'Lost Momentum'

It has been a while since I wrote anything for this project, however I know that I have enough words for the assessment. I am a little upset with myself because I haven't completed what I wanted to get done. This year was mapped out and I was adamant that I would get at least the activities done. I am left with five tasks not done and about five hundred words left to write.

All the research is done and the first drafts of that are completed, ready for workshopping. I have more of the  fictitious letter writing (with a quill and ink) to do so that they fit within each chapter. It is hard to do these letters because it physically hurts if I go beyond a page. There are nine left to finish!

So, what have I achieved from this project? I think it has been a difficult process and I am now understanding that it could go beyond what I have already achieved and become something much more in-depth. I also think that I have learnt some valuable lessons about taking on a history based topic that involves role-playing and learning new skills.

I want to say that I also feel, that even though I have lost some of the momentum I had at the start of the year, I have learnt  a considerable amount about putting together a project that may one day turn into a book. I have also gained an insight into my strengths and weaknesses and how I can utilise and develop my skills in order to finish a project such as The Jane Austen Experience.

So, where to with The Jane Austen Experience?
I hope to finish it one day and self-publish it.

To all the writers who are working to achieve their goals, I feel a kindred spirit with you all!
It is hard work!

'Enough Words'

What is enough words? I have almost written 10 000 words for the assessment but I am realising slowly that this project is becoming something that could exceed my wildest dreams in terms of word count. Yes I know I have been a bit slow at catching onto this concept, but it has now become enormous in my projections and I am feeling a little overwhelmed!

The research for all the tasks I set for myself has now almost got to 5000 words and I haven't even completed the second set of activities. I think that I may not get them completed as I have so many other assessments that are due around the same time.

Don't get me wrong I still want to finish this project but it has just dawned on me as to the many sections that I still hope to achieve. Cramming is not a strong point of mine and I know that even though The Jane Austen Experience is nowhere near where I wanted it to be, I hope that I have completed enough coherent work to achieve a pass in class.

You are all probably thinking that Nicole's had a meltdown;  you can rest easy, I haven't!

I was just looking at my diary: nine weeks left! Arghhhhh!

Oh well! Atleast I have almost finished 'enough words'.

Happy writing!

'Lost the Momentum'

It has been a while since I wrote in this blog because I have been in procrastination mode. Unable to get motivated I think I now have a second wind and am hoping that I can move forward with the next set of tasks for this project.
I have been contemplating how to move forward with The Jane Austen Experience and I think that it would be useful to talk about the obstacles that I didn't see coming. Once I have got those out in the open I can move to create the new.

I think that I have spent the last six months trying to get the first activities finished and now it is my own self-doubt that is getting in the way. I spent the whole holiday break thinking I would find some time to dress up and photograph myself doing the tasks but instead I had to run around doing other things.
So how do I motivate myself?

I think a deadline always helps but I need to regain my interest in this project. I am also trying to find a way to incorporate the interviews I did with two very knowledgeable experts. I want to find a way to place them into the project and also retain the overall goal: that is to experience some of the home duties for a woman in the early nineteenth century.

I think I could do this if I could work within any part of the text. For example, I work in a linear manner. This means that I have to work in order which is sometimes very obstructing. It becomes too hard to pull out any section and just complete it. So I will now have to organise myself so I can get on with the job at hand!
I need to start on one activity at a time and continue so that the next 5000 words get completed.

This has turned out to be a blog about venting my frustrations but I hope that I will have something more interesting for you to read in the coming weeks.

'Letters to Elizabeth'

I have started writing my fictitious letters to a friend for this project.

It has been quite difficult because writing with an ink and quill is not only messy but it really hurts the wrist. I have only been able to write three so far and within the first five-thousand words there are nine letters to Elizabeth.
Each of the letters has been alluded to within the project so now I have to finish each letter.
What I have found is that when I write with the quill it is hard to keep the direction of my writing straight.
Paper in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries didn't have lines as such. Paper and ink was expensive and therefore they sometimes wrote on cloth.
I still think that I have been able to achieve some success with this art and that even though the writing is not neat and straight, it doesn't look that bad. Anyway, I have had fun doing it and I will continue to finish each of the letters. One of the other interesting developments is capturing the language. I have been able to develop my language skills and my vocabulary. I have learnt more about the way in which Jane Austen was able to write with such romantic notions because the language (the way they spoke and the use of manners) allows it to come through. I was able to capture as much of those romantic notions as I could without bringing too much of twenty-first century language into the letters.
I must say that this part of the project has been extremely worthwhile and I am enjoying it immensely.

'Busy Writing'

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while, I have been busy writing about this project; obviously not this blog!The Jane Austen Experience is slowly turning into a project

worth bragging about. I have been getting many good comments about the detail and structure of it and I have almost hit the five-thousand word mark needed for assessment.

Much of the detail included in this project is the way in which I have put it all together. Much of what I have is in book form and the photos I have placed in complement the text.

So far, it has been fun to do all the activities and I am looking forward

to completing the tasks allocated for next semester. This includes washing with a wash board and tub; living a day and night without modern conveniences; reading in candlelight; recipes and more letter writing.

As you can see I have included a photo from the activities I  have already completed. I will post more soon!                                     

Dearest Elizabeth,

It has been an arduous few months and my attempts at such

past-times constitutes relaxation and your good company...

'A Little Closer'

It has been a while since my last post and rest assured I have been busy writing and costume wearing! It has been such a busy time putting together 5000 words for this project but I can now see the end

of the tunnel.

I have photographed three of my intended tasks which include: quill and ink; wax seal and needlecraft. As you can see I have included a photograph of myself in costume. Yes, that's me!

What was astounding to me was that I enjoyed dressing up and performing each task; I like how the dress feels. It's liberating yet confining! I can see why this era stepped out of such restrictive garments to much more freeing materials and pattern designs.

While in costume, I wrote each letter and conducted each task with ease as if I had always been doing them. Writing with a quill and ink was incredibly satisfying, I felt calm and happy as I was using this very old and out-of-date form of penmanship. After visiting 'Booktown' in Clunes Victoria and the Heritage Weekend in Ballarat Victoria this month I have realised how there are many people returning and learning the art of using a quill and ink and how using a wax seal makes them feel like they are a part of a bygone tradition. 

What I wasn't prepared for was my feelings about experiencing each task. I got lost in the idea of being in the Regency period and seem to relish in the everyday activities. This has made me more determined to finish the first 5000 words and develop this project!

Dearest Elizabeth,

It is with your confidence and support, that I have found myself enjoying ones daily tasks. You are a friend indeed. I look forward to our correspondence, it frees me from the drudgery of ones wintery existence...

'Dialogue and Jane Austen'

Today in class we discussed dialogue and how to place it into our projects. Some of my fellow students are writing fiction with a little history included and I thought about how the use of dialogue was appropriate for The Jane Austen Experience. This project does not contain direct speech but it does contain letters to Elizabeth.
I started to think about how Jane Austen incorporated dialogue in her novel Pride and Prejudice; of course she mastered the art of dialogue and the narrative combination easily.

"Dear Ma'am, do not go.-I beg you will not go.-Mr. Collins must excuse me.-He can have nothing to say to me that any body need not hear. I am going away myself."
"No, no, nonsense, Lizzy.-I desire you will stay where you are."  (Chapter 19)

There were many tips to help me work out how good dialogue works well and what mistakes we make when writing a piece of work. Interestingly, I thought that the main tips (from Pam McCutheon's website: www.pammc.com/dialogue.htm ) appropriate for this project would be 'to reveal the character' and 'establish tone or mood'. This could be achieved by developing the character of Elizabeth; maybe including some letters from her instead of just including the ones I write to her.

Some of the common mistakes attributed to writing dialogue in Pam McCutheon's piece, included the use of 'too much dialect' and 'sounding too stilted'. In the case of The Jane Austen Experience, dialect or the sound of the language is what I am trying to capture, so I think that within the context of this project, the use of dialect is important; used at a minimum. I do not feel that within the letters that I will sound too stilted. During the Regency period, letter writing was an art form and punctuation was minimal. Long drawn out sentences were used and commonly sentences were likely to continue for sometimes more than three or four lines. The detail was immense with many descriptive words, which was hard work for a reader. Imagine reading a sentence that continues for more than four lines without any punctuation; when did they take a breath?

So although I will be using a little creative licence in my work, I think it is important to look at how dialogue can or cannot be used in this project. The letters although are not direct conversation (which includes both parties one after the other) but if I include the return letters of Elizabeth; they become a running conversation and therefore dialogue.

Dearest Elizabeth,
It is with anticipation that I wait for your next letter to arrive...