the gentility of the South. As Mitchell asserted, the era was over, gone with the wind once Dixie lost her war. But the attitudes towards the genders, predjudices, and societal expectations were not. I learned a great deal about how and why women were viewed the way they were at the time. I don't know which side of the war I would have personally supported had I lived in that era, or what prejudices I would have sported. But it has helped me better understand why ladies did not go out without proper escorts, and various other protocol. It will certainly help to make sure that my novel covers these bases.

Tales of the Atlantic Hotel 1880-1933

I am so excited to have bought and read Tales of the Atlantic Hotel. It was extremely helpful in many ways. First, I now have better visualization of how the hotel was laid out and the social customs that were prominent that created the lay-out (i.e. separate dining hall for nurses and children, Bachelor's Row for single-men staying at the hotel). Second, I now understand better the key players in reopening the hotel, as well as specific incidents in the year(s) that my story is taking place. There are fascinating events from 1886, where I have the story beginning. From a horrible winter storm to an earthquake in the South, the year was packed with details that I did not know before. I look forward to continuing my research, rewrites, etc. that will make the story stronger.

A Difference in Gender

This week I have concentrated on critically reviewing my male characters. Many books written about the Victorian era are currently written by women, nothing wrong with that. However, my tendency as a woman, one who is highly emotional, can be to write overly emotional men. This messes with the tone and believability. I want the men in the story to sound like men, not women dressed up as men acting like they think men should act. This is especially important in an era where emotions were highly guarded. It has been a humbling week, reading through scenes and thinking "Ah! That sounds like a woman!" and trying to figure out what a man would say and finding that often he might decline to comment at all. As in acting sometimes the more powerful words are the ones you don't speak. Even with all of the editing of the past month or so, I have continued writing more and the story seems to be progressing. As always, I want it quality, not just an abundance of words, a story that intrigues and inspires. Now there is something that most men would not express, at least not that way.

Conflict

It is ridiculous to write that lately I have felt conflicted about the conflict in my novel, but there it is. As I have gone into describing the daily details of the lives of my characters (i.e. using all that valuable research), I have been avoiding the interpersonal conflict that some of their relationships would naturally have. In avoiding it, though unconsciously, I felt distanced from the story. After all, conflict is what draws us into a story, and especially this story. Conflict is not just about resolution, but also about discovery. If I avoid it altogether, probably because I don't want a soap operatic quality to the story, my characters will be hindered and limited. I will be like a mother that refuses to let her child learn how to walk for fear of his falling. So, this week, my characters are being allowed to naturally pursue their lives and develop their relatioships without my interference (hopefully). Time will tell if I have done well.

dialect

I remember first reading Huckleberry Finn and later Pygmallion. How did Twain and Shaw know how to take the English language and make it sound like it is spoken? From my little bit of work in the theatre I have explored several accents and enjoy learning how to imitate them. However, I am quite a novice at making my characters on the written page sound like they should.
I realized last week that I was getting too worked up about this issue. Until I get more information about the dialect of the region during that time period, I need to proceed writing and then go back later to edit the dialogue appropriately. Especially important will be to reflect educational status in the character's speech. I don't want to fall into class or ethnic stereotypes but remain true to who the characters are as they would have existed in history.
I am hoping to reconnect with my historian who has promised some written dialogue. Currenly, my email and his do not seem to get along, so I may be trying snail-mail. Perhaps slower, but worth it to get this right.

A child's perspective

While writing I am acutely aware of the two youngest characters in my story, a set of twins. I want to paint them clearly and accurately, with respect for their unique perpective so that I never over-simplify or make them too complex. Also, I want to keep in mind that today's children are far different than their Victorian counterparts. During the Victorian era children were protected from many adult discussions, sometimes even excluded from the dinner table, though I doubt that to be the common in the South in any but wealthiest households. Seen and not heard was taught for manners sake, to teach children "their place" but in many households it did not steal their childhood. They were aware of death and hardship, these things were a way of life as was personal responsibility. However, they were not exposed to things of our era like mass media, which encourages very young children (who are born with the inclination) to emulate older children and adolescents before they have the judgment to understand the consequences of certain actions. My job is not to use my novel to judge between the two, but to accurately portray the twins at their stage of life in the right context. I hope I am up to the challenge.