Getting ready for London trip and writing

Had a wonderful Christmas. Christmas Eve was celebrated at my brother and sister-in-law's home. Then Christmas Day at my husband's brother's home. That night we celebrated Christmas at our home with our daughters, one son-in-law, and two sons. So very nice and there was even snow falling that evening.

My daughter, Bailey gave me The Jane Austen Handbook. It has been so fun to read.

So onto writing. Since I've finished my first book and sent it into a contest, my mind has been wandering onto re-writing my next book. My trip with my sister to London is in two weeks and I am excited to see all the historical places that I've been writing about. I feel that once I am there, I will be able to get the feel of the place and put my characters right into the places we visit. 

Beautiful day gown that my daughter, Jordan made for me.

A gown and a story

Merry Christmas!  I'm back from a break. I wrenched my elbow last week and then couldn't sleep from the pain. After a few hours in the Emergency Room was told I had a fractured elbow. I was put in a splint and given pain medicine. The medicine didn't touch the pain so I was back in the Emergency Room that night hoping for some relief. More pain pills again but it also had no effect. Took some Advil and that seemed to help more than anything else.

My whole family pitched in and did all the things that I usually do. Now after a week, I can move my arm again. No lifting just yet. But mobility. Yeah!!  A Christmas Miracle!!!



I have not written or thought about writing this whole week.

So anyone that comes across my ramblings  Merry Christmas and to a Happy New Year.

Contest

After a rush of revising and changing the final scenes to be realistic, I sent my book off to the contest. It seems in my haste to get the book in the right format, in the right category and before the deadline, I inadvertently signed up to be a judge. I am not sure what I will be asked to do, but it looks like I have a lot of reading ahead of me.

I thought this gown would be wonderful for a dinner with friends. I love the leaf pattern on the hem, sleeves, high waist and neckline. Plus who doesn't love pleats. They are wonderful to look at and elegant to wear. 

Thanksgiving, edits and gowns

Yeah!!! Got through Thanksgiving. Talked to so many relatives. My brother and his two kids made it to my sister's Thanksgiving gathering from California. It was so nice to see him and talk to him.

But there is always sadness when you meet with 100's of people between my husband's and my family. A nephew's baby was lost before term and another nephew's coworker died earlier this week. Some of the younger generation had to work on Thanksgiving and some of our in-laws stayed home sick. Those in college are gearing up to finals and some in high school are getting ready to or have just gotten their driving licenses.

Now back to writing. The contest looms and I find myself going over and over every page, hoping it makes more sense than the last time I read it. I don't know. I just don't know. But I have the last four chapters to go over before this weekend is out. Then I need to convert it to a PDF and send it off by next Thursday. Friday at the latest.    

Contest looms

Two weeks until the contest and my last chapter needs reworking. It seems in my excitement to finish the book, I forgot that in order for it to be a good book, it must have an amazing ending. The action needs to tie up each story line. But I made it a summary instead of a story.

Ahhhh!!!! Back to working on it day and night.

It has been so cold. I think it was 1 degree overnight and a high todayof 14. Not looking forward to it. However, hope is on the horizon, it might reach up to 45 degrees later in the week, yeah!!

Gearing up for Thanksgiving. In a family of mom and dad, seven siblings and all of our husbands and wives, add to that our kids, two son-in-laws,and a few friends, it gets a little chaotic.

I like to bake and enjoy preparing for Thanksgiving.  I like the day and visiting with so many people. But I dread the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I hate running around trying to find gifts. What do you give people who have everything? What do you give to
those who have nothing?

Plans for London, contest and editing

Reading and editing 20 chapters is exhausting. I believe I have read over 500 pages this last week. But the contest looms, and I sure would like it to be the best that it can be.

I feel when I go through it and find nothing to change. No rocky parts that are hard to understand or boring parts that I want to skip through only then will it be done.

My editor was quite encouraging this week. She found the plot twists interesting and the storyline working. Yeah!!

Between editing and working, life is full. My sister and I have decided that one of the days we are in London in January, we will take the tunnel to France. So I am trying to figure that all out. We will be taking the bus to tour London and so I have heard that you can buy a pass or ticket that allows you on every train and bus. Now all I have to do is search the internet for such a thing.

Does anyone out there know anything about it?  

Jane Austen Movies, gowns and the writing contest

Still on a marathon of watching Jane Austen movies.  Saw Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant. Wonderful!! I've seen it before but it was such a pleasure to see it again.

I know, I said I would not watch another Persuasion but I did. It was truer to the book and only left out half-dozen intricate plot points. But it was very well made from the BBC from 1995.

Now, from my sister's library, my daughter and I have only one movie left - Emma.

Working on writing and I think  - one is never done. It is something that you must at one point just say, "This is all I will do on it for now. It is time to set it aside."  Will read it through 3 more times before the contest. My editor is painstakingly going through it - asking all sorts of important clarifications. She is wonderful.


And then however it turns out, I am sending it in to the contest and then will wait to see what happens.

It turns out to write a very bad book takes a lot of time. To write a good book takes even more. I wonder which category I'm in.  Until next week.


  

Jane Austen movies, day gown, and writing

Watched Pride and Prejudice this weekend. The 6 hour version from the 1995 British Television Program with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, and the movie version with Keira Knightley from 2005. Both were wonderful.

So since I was on a roll thought I would try and watch the British Television Program for Persuasion, my all-time favorite book from Jane Austen. Perhaps, it is because there is so many intricate stories that make up the whole story that caused the program to fall flat.

Or it could be because I know every detail of the book and feel not one iota of it should be changed. But it was not to my liking. I have resisted watching any versions of it due to the above reasons and I see now that I was correct to do so.

Back to my writing adventure. There is only 7 weeks until the contest deadline. Everyday I work on two or three chapters. Every week, my editor asks questions like - Are you sure a Navy battle would have shrapnel injuries.

Researching has been so much easier to do with the internet. I should try to verify what I read in a couple of places but time has me finding what I need to know and moving on. 

Reading, Writing and a day gown

Reading, reading, reading. 367 pages, 104,022 words. I have made it to Chapter 10 of my novel trying to get it ready for the upcoming contest in 8 weeks.
So in preparing to make sure I answer all the questions that arise, I have been working on a storyboard. How I wish I would have started with organization instead of writing first.

The next novel I will certainly follow the model of Brainstorming 25 different scenes or plots. Making a large W and starting with Act I, the protagonist is living in her normal world and then boom something triggers everything into motion.

Boom, I'm overwhelmed to the point that I might tear up every single piece of paper that holds something I've written on it. Talk about motion. ha ha

Back to work.

Writing

My editor and I have decided to enter a contest with my book. The deadline to send in the completed manuscript is mid-December. So now we are going to jump into hyper-speed and reread every line. Make sure each person stays true to who they are and to make sure the plot holds throughout the entire book.

Can we do it. . . I don't know. But it is worth a try. We've worked so hard for so long. It sure would be nice to receive some type of recognition. The recognition itself only means that whoever judged the book lost themselves as they read. That is my goal.

To be that book that someone will think about during the day. That after they have finished it, they wonder what the characters are doing. Those books whose characters seem to be their very best friends.

I wish this book would be just that. I do not know . . . . I shall keep you posted.

I've posted this gown before but just love it and wanted to see it again.

Ball gown and Going to London

    

Work, work and more work. That seems to be what writing is all about. It seems I get an idea and then expand upon it and then bring it all together. I read it over multiple times until I feel every word brings the scene and the plot into focus. I move on to the next scene. However, when it is finished it really is only a skeleton of what the finished product will actually look like.

I wonder if the highs and lows of writing are what perfects what you see in your mind onto what actually ends up on the sheet of paper.

One minute I love writing and in the next I actually despise it. But no matter what feelings I have - I keep coming back, keep reading over what I've written and keep finding words to change.

But the most exciting news of all is that I'm going to London in January. I am so excited. I've read so much about London. To walk along the streets of the novels I love. To breathe the air and to see the sights. I'm going with my sister and the two of us will have such a wonderful time.          Until next week.

Writing

I am so eager to finish working on my novel "A Series of Scandals" so that I can start working on the next book. Which would only put me at square one again. I'm not sure why I feel like I need to start a new book when I'm clearly so close to the end. I should want to complete what I have started. And  I will. However . . .

I think it might be that I like the chaos of just sitting down and writing scenes and incidents. I like trying to complete the picture without knowing what exactly it looks like. My daughter sent me pictures from our trip to Leaville. I think the one below is how I feel when I first start writing a new story.

It's all tangled and has its own kind of beauty. As opposed to where I am now -  fine tuning words, times and places. Everything is in place. Everything is balanced purposefully so that a person who picks up the book can make sense of it. It has its own beauty.

More like this picture to the right.

Writing

We went up to Rocky Mountain National Park to see the Aspens changing colors. It is at the very beginning of the change so it was spectacular. We saw hidden lakes and mountain glaciers (snowy ice in crevices of mountains). My son and son-in-law hiked to one glacier and threw snowballs. I watched marvelling at the energy of youth.

  
But back to writing. I should get Chapter Three back later today from my editor. More work, I'm sure. But getting closer every day.  I had a friend read the entire book a couple of weeks ago. She told me she was compelled to stay up later than she wanted to keep reading it.

 Her comments inspired me to really work hard the following week to continue fixing sections to make it the best that it can be. She finished the book and said she enjoyed it. 

But I find it is not enough. It seems I want a continuous flow of people coming into the world my editor and I have created and become enthralled in this world.

I guess it is similar to re-decorating your home. You invite your closest friends and they marvel over it. But when they leave that is it. You need more. So you invite other people over, work friends, neighbors etc. 

All that hard work. But when it is all done, you really need to find that you have enjoyed it. The process and the project and now the knowledge that you actually achieved it.   

Day gown and the Logistics of Writing.

By my calculations, By February 2015, my editor and I will have reread each chapter of my novel making sure the characters stay true to who they are. The plot is clear. And the places the characters visit and reside in are correct. 

I've already found one logistical problem. I had a family walking to church from their square. However, even the most athletic could not turn an hour long trip into 15 minutes. 

This part is actually fun. Chapter One and Two are done. Onto Chapter Three.

Am I a Writer

Some days I wonder if I am a writer. When the fever of a scene or plot doesn't pour forth from my pen, I think maybe I'm just an appreciator of writing and those who do it well.  But on those days when all my thoughts linger on a certain plot or scene and I rush through the day until I can sit down in an evening and write it all out, I think I must be a writer.

It's review time for my first novel which means my editor and I are going through each chapter and fine-tuning every word and action for the last time. FOR THE LAST TIME  -  YEAHHH!!!!

I mean  - it is quite rewarding.

Here is another scene my daughter made for me.
It is a day gown made of muslin with embroidered circles. Different pattern of embroidery on the hem and neckline. Lace on the edge of the sleeves.

What do you think of this gown?

Ball gown and Writing assignments

Up to the mountains to see St. Mary's Glacier. A little bit of a hike but beautiful.

My last chapter is almost there. I need to re-work the last scene. I have it in the POV of the hero and it needs to be the heroine. My very kind and generous editor gave me a new assignment. It has been such fun to do.

She asked me to take each of the main characters and write a description of them, what their goals are, what their secret is, about their personality and finally what they fear most. Next to find a map of their city and see if they can make it logistically to the places I have them going to.

My daughter sent me this link. It is very interesting reading of the finances of Jane Austen's characters.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/11063670/Could-Mr-Darcy-afford-a-stately-home-today.html

Life and a Ball gown

The last two weeks have been crazy. I caught a cold on top of my allergies which blocked my ear. So I've been deaf in my right ear now for two weeks. One week into it, I went to the finest nurse practitioner money can buy at the Walgreens Well Clinic. She was a kind a gracious woman that told me that my eustachian tube was blocked. So now I have been taking sudafed, nasal spray and Claritan D to try and open that tube up.

Then my van called the "Grey Phantom" died. It not only died but it happened while bringing six children home from a field trip an hour away from home. My daughter that does all the great artwork was with me. And my husband had to leave a business lunch with his boss who had just flown into Denver. But I was so grateful that he came to my rescue. Yeah!! But now I'm car-less. It is not a great feeling.

To the left is another one of the marvelous gowns my daughter made for me. I love the rosette

So I am relying on my grown kids to borrow their cars and to watch my daycare kids as I take the older ones to and from school. Thank heaven that my one son is looking for a job and is carrying the brunt of helping me out.

In the midst of all of this, we went camping this weekend. A much needed reprieve from troubles. We saw three baby fawns with their white spots still showing. A bunch of baby calves, bats and a vole. We watched the stars and satellites in the sky by a roaring fire at night. One of our sons fished the river with much luck, the other went hiking. My daughter also went hiking.And when they weren't doing those things they played Yahtzee. My husband and I went on a hike up the side of a mountain. I should re-think my footwear.  I don't think flip-flops were the ideal choice. But I did make it to the spot where the rapids were wildly beautiful.

Again my last chapter rests with my editor. I think I closed the gaps between coincidences and reality. We'll see.

Writing and Masquerade scene

My editor sent my final chapter back. Yeah!! She said it was getting closer. There are a few scenes that need tightening up and then a few lines need to be added to give the right motivation of why someone is where they are. But all in all, it was music to my ears. Today and tomorrow, I will pick apart each scene and try to make sure that every line is needed.

Can I actually have this book finished within the month?  It seems too good to be true.
My daughter made a few scenes for me. I give her the details and she uses her creativity to bring it alive. This one is a gown that would be worn at a masquerade
What do you think?

Writing and a Wrapper

And so I wait to hear back from my sister/editor believing that what I have written is actually better than what I read before I sent it to her. It is like taking pictures. When you download them onto your computer days or weeks later, they seem a trifle less spectacular than when you snapped them.

Writing and edits

Today, I sent off the last chapter of my 345 page novel to my editor. I wish I could say that it is exactly the way that I want it already. But what I have found is that in places where it feels right it usually isn't far off. But in those places where I feel most confused are the spots where my returned chapter will hold all green ink. Questions about a scene, concerns about reality, prods that I've been lazy and instead of describing what is happening glossing over it.

Every time she sends me the chapter back, I dip slightly into a depression. By that evening, I say, "She doesn't know what she's talking about."  By the next morning, I open the file again and look at the sea of green ink staring back at me. By that evening, I'm ready to work on it. 

Word by word, line by line, I go slowly and review her comments and also what I really wanted the flavor of this scene to taste like. Within a week, I have something even better than I thought possible.

Here's a gown that I worked on for three days, watercolors and ink. It is not up to the caliber that my daughter's gowns are. But it was fun to do. 

Inspiration visits

After brainstorming on how to tie up all the lose ends, I began to write. But I felt again that it wasn't right. So I spent these last five days thinking. Which let inspiration take form.

Out of the five scenes I need to wrap up this book. I have an outline for each. And an outline I feel I can develop.  I'm excited to write again. With each line, I feel like the scenes are coming together.

I know. I know I've said this before and my editor sent it back to me ripped to pieces. Such is the life of the aspiring writer.

Did Inspiration Die?

Trying to write but only see dead ends. Inspiration has to come soon, right? I keep inviting it over and it keeps saying it will stop by. So far he has not. I won't talk bad about him just yet, but if he doesn't show this week, I will have to call him up and have a serious talk. Maybe an intervention. We'll see.

Back to work. There are two things wrong with vacation.

                1. You look forward to it all year. 

2. It is over so quickly. 

“Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind!”

Psalm 66:5 

 

Troubles with Writing

I am having trouble finishing the last chapter of my book. I thought I was done back in May, and so I haven't been doing too much with it. However, after a critique from my sister/editor, she let me know that I am far from done. In this last chapter, I need to tie up every single question that arose from the other chapters.

My problem is that I know this story so well that I am assuming my reader will be able to link their questions to the answer without having to spell it out. My editor tells me that that may be true, but they need confirmation that they have the correct answer.

So after brainstorming how to answer every question using conversations and events, I will be working day and night for the next two weeks to bring it about.  Wish me luck.

I wish my vacation was not already over for the year.

Writing

Back from vacation. I was able to work on polishing the first six chapters while camping. I have Chapter Nineteen at my editors and should hear back from her next weekend.
I'm having difficulty working on the last chapter, and so reading the entire novel should give me the proper perspective to finish strong.

To try and become better in the craft of writing I have been working on an exercise using the five senses.

 Looking at something and then describing by feeling it, looking at it, listening to it, smelling it and lastly describing what it would taste like. It it much harder than you would think. Try it, and let me know what you think.

Writing process and Colorado camping

We are editing the last two chapters. The ending is tricky because it has to answer all the questions and do so quickly and concisely. It may take a couple weeks to get them right. I could not have made it this far without my sister/editor. She changes the wording to make the scenes clearer and has polished every single section she has touched. I think it is finally coming together. And the amazing part about it is that even if no one else reads it but my family, I still feel that she has made it so much better.

I cannot say that it was fun. It was hard work on top of more hard work. After we finish going over the last two chapters, we will reread the entire book and polish it one more time before sending it to a publisher. That will take a few more months. But my hopes are high. Once it is sent off, then I will start on book two. I wrote this book about five years ago and it is the second in the series. I look forward to seeing how that story will transform in the days and weeks to come.

I'm going camping for now in the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

Writing process

I began sending my sister/editor a chapter a week. When I sent it off, I would feel wonderful, believing that she would be astounded when black ink turned into gold. She would send back favorable reviews. Instead, what I received was. 

This isn't plausible. That could never happen. The way you set up that scene is odd. This part is confusing. What were you trying to say?

Then began the working and reworking of chapter after chapter. In a nine month time period, I was only on chapter 10. To make matters worse, at that point she mentioned 40 chapters needed to be condensed into 20. I had to start over on page one again. 

And so I did. 

Writing process

With the tools in place, I was ready to dissect each scene. With the outline, I would be able to set the pacing of each chapter. Having said that, some scenes were now obsolete. Others were too boring.  Have you ever just skipped over a section of a chapter because it was uninteresting? Now I was able to see that that section does not work. The goal of each scene had to be realized, but it could not be written.

 For instance, a line such as -- She was bored, cannot be written. You must show the feeling not write it. Revised - She picked up her sewing and immediately dropped it without making a stitch. Going to the piano, she caressed the keys for less than a minute letting each note ring out strong but rose from the bench before the piece was finished.

Writing process Pink polk-a-dot gown

Now that I had the story line going, I needed to work on my pacing. In order to do that my sister/editor showed me a great tool. It basically is for each scene in a chapter. Each chapter should have 3-5 scenes.

1.  What is the character's problem?

2.  What is stopping the problem from being solved?

3. What is the complication that prohibits problem from being solved?

4. How does character solve the problem?

Bridge

Next Scene

It looks easy, but when you start to look at each scene and then have to decide what does the character actually want . . . I had a lot of thinking to do.

Family life

Wow! May is always a busy month. I always look forward to May but then when it comes it seems like there is too much to do. This year, our youngest graduated from high school. So there was graduation and a party to throw for him. Our second daughter graduated from college. So there was another graduation and a celebration lunch. My parents were able to come so that made it even more special. My husband has been traveling and then his bosses were in town making for long days and weekends of working for him.

Then there was Mother's Day and a visit to my Mom, which was wonderful. But it was snowing and my kids and I usually plant flowers and so instead we had a dinner the night before. Again, very nice but a little hectic. Then my dad had a show, he's a musician. He sang and played the accordian. I always think he is the best out of all the performers.

Then my sister's class performed a worship dance program where my niece danced. It was quite beautiful.

So what I am trying to say, is that I have had no time to write this month. A few edits. A correction or two, but nothing to report.

Writing process and cloak

The first piece of advice was to limit my characters. I had upwards of thirty.

Secondly, she wrote the alphabet and had me write down each of my character's names. Only one name per letter. I found that I had multiple characters with the same first letter. She told me that was confusing to the reader. So that is where I started. Combining three and four characters into one person  and then was able to whittle down the amount of people in my book.

Then she had me make a chart and based off of the story wrote what the two main characters' main action was in that chapter. The chart was five spaces across and four down. At the fifth square on each row there had to be a main turning point. Something had to change in the story which the character reacted to and turned the trajectory of the plot in a different direction.

I asked my daughter to make this cloak and then realized that no one enjoys seeing worn-out clothing. 

Writing process and loose fitting Pelisse

But then I didn't know what to do from there. I made the corrections and then two of my other sisters agreed to read it. (Thank heaven for big families) Each had constructive input and I worked again on the story. I finally had to put it aside, not knowing what else it needed. I began working on my second novel, then my third followed by a fourth and finally my fifth. My sisters were again called upon to read and they did not fail me.

Now ten years later, I have five books with gaping plot holes and glaring grammar problems. What was I going to do? I decided to take all my great work and bring it to my sister/author/writer/editor to see what she thought I should do.

She read the first page guardedly. Being a nice sister, however, she gave me some ideas and a structure to take the first book to the next level.

Not as elegant but much needed for England's rainy weather.

Writing process and day gown

Not having access to the book I had written, I was surprised that the essence of the story started to come alive. It took me another three years to finish the book. 

When I was done, I called one of my sisters, and she volunteered to read it. While it was in her hands, I changed the ending three times. Running over to her house, I gave her the freshly printed endings. She was kind and generous and even went so far as to correct punctuation and ask questions about things that had happened.

What's more she told me how my lead character must have been feeling at certain points in the book which would explain reactions at various events. She was wonderful. Every writer needs someone to visit their world and then to interpret why they wrote and why.

Writing and day gown

So I talked to my sister who actually is an author/writer/editor and asked her for some advice on what to do about my problem of having a story evolve but not a solid idea of where it should go. She advised me to throw all my work away. To be brave and trash it all. Then to sit down and write the story from memory.

I nearly had a heart attack. Thanked her for her advice and then quickly left her home. How could I throw away my life's work? How would I remember all the intricate details, all the over- developed descriptions of corner tables and rugs?

I like the ordinary. This is one of those gowns that doesn't actually stand out. However, could you just imagine Eleanor or Maryanne wearing it in their little cozy cottage?   

Day gown and writing

When I first started writing, I didn't have a whole story in mind. I wasn't that organized. But I had scenes that I would hammer out and then re-read and re-work until I thought they were exactly what I wanted.

While I was driving my kids to their various sports' practices I would get an idea. Then during the practice, I would write on scraps of paper. Time went by. Actually three years of time. I was no closer to the end of the book than I was at the beginning.

One day while I was outside, all 12 inches of my great novel flew apart. It was all over the yard. Paper by paper my kids and their friends picked it all up. It was then that I realized as I tried to put it back together without page numbers, of course, that my book was not actually coming together.

I wasn't sure what to do about it.

Adorable Regency Ball Gown with a pattern of feathers

I was just thinking today that I have been writing now for almost ten years. Which makes me think that writing is for the writer and then secondly for the reader. I think Jane Austen, one of the greats, was able to tell a simple story by weaving in and out of daily life. There is something highly rewarding to create a world and then invite people to come in.

Here is one of the most adorable gowns, yet. I would love to wear this dress myself. 

Writing and another Wrapper

Another chapter came back from my editor asking for major changes. It is the first ball and so things that happen at a ball have to happen. I'm so interested in getting to the story that I'm not allowing for specific things I want the reader to know to come out naturally.

 

I've never been good at keeping secrets and it shows in my writing. I want to blab what I know instead of letting it unfold and let the reader discover it on their own. The motto of all good writers is to show instead of tell. I show and then tell. I see a lot of re-writes in my future.

Here's another wrapper along the same lines as the other two. It is not as vibrant as the other two. But to me it looks to me cozy and comfortable. 

Writing and a Wrapper

Below is another wrapper, I think I like the green one better, but pink always feels comforting to wear.

Something that I am learning is that a story has to have structure. A lot of writers use the large W format.

The first event is at the top of the first line of the W. Then matters seem to go downhill. The next big event happens that changes the trajectory of the story and you are on the first upswing of the letter.

        

  

                        W

I feel like I'm getting somewhere. That the main characters are set 

with personalities and backgrounds. Now I just have to keep up 

those same personalities throughout the story. Sometimes even 

giving them a specific habit or way of speaking so the reader always 

knows who they are.

I

How much would a Regency England gown cost today?

When I describe my heroine’s gown, I give little thought to what it would have cost. So yesterday, for fun and to take a break from writing, I began researching prices in the early 1800’s.

Just a simple gown of silk - a day dress like this one would cost around 1 pound 6 shillings for the material, which would equate today to be about $90.00. Add in the ribbons and the other essentials to make the dress, thread, interfacing, the pattern etc as well as the fee for the seamstress.

In my estimation in today's currency including silk stockings, at 20 shillings which is 1 pound $98.00, shoes at 11 shillings $36.00 and cotton undergarments at 6-10 shillings or $33.00. The total for just a gown to be worn in the morning would be $257.   

Trying my hand at drawing Regency Fashions

 Here are a few more gowns. If you are wondering why the caliber of drawing and painting are substantially poorer, it is because I tried my hand at trying to duplicate what my daughter does effortlessly. It took me three days to complete these two gowns. Whereas, I've watched Jordan complete multiple gowns in as little as an hour.

And yes, I am still writing. Working every day. 

Same gown, one day

Here’s a before and after gown. The one on the left would have been worn with a matching spencer. It would have been perfect for a spring or summer drive through Hyde Park. 

The before part is as she is going for a drive. The after is when nefarious character’s chase her through the stews (The bad part of town). 

Clothes were looked after by lady’s maids and kept as clean as possible. They also kept them in good repair. The second gown would have been torn apart and all of the material would have been used for other applications. The lace would have been removed, cleaned and put into a sewing basket. Perhaps it would have found new life on another gown, on a handkerchief or a collar.  

Working on Chapter 3, now, I seem to be making headway. 

Green Wrapper

On the left is a wrapper, which is the term for a thin robe worn for modesty. They usually covered up a nightgown. I asked my daughter to make something elegant to wear over a plain cotton nightgown.

Still plugging away at writing. If it weren't for my editor pushing me to turn in a chapter each week, I don't know what I would do. I can spend literally hours on three pages of print. Changing a word here, re-doing a section there. I don't know if I'm making it better or worse.

What I really like is to turn in a Chapter and then get it back with lines cut and prompts asking me if this or that is what I meant. Then I can really dig in and see if that is what I wanted or at times what I really didn't want.

An Evening Gown and Writing

My daughter made these gowns in the same style but painted them differently. I think the one on the right is more vibrant, but if I were to wear one, would choose the softer toned one.

I have so much going on in each chapter. I hope it is not overkill and will have my reader putting down the book. I once read a book with so many plots and so many people in it that I was shocked when two of the characters got together at the end. I thought she had been working with another man to uncover espionage in France. 

Although I finished the book I wondered what exactly had happened and how I had missed the main plot.

A picture and a scan of the same gown and Writing

  

So between scanning the gowns and taking pictures of them, I think I have found a way to show them in the best light. The two gowns shown are actually the same one. The one on the right is a picture and the one on the left is a scan. The one on the right does not seem as washed out. The color looks just like the original drawing and watercolor gown. Which one do you like better?

I am so close to finishing the first chapter. It has been hard. It has to be gripping and hold the audience but at the same time set up the story and future conflicts along with their resolutions 

But even as I write that I know that there are multiple re-writes ahead. It makes no difference. I keep writing. In the back of my mind looms the thought. What if I never finish? What if what I am writing is never good enough? But thoughts like that don't stop me. If writing is only a hobby of mine, then it is one I enjoy. If, at some point, people like my work, and I am able to publish this book and others, then that will be a bonus.