Tuesday's Child Is On Schedule

I've been neglecting social media. This year I didn't have a new novel published and decided I write too slowly. I need to be more productive without sacrificing quality so I decided to write Tuesday's Child without research, revision or edits. I wanted to finish the first draft by the end of November or December 10th at the latest. I have almost met my target. I wrote 70,000 words and then realised I should revise Tuesday's Child to make sure that I tied up all the loose ends. I have revised and edited 100 pages of the second draft and am making notes on the contents of each chapter. Next, I shall write the final 5,000 words or more. It's a new way of writing for me but, hopefully, I will be ready to submit the novel to MuseItUpPublishing by the end of March, if not before. Phew!

The Regency Era and The Minuet

I enjoy historical research. Today I have been reading about dancing and music. In 1816 Thomas Wilson, a dance master, insisted the stately minuet should open a ball. In 1813 the Prince Regent held a ball that began and ended with a minuet. As far as I know, it was unusual to end a ball with one,
In towns such as Bath where there were many elderly people balls began with a minuet during the first quarter of the 19th century and, possibly, later.

Applying Research to Monday's Child

The research for the last few chapters of Monday's Child, the follow on novel from Sunday's Child,is complicated. To get it straight in my mind I have amalgamated my scribbled notes, photo copies and passages from my reference books. I have headed each part with a date and assigned it to a chapter. This means I will not need to cross reference each fact as I write. So far the method is working well. Phew!

Writing and Gardening

A friend wrote in her newsletter that Stephen King said novelists should finish a new book in 3 months. Ouch, it's taken me much longer to write each of mine. Anyway, this morning I wrote Chapter 27 of my new novel, Monday's Child (the sequel to Sunday's Child) set in the Regency era, and began the next chapter. Approximately 7,000 words to write before I finish the book, revise and edit it before I submit it. Phew!

I spent the rest of the morning working in the greenhouse and the garden. I picked tomatoes, cucumbers, runner beans and radishes, planted out lettuces weeded and tidied up. It's a sunny day, the sky is blue and the bees were busy collecting nectar from the lavender and other flowers.

Now I'm tapping away on the laptop with my feet up. Later on I'll probably pop out in the garden to do a bit more.

M is for Memory

It is mortifying if a novelist describes a character's eyes as blue and later refers to them as grey. In order to avoid such mistakes I fill in a detailed character profile, which includes appearance, for main characters and a simpler one for minor characters, which also includes their appearance.

In my new historical novel Monday's Child there are many minor characters. Instead of depending on my memory, I have a card index in which I record the names of those who have a very minor role.

These aids to memory are very useful. I remember reading a historical novel which began with the main character, who was called - say - Lady Violet. Half way through the novel Lady Rose was introduced. What had happened? The author had changed her mind about calling the main protagonist Lady Violet and re-named her. Unfortunately, she forgot to change the name in the first half of the novel and - amazingly - neither the contents editor nor the line editor notice so the name  Lady Rose replaced Lady Violet when the novel was published. Of course, this is an extreme example, but novelist's beware, but I wonder what the readers made of it.

Adverbs

I am searching for ways in which to improve the sequel to Sunday's Child, Monday's Child, which I am writing.

One of the things I check when I read through each chapter is my use of adverbs. A strong verb is more effective than a weak verb plus and adverb. For example I wrote: the colonel walked quickly and replaced it with the colonel marched.

When I write the first draft of a chapter I'm in a hurry to get on with the story. Afterwards I fine tune it several times. Another example is: he held her hand tightly which I replaced with he gripped her hand.

The Good and The Bad

One Year On

This time last year I was mourning the death of my mother at the age of one hundred. Although the last years of her life were impaired by macular vision and hearing loss, she remained mentally alert. When asked how she was, Mum always replied she was amongst life’s lucky ones because she had a lovely flat in a retirement home, good health compared to many others and sufficient money as well as a loving family. ‘Some people of my age,’ she said, ‘have no one and others have families who scarcely keep in touch.’

Mum’s last birthday was on Boxing Day, 2012. She enjoyed her party and took pleasure in her card from the Queen. On the night of the 28th she left her body in her sleep.

I still miss her very much but am not selfish enough to wish she had lived on suffering from ill health.

My nine year old grandson write this moving tribute to her, which the teacher did not dare to read to the class for fear she would cry.

Death

Why do people have to die?
Why can’t they stay with us forever?

When Mum and Dad told me Great Grandma had died
It felt as though all the happiness had been sucked out of the world by a giant black hole.
My heart had completely deflated.
No one can describe death.

If me and my dad and all the people who came for my great grandma could build a ladder to get her down
We really truly would.
Nobody can describe death.

In the church at the funeral, sadness on everyone’s faces,
My heart was in my boots,
It was like despair had taken over.
It was like the world was black.
Tears filled my eyes as people said all the kind things my great grandma had done.
I fought hard to keep them back.
But hearing all the good things she had done my heart filled like a champion weight lifter pushing it up.
Nobody can describe death.

Death creates a big black hole in you but you can fill it up with happy memories of the person that died.
But still…Nobody can describe death.







When he read it to me over the phone, tears welled up in my eyes, but I restrained my grief, remembering a quotation from the translation of The Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. “As the embodied soul continually passes, in this body, from boyhood to youth to old age, the soul similarly passes into another body at death.

This year I have achieved so much that my mother would have been pleased with. Three of my novels will be published in 2012. I have had two articles, first Baroness Orczy, and then The Scarlet Pimpernel, and a third, Samuel Pepys, will also be published in 2012 by Vintage Press.

I’m fortunate to be able to have children and grandchildren who I love dearly, to write historical fiction and articles and to garden organically. As Mum advised me, I’m counting my blessings.

My garden’s been very productive this year. From the time the rhubarb was ready to eat to now, when I have herbs and vegetables – Swiss chard, New Zealand Spinach, parsnips, turnips, red and green kale, brussel sprouts, – in the garden - carrots, marrows and pumpkins stored in the garden shed, and home grown veggies and fruit in the freezer, I have been at least 60% self-sufficient. The only disaster was the fate of 40 kilos of home grown potatoes stored in Hessian sacks in the garden shed which mice nibbled. They even nibbled the sacks!

Hopefully, 2012 will be happy for all of us, and I wish you all a healthy and prosperous New Year in which all your dreams come true.

Rosemary Morris
Historical Novelist

New releases from MuseItUp.
Tangled Love 27th January 2012.

Sunday’s Child June, 2012.
False Pretences, October 2012