'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...

'Writing Vigorously'

It has been a few weeks since my last post. I have been writing vigorously to combat the looming 5000 words needed by June. I have written just over 2500 words so far. Of course what I have done is only a first draft but I am finding out what it is like to be on a deadline. I have tried to write this project in the form of a book because I know that is how I work best. Each section is set out and I have started with the introduction and continued from there.

So let's run through where I am up to: I have finally finished the costume; bought several items of interest such as ink wells; quill; wax seal; a cast iron; copper wash tub; washboard; paper and now I have bought a trivet to stand the iron on. I have taken a few inital photos and am now contemplating the fully dressed versions of the tasks.

I know I have talked about 'preparation' before but this project has turned out to be all about preparing. What seems to be happening at the moment is that I am preparing more than I am doing, but I guess it is warranted. I was hoping to get some of the photographs and writing done over the Easter break but it seems like it has flown by and now I have run out of time.

I have had to move my internal calendar to compensate for not getting some of what I wanted to get done. All it means, for a organiser such as myself, is that I will try to get the first task (writing a letter to a friend) done as soon as possible.

The other thing that has been held up is the interview process; no fault of mine or the interviewee. The person I am interviewing has been busily preparing and delivering all her duties towards the ever popular Jane Austen Festival in Canberra. Whilst jetsetting off to the U.S.A she had started to do my questions but unreliable wireless internet prevented her completing it. Then when she returned the festival was in full swing and needed her undivided attention. So after some emailing back and forth, we finally were able to catch up and she can now complete the questionaire I sent her.

As you can see,  I am slowly getting things done and I hope to get stuck into the fun parts of this project soon.

Stay reading!

Dearest Elizabeth,
It is with great regret that I tell you of my troubles...

'The Costume'

It has been a while since my last post, but be confident that I have been working hard to achieve my goals. Here is a photo of the finished product. This costume has been made with love but it has also been made from a lot of hard work!

The cutting of the material was the easiest part to do; it was harder to put all the small fiddly ties and making button holes from scratch.

Again I reinterate, that I am not a sewing enthusiast and that this has been a very big learning experience for me. I must say though that I have loved every minute and that each step that I progressed I got more and more excited.

One of the best feelings was simply that I had achieved what I set out to do, even if the costume is not to seamstress level. Once done I was able to try it on and see if it fitted me properly!

I thought before I set out on this journey, that the costume would be somewhat freeing!

My first thought when I finally put it on: I cannot believe that women in the 18th and 19th Centuries wore such heavy and confining clothes. The bodice is tight and restrictive, yet the skirt is literally the only part you are free to move in.
The most important thing to know: I couldn't get into it without someone helping me. I now can see why a dress maid was needed because without them it wasn't possible to dress yourself or de-robe at all.

What I love about the costume: The wooden buttons; the ties that puff each sleeve and the way the dress falls and lines your body. I do love the material!

Now that I have achieved this step of the project, I can move onto photographing my first activity. Writing my dear friend Elizabeth a letter!

Dear Elizabeth,
It has been far too long since my last correspondence. I hope this letter finds you well....

'The Art of Using A Quill"

I thought writing with a quill would be hard, and it is! I began by preparing with a bit of newspaper underneath and then I removed my quill from it's covering. I placed the ink in my new ink well and grabbed a piece of paper from the printer to practise with. The results were a little different than I thought.

I started out writing and the words resembled the font of my own pen, however, I did progress with a more stroke driven action, which resulted with a more consistent line. I found that writing with a quill can take a lot longer than I anticipated. I needed to refill the quill every couple of words; which of course was extremely annoying!
I must say though I was having fun and I now am a convert to using a quill and ink.

What I have also found is that ink is very messy; I cannot even contemplate what it would be like to write a whole novel this way! I am now very appreciative of the intense pain Jane Austen must have gone through, to pen her wonderful works!

I am entusiastic about how this activity will fit into the project and I am also happy that maybe my dearest friends will receive letters from me, hand written by quill and ink.

My practise letter begins like this...

Dearest Elizabeth,

I hope this letter finds you well. I have thought it unfortunate that you have been ill in recent days. With the season change upon us, it is without malice that I plead for God's good sense that he gives you a reprieve from your ill health... 

' Old Copper Washtubs'

It has been a while since my last post, but I was waiting till I had something more interesting to show you. I had sent out emails; I had searched between Ballarat and Castlemaine for the one item I do not have for The Jane Austen Experience.

I was hoping to find a washtub I could use for one of the activities. I searched again high and low, to no avail. I had given up all hope in finding what I needed. We did come across an old steel washtub but at the price of $95, it was out my budget.

So by this time the likelihood of finding one in the vicinity of Ballarat was poor and I thought I would have to use a very modern bucket instead.

During the week, I was busy reading for other classes when my husband turned up with this wonderful original copper washtub. As you can see it has seen better days but it is perfect for washing my clothes with the washboard. After a bit of high pressure washer action, it has come up trumps! I am proud to say I have an original copper washtub!
Instead of it being $95, it was a cool $50. It may need a bit more tender loving care before I use it, but I think it is pretty good!

So as it stands now, I have been accumulating many props for this project and I am looking to photograph each activity as soon as I finish sewing! Hopefully by next weekend!

Dearest Followers,
I dare to dream that my journey is of substance to your sensibilities.

'Ink Wells All Round'

I ventured out to the antique shops

to browse; instead I came out of

there with two ink wells for the price

of one. I didn't really want two,however,

the man at the store said I could have

them both!

Each one is the exact replica of the
other, but one has a large inside crack
that allows it to have a very slow leak!
Not good when I planned to put ink in it!
The other has no cracks in the glass,
thank goodness or I would be out of pocket $40.

The ink well has a rim of silver at the top; the glass is very thick and shape like a diamond. I am excited that the quill I have, will stand up nicely inside it.

All I have to achieve now is to learn how to write an 18th Century inspired letter; with all the curves of artistic writing and the joining of letters that flow so beautifully together.

With some luck, I will have a talent I didn't know I had!

To My Dearest Followers,
I will endeavour to correspond when time permits me!

'The Costume Takes Shape'

Sunday began with the alarm going off at 6.30am. Climbing out of bed to take my son to catch a bus for 'Boatrace'. After a bit of breakfast, I started getting things ready for the all important 'sewing experience'.

As we know I am definitely not a sewing person, however, I think I am becoming a convert! Although this whole experience has been somewhat painful for me(needles), it has been rewarding at the same time.

I was so glad that Mum came to 'supervise', because I do not think I could have done this on my own! Everything from the pattern to cutting the right pieces out, and not to mention actually sewing the bodice to the skirt; with nerves of steel I proceeded forward!

There was a hiccup; the pattern wasn't very clear so we had to add material to the very bottom of the dress; thank goodness it doesn't look out of place! Considering the photos won't show the very bottom of the dress, I am sure all will be okay!

It now resembles something like the 18th Century picture on the front of the pattern. All that needs to be done is, to sew the sash onto the waist; add the nice brown wooden buttons; fix the sleeves and finally I must hem it to fit!

So, with the first task sort of finished, I can move onto the next.

I must consult my notes!