NaNoWriMo 2016

November was an interesting month for me. My parents visited for a week and we painted the main living area, which has made the house look much warmer. A family of nine stayed for a weekend which was simultaneously exhausting and refreshing because I got to play with my favorite children. My husband was home and not working for a total of four days. And then, like every November, there was NaNoWriMo.

This is the third year in a row that I've participated and probably the most successful year of all. There were four days where I was unable to write at all and six more that I wrote under 1,000 words. That means that there were twenty days which I was able to devote my entire attention to writing 50,000 words. And I still managed to reach the goal. Oh and my computer died in the middle of the month. I almost lost half a chapter because it froze suddenly and never worked right again. That was fun.

That might not sound very impressive but for me, writing 2,500 words a day is difficult. I have to force myself to focus (aka. get off Facebook and ignore my longing to play Civilization V) in order to reach my goal and most days I did just that. I record how many words I've written each day because I love looking at statistics. My lowest days were always the one that I was unable to devote a good chunk of my day toward writing. November 26th was my lowest day (I went shopping and to a concert; it's amazing I wrote at all) with 683 words. My highest day, ironically, was the following day, November 27th, with 4,397 words. I think I was overcompensating for not reaching my goal the previous day but in reality it was one really long chapter. My total was 53,300 words. I wish I had planned it to come out so evenly but that was unintentional.

Starting NaNoWriMo right with coffee and essential oils to encourage creativity.

The synopsis for this novel is unlike most historical fiction, in my opinion. Most historical fiction novels (particularly those set in the Regency Era) detail a single woman's quest for a husband, but what happens after the wealthy son of a baronet proposes and they live happily ever after? Marriage isn't always the Instagram-worthy picture of perfection, like a lot of fiction makes it look like. If you think Mr. Darcy and Lizzy or Mr. Rochester and Jane never argued (you know, if they weren't fictional characters) then your view of marriage is unrealistic. So my goal was to paint a realistic picture of marriage -- one where all a person's flaws are laid out on the table and where the couple must sort through their issues together.

Cecilia Blackwell thought that she married Mr. Henry Blackwell, Member of Parliament for Lancashire, out of love but her first month of marriage proves that Mr. Blackwell's last priority is his wife. When she is left alone for months at a time, she consoles herself with reading political treatise and riding her horse across the desolate, lonely Lancashire Moors. She meets Mr. Douglas Middleton, the younger son of a baronet, and he instantly falls in love with Cecilia despite his knowledge of her marriage. She pushes him away multiple times until she realizes that, in her husband's absence, he is her only friend. Cecilia struggles with infidelity but refuses to give in to that temptation. Mr. Blackwell's best friend, Lord Greystone, invites her to visit and at a party the two Parliamentarians discover that Cecilia is not only educated on politics but she is also shrewd and persuasive. Eager to use her abilities for the Whig cause, Cecilia visits London while Parliament is in session. She and Mr. Blackwell quarrel multiple times over her education and it causes a great rift between them. They both must humble themselves or they risk estrangement and potential scandal that could be detrimental to Mr. Blackwell's career.

Normally I write Regency stories that aren't dated except for general references to major events or people, like Napoleon who terrorized a bulk of the era. I quickly realized that this wouldn't be possible for this novel. Since Mr. Blackwell is a Member of Parliament and Cecilia's vast political knowledge is a crucial part of the plot, it is difficult to be vague. I placed the novel post-Napoleon because everyone knows so much about the Napoleonic Wars but not so much about the struggles of post-war England. Haphazardly I chose for it to begin in 1818 and I didn't realize how much was going on politically during that time. Poor crop yields in 1817 caused a recession. This was aggravated by the Corn Laws, a tariff on incoming grains meant to prop up British grain production and sales. This was a Tory scheme proposed by Thomas Malthus. The Whigs and David Ricardo violently opposed this, particularly in light of the famine, and pushed for free trade. (The Corn Laws were not revoked until 1846.) There was an election in June-July of 1818 in which the Whigs gained a few seats but the Tories retained overwhelming power. (The Tories had a firm grasp on the House of Commons from 1783-1834 with only three Whig Prime Ministers for a total of five years. In 1834 the Tory party broke down and transformed into the Conservative party; the Whig party followed suite in 1859 becoming the Liberal party. Can you imagine a single party retaining power for fifty years?)

Also during this time there were debates about civil liberties and Parliamentary reform but little progress was made since those were Whig-backed projects. The result of the Tories ignoring the wants of the populace was the Peterloo Massacre in which the British Army attacked 60,000 protesters in Manchester demanding Parliamentary reform and representation for growing industrial areas. (Manchester and Lancaster had growing populations and only two Members representing them in Parliament while some declining rural areas had multiple Members representing them.) The result of this tragedy was an even greater tragedy: the Six Acts. This piece of legislation significantly limited civil liberties by outlawing large gatherings of people, increasing the punishment for political dissenters, and gave magistrates the power to search private homes and seize arms. (Some of the legislation was not revoked until as late as 2008. Manchester didn't gain representation until the Great Reform Act of 1832.) Of course, the Whigs fought this vehemently but made little progress.

In another ironic twist, I located this novel in Lancashire because I wanted the barrenness of the Moors and Cecilia's marriage to mirror each other. Imagine my surprise when I discovered in my research that during this time both Lancaster and Manchester were located in Lancashire county. (English borders have shifted over the years in relation to population and representation. It's very confusing.) The significance of the Peterloo Massacre means so much more when this occurs in Mr. Blackwell's own region. The story will end late in 1819 but I toyed with the idea of continuing it into 1820 so that I could address the Cato Street Conspiracy, an assassination attempt on the Prime Minister, the Earl of Liverpool. But I've decided that the defeat of the Whigs over the Six Acts serves my purposes perfectly.

If I didn't make this clear already, researching is one of my favorite parts of writing and my love of political and economic history really shines through in this novel. In a way, Cecilia and I are alike in our interest in economics but she was unfortunate in being born in a time where such subjects were unsuitable for a lady. (She is a big fan of David Ricardo, who was a Member of Parliament during this time, and I am planning on reading Ricardo before the end of the year, even though I'm not a huge fan of his theories.)

But politics isn't the only thing I learned about on this journey. I had to research pregnancy and childbirth because Cecilia's sister had a child later in the novel. I always thought that the "confinement" period was for a few months before giving birth, but in fact it last 4-6 weeks after the birth. The Regency period was actually one of the least restrictive eras for women and childbirth. In the Medieval period, women were oftentimes confined to their bed with all the windows shut for several months, while in the Victorian period, childbearing was considered vulgar and the moment a woman began to show signs of her pregnancy, she would remain out of society. Regency women were active until giving birth but rested afterwards. The link I found for this information can be found here.

The other interesting thing that I researched was the education process. I was trying to discover how old a man would be when he went to university, and I ended up learning even more about higher education. I always thought that the scene in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice where they show Darcy and Wickham at university together was ridiculous. Why in the world had they put Colin Firth in that horrible cap and gown? It turns out that the ridiculous cap and gown was historically accurate. Those attending university dressed according to their level of wealth. Indeed, a man of Darcy's wealth but without a title would wear a black gown with a golden tassel. The link to that information can be found here.

I realize that I'm making it sound like I did more research than writing, but it comes with the territory. One of the things that I appreciate the most in historical fiction is when everything is as accurate as possible, and one of the reasons why I despise some historical movies is because they ignore historical accuracy. It is possible to be historically accurate and create an interesting book or film.

Delenn "helps" me write. Actually she just sits on me in ways that I can't type.

Much to my disappointment, I did not finish this novel. I started NaNoWriMo with around 5,000 words and now I'm just shy of 60,000. My goal is to finish it by the end of December. I am estimating that I have at least ten chapters left. Given that I've written thirty in the last month, I think ten will be attainable. And I came up with a title which, for some reason, always seems to be the hardest part for me.

Writing a novel isn't just recording a story on paper. It's more than just creative expression. In a way, it teaches you something about yourself. It makes you realize just how talented you are, and in return it makes you thankful for those God-given talents. It's incredibly satisfying to know that you've accomplished something, even if it's not well written and only friends and family ever have a chance to enjoy that creation. I'm incredibly proud of this accomplishment and I encourage anyone who has ever had that creative spark to record your tale. You'll be amazed at how much you see yourself grow as you release your creativity and construct a story that is completely unique to you.

Goodbye until next November, NaNoWriMo.

Writing, Research, and Completed Goals

I awoke this morning to a thick layer of frost on the ground, and without my contacts in, I almost thought it was snow. That was a very fitting sight for the first day of December. The last week of November was painful for Oklahoma as an ice storm ravaged the state for four days, leaving thousands without power and broken trees scattering the state. But as a new month begins, the sun is shining and the temperature is barely above freezing.

But before we move on to what December holds, we can't forget about November. It's always a busy and creative month for me. The laundry pile is knee high, the kitchen is a disaster, and the floors are horrendous. And while all of this is irritating my housewife tendency to keep everything (relatively) clean, I don't really care. Because I reached my goal. 52,700 words in twenty-six days. The novel total was 86,132 words, 234 pages. The most productive day was November 9th with 4587 words. Now I begin the task of proofreading TWO novels. That will probably take me longer than writing the story, because I get bored of proofreading within about thirty seconds. So if anyone wanted to read anything I've written within the next ten years, think again. Oh, and I came up with a working title. I'm not convinced it's the right or best one, but tentatively it's called The Countess and the Castle.

This is how I spent most of November. Quite cozy.

NaNoWriMo isn't just about writing; it's about discovery and growth. I learned a lot of things both about myself and about Regency England. In every novel I write, I try to expand my horizons and incorporate different aspects of 19th century society into the scenes. Of course, this requires a great deal of research. I've always loved doing research, but it can be very time consuming and frustrating when you have a deadline. Here's a few things that I learned: 

I wrote two Christmas scenes, something I'd never done before, so I had to research Christmas traditions such as what they ate and how they celebrated. Regency Era traditions were very different from how we celebrate today, in fact, they even differed from Victorian and Edwardian traditions! Christmas trees were uncommon, unless the person had connections with Germany or the Americas, but they did decorate with other greenery. The greenery would be put up on Christmas Eve and taken down once Epiphany ended. Leaving it up longer was considered bad luck. Furthermore, I ventured outside my comfort zone by specifying dates and events throughout the story. The novel takes place between 1814 and 1817. Napoleon returned from Elba early in 1815, and since one of my characters was a naval Captain, he potentially would have been in the line of fire had Napoleon not been defeated at Waterloo. Also, 1816 is known as the "year without a summer". Modern scholars attribute this phenomenon to the eruption of a volcano in Indonesia that affected the climate worldwide (New England experienced snowfall in June!) Because of this climate change, crops failed and winters were a great deal harsher than other years. I wrote a line that said "the crop yield was good this year" only to have to change it after I realized that nobody's crops would have excelled that year.

This is a fraction of what I learned, but it all feeds into the vat of knowledge I've accrued about life in Regency England. One day, I'll get through a chapter without having to look something up. I also found a bunch of links that will aid future research. Thank goodness for bookmarks! But what's more important than facts and figures is that I discovered that I can write 50,000 words in a month. I can finish something if I really put my mind to it. No matter what I think, or what anyone else thinks, I can finish what I started. I still don't know exactly how I did it, and frankly sometimes I think that I did my math wrong. It wouldn't be the first time. I suppose it all goes back to the old adage: how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

So December. There will be lots of proofreading, cleaning, and video gaming. I'm about a quarter of the way through Cranford, the last book in my list for Reading England 2015. I am looking forward to a great deal of baking, sewing, and decorating, after Advent is over, of course. Also, I should probably mention something about no longer placing my fictional characters above my husband's needs. He probably appreciates having my full attention again. So with the sun shining and essential oils in my diffuser, I delve back into the swing of things after a month's sabbatical. And I'm not even complaining.

NaNoWriMo - Year Two

It's that time of year again where the leaves are changing, people in most of the country don their coats, sweaters, and boots, and everyone prepares for the colder weather by stocking up on firewood, or at least buying a few cans of soup in preparation for foul weather. For some people, November is a time where they don't have to shave for a month. Others spend the latter half of the month preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmastide. Then there's a small group of people who challenge themselves to crank out a novel in just thirty days.

I've always struggled with writing a lot in a short amount of time. Between distractions and my perfectionist tendencies, I've frequently spent a half hour trying to come up with the right word to properly describe a situation. But this year, along with the encouragement of my best friend, essential oils to help stimulate creativity and productivity, and copious quantities of chocolate, coffee, and bourbon, I am eager to overcome all obstacles in my way. My goal this year is to either reach 50,000 words (the typical NaNoWriMo challenge) or finish the novel I started last year, which is currently just shy of 35,000 words. I am estimating the finished product being somewhere between 75,000 and 100,000 words, which makes either goal feasible. My daily goal will be approximately one chapter a day, or between 1500 and 2000 words, or a half chapter a day for the longer chapters.

Currently, my Regency heroine, Philippa, has endured the death of her husband and enchanted half the men in the county before she is fully out of mourning. But the Countess' world is about to drastically change as events spin out of control. She finds that her unruly step-son continues to spend recklessly and chooses a bride that threatens the estate's stability even further, and that Napoleon refuses to accept defeat as he returns from his banishment, threatening the entire country. But what becomes of Philippa, the ancient Surrey estate, and her family is a mystery to all but my deranged and devious mind.

For the next month, I'll be positioned, laptop nearby, somewhere between the dining room table, the love seat enjoying the fire, or the bedroom as I cuddle with the cat. So here's to a month of growing piles of laundry and neglected dishes, unswept floors and dusty dressers, empty coffee cups and last minute meals, a lonely husband and limited sleep. And though I may neglect my duties as a housewife for four weeks, I am stimulating my brain and challenging my creativity, which is always a worthwhile endeavor.

Resume life in three, two, one.

The month of November was one of the busiest and personally challenging months of my life. Outside of the usual cooking, cleaning, and handful of Supernatural episodes, November revolved around writing, thinking about writing, and more writing. (Oh, and Thanksgiving, which was a week of cooking and giving the dishwasher the workout of its life.) Pretty tedious, eh? And I only did half the word count that most people undertook.

So, I managed just shy of 26,000 words, which is about 1,000 words over my goal. Within those 26,000 words, the main character began her quest for healing, love, and passion, but she still has a long way to go before she finds happiness. At least 50,000 more words and a lot more drama until she finds her happy ending. Wanna hear more? Sorry, it isn't written yet.

Now that NaNoWriMo is over, it's time to have a life outside of Regency England, as fun as it was. I still have a two tons of proofreading to work on, which will probably consume a good chunk of December (and many following months). And there's always continuing to write, or pretending to write in the least.

December means keeping my house clean, cooking my husband real meals instead of heating up leftovers at every chance I have, and watching two handfuls of Supernatural episodes a day. I also have numerous quilt projects to work on, including a new mystery quilt from Border Creek Station, table runner bindings, and other unfinished projects. Oh, and I have a couple computer, Xbox, and PS3 games which have been dying for my attention, along with all the blog posts I've been mentally drafting for the last month. And seriously, I need to stop even opening Facebook because everyone keeps posting delicious looking recipes that I know my husband will love.

So now it's time to go get dinner, watch more Supernatural, and paint my nails blue. Why? Because it's advent, silly. Who doesn't paint their nails according to the liturgical calendar?

Challenging my Creativity

For years (and yes, I mean years) I have wanted to participate in NaNoWriMo. For those of you who think that I've learned to speak Japanese, that is an acronym for National November Writing Month. The purpose of this trend within the writing community is to encourage people to write a 50,000 word novel in a month.

As an aspiring author, NaNoWriMo has always been an appealing challenge that I wanted to participate in, but something always got in the way. Typically, it was that pesky thing called college, but now that I have my degree, the only excuse I have to not participate is a dirty house and an overflowing laundry hamper. Fortunately, cleaning and folding clothing are perfect breaks for me, and breaks give me the opportunity to mentally draft the next chapter.

What will I be spending the month of November writing, you ask? Well, I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but my most recent creation is a wealthy widow who returns to Regency London after living abroad for a decade. Upon arriving, she experiences love, lust, heartbreak, and happiness, all while coping with the death of her husband, the wild behavior of her step son, and the wrath of her bitter, fortune-seeking mother. Sound wickedly fantastic? I think so too.

I have never lacked the creativity of writing a couple hundred page novel; I can make literary figures suffer in more ways and jump through more hoops than some people could imagine possible. My weakness lies in my perfectionist personality. It could easily take me a few hours to write a page due to changing the wording of a sentence fifteen times before being satisfied with the result. Therefore, while I will still strive to write 50,000 words, I will first work toward 25,000 words that have not been changed half a dozen times. Perhaps I am not pushing myself as much by lowering my expectations, but housewives do have some duties other than cleaning the bathroom and going to the grocery store!

I strongly encourage all my friends who are interested in writing to consider participating in NaNoWriMo. It doesn't matter if your writing is horrible, or if you start over because you hate everything you've written. There's only one way to improve: practice. Visit the NaNoWriMo website here for more information. Happy writing, everyone!

Here's a helpful guide that outlines every author's life.