This is an updated version of a post I did four years ago.
What does it take to write a Pride and Prejudice variation?
After reading 200+ variations in 2013, I found I had a number of plots running through my head. Although I had toyed with the idea of writing fiction off and on for years, I had never really taken it seriously except for one Science Fiction story that I started about fifteen years ago but never finished. In spite of the fact that I considered finishing that story, I doubt I will as I have lost interest in that genre and have enjoyed the P&P variations instead. And now that we have so many new authors entering the arena, I am having a blast reading the many twists they are putting on Austen’s original.
I did find that I loved the Pride and Prejudice variations so much that I began to contemplate writing my own. I had several different plots to choose from, and thus Darcy Chooses came into being. The first question was ‘Do I follow canon or leap into the unknown on my own with a completely different plot for the Pride and Prejudice characters?’ Since this was my first foray into Jane Austen’s world, I took canon and put thirteen twists on it. Two of those twists involved Wickham and Lady Catherine and making them a tad worse than Jane Austen had done. I wasn’t at the point of making them good guys, and I may never reach that point.
However, the very first thing I did after deciding to write a variation was to read Pride and Prejudice again since I had only read it once when I was in high school. And, no, I won’t tell you how long ago that was. 😊 Too long. And I’ve decided that I’ll read it again before the end of this year also and probably once a year after that to get more the feel of Austen’s writing because I don’t think like Austen, and I don’t write like her either. So, in my case, I try to give my books a Regency feel instead.
One of the things I did at the beginning of my fiction writing career was to write dialogue without contractions more or less as Jane Austen did. However, she did use some contractions with a few of her characters. Unfortunately, when I used none, I got reviewed as being stilted with my writing. So, I began using more contractions and got slammed for using them as she didn’t use contractions in her writings. Of course, that wasn’t correct, but detractors didn’t care about that.
I appreciate the list of contractions that Joanna Waugh has on her website. All of the contractions on her list of forty-five, with the exception of four, were used prior to 1800. Twelve of those contractions were used by Jane Austen in her books.
Now, I had a decision to make: would I include contractions in my variations? The answer was ‘yes.’ I do have the characters using some contractions, and I use contractions in my narrations.
Why didn’t Jane Austen use more contractions? She may have preferred more formal speech for her characters, or she just may not have liked contractions. And if I refrained from using them at all, my writing would come across as stilted, so I have used contractions with a light hand to provide an enjoyable experience for my readers. And, hopefully, that has been the case.
Research. I’ve done as much or more research for my Regency books than all my health books and articles combined. 😊 I did a bunch of research for Elizabeth’s Choice. I wanted Darcy and Elizabeth’s honeymoon to Ireland to be a fun experience for them AND my readers. And I wanted to have fun in writing it as well, and I did.
First and foremost was what I found out about clipper ships. They were quite a bit faster than regular ships, and that suited the book just fine as I didn’t want my couple spending a lot of time just traveling. I wanted them to get where they were going fairly quickly so they could enjoy the sights of Dublin and Cork. They were to be gone only a month as the demands of Pemberley would soon need to be met. Also, I didn’t want to have to gloss over two or three days travel as they would see mostly only water on their journeys by ship. Traveling by clipper ship, they arrived at Dublin from Liverpool in one day.
NOTE: One reader objected to my use of a clipper ship writing that these ships were in use in 1845 and not in 1812. However, research showed that Baltimore clipper ships were first built in the early 1770’s and that’s why I had Darcy being the proud owner of one.
I also wanted to give my readers a real taste of Ireland and its people as Darcy and Elizabeth followed their own personal interests. In real life, these two bibliophiles would have spent several days at the Trinity College Library looking at ancient books and learning more about them. However, I kept it to two mornings and also went into information about the ancient harp and the sculptures that were also found at that renown library.
Ireland has a history as varied and, I daresay, as bloody as England’s background, and I touched on it with Blarney Castle at Cork and references to Ireland’s rebellion against the English. I endeavored to put myself in Darcy and Elizabeth’s shoes and depict how they really would act and what they’d be interested in while visiting the Emerald Isle. I also loved having them go incognito to an Irish Pub. Between that and the sea life they spotted when sailing to and from Ireland, some angst, and a whole lot of loving going on, I was pleased with how Elizabeth’s Choice turned out.
Darcy Vs Bingley did not start out as a series. I was picking the brains of my friend, Joy King, when she and I both realized, at the same time, that Warring with Lady Catherine really needed to be Darcy Vs Lady Catherine and part of a series. So, the Darcy Versus Series was born. The third in this series was Darcy Vs Elizabeth and was my WIP when I originally did this post four years ago. Since the first two books’ angst revolved around Pemberley, this one did also. And, yes, Darcy and Elizabeth had their HEA, but it was a little angsty with hurt feelings, irritated acquaintances, and Darcy being more than a little pig-headed. 😊
I didn’t start out my writing career planning on doing series, but that is where I’m at for the time being and might specialize in. So far, all my writings are parts of series: The Darcy and Elizabeth Collection, the Darcy Versus Series, and The Four Lords’ Saga Series. I thought about starting The Lord Paisley Mystery Series under the pen name Millicent Jaffey in January 2019, but I have realized that with 70 ideas for P&P variations that I may never get that mystery series even started. However…I am toying with adding another to the Darcy Versus Series. Would you be interested in reading Darcy Vs Mrs. Bennet?
Short stories and novellas are becoming more popular as readers have less and less time to devote to their favorite pastime. These will work well for me and for my readers as I have been condensing an hour’s worth of Bible information for five-minute talks for many years. I’ve learned to put information in a nutshell. 😊 Although Darcy Chooses was lengthy, and I enjoyed doing it, I feel quite comfortable with novellas as well.
For the first time, I have most of my ebook P&P variations on sale: the collections are half price, and the single books are as low as Amazon will allow. This is a good time to finish filling the gaps with any of my books that you currently lack. ENJOY!
REFERENCE: JoannaWaugh.com
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