A Hot Man Is Hard... To Write

Earlier this summer, I decided I needed a hashtag for His Good Opinion. I wanted something short, and that summed up the book. My amazing beta reader (and Indiejane.org cohort) Jessica Melendez suggested #hotdarcy, and after several humorous tweets with suggestions for future books (#SexyFitzwilliam and #takeitoffWentworth, collectively known as #regencystriptease), #hotdarcy stuck.

To the confusion of some readers, this is not because there are hot, steamy love scenes in my book. Rather, the comment, "OMG hot!" is one of Jess' ways to let me know I've nailed Darcy's character. Let's face it--Darcy is hot.

Later, she read another story of mine from a different fandom and commented that I like to write from the male perspective, and it's true. The question that came in the following Twitter chat was this: "How do you, as a woman, write in a man's voice?"

The answer is deceptively easy, my friends. I don't think about writing in a man's voice; I think about writing in Darcy's voice. That's the same way I can write dialogue that sounds right for any character. After all, I've never been a nervous, easily agitated woman desperate to marry her daughters off, but some of my favorite lines are ones I've given Mrs. Bennet.

Voice is not about gender, profession, age, or nationality. Voice is about character. This of course is the difficult part. When you put a character together, you do need to know their gender, profession, age, and nationality, because those things are a part of who they are. However, you have to know this person, as an individual. It's that knowing, that intimacy, that creates dialogue that sounds genuine.

Of course, some gratuitous #hotdarcy action never hurt either.

Confidence

I blogged about critique last Thursday. Accepting critique is a funny thing; it's part humility and part confidence.

The humility is obvious. We all want to believe we will be the first author to cough up the perfect rough draft. Any time someone--no matter how much we trust them--points out flaws in our manuscript, it can be hard not to take it personally. However, we can't let our instinctive pride get in the way of our desire to have a better story.

That's where the confidence comes in. Looking over a long editorial letter can be disheartening. "You did well here, but maybe here you should try..." It's easy to overlook the positive comments and start to wonder if you really have what it takes to write a publishable novel.

When you receive critiques, you have to believe in yourself. You have to believe that no matter what suggestions they may make, you are capable of implementing them. You must have enough confidence in your vision for your novel to know how to do that without compromising the story you want to tell.

It's not an easy line to walk, this balance between humility and confidence, but it's something all writers have to learn at some point, or we go a little mad.

Now, to make you smile, here's a video... with a surprise ending.

Is Darcy Too Sexy?

I've spent the last year working with Mr. Darcy in very close quarters. If anyone is qualified to judge his sex appeal, I am--and let me tell you, he has it in spades.

But too sexy? I think that's going too far, but perhaps I'm biased. Watch the video and tell me what you think.

I've Got a Dream: Mr. Darcy

On Monday, I used Flynn Rider as an example of a character whose dream changed. Mr. Darcy is exactly the opposite--his dream stayed true, but in order to achieve it, he had to change.

Darcy does a superb job of hiding his growing attachment to Elizabeth. This is largely because he thinks he can't possibly marry her, and therefore it wouldn't be right to show more affection, knowing he can't follow through with a proposal. His attentions are more overt in Kent, but by then, Elizabeth is so convinced he dislikes her that she misreads them completely. The first clue she has of his dream is in his proposal at Hunsford.



Disastrous! He's at a crossroads now; he can either give up on his dream of Elizabeth, or he can work to become a man capable of pleasing "a woman worthy of being pleased."

He of course chooses the latter, which is why women world over have fallen in love with him. Months later, after misunderstandings on both sides, he turns to her in response to her thanks for his actions regarding Lydia and says, "You are too generous to trifle with me. If your feelings are still what they were last April, tell me so at once. My affections and wishes are unchanged, but one word from you will silence me on this subject forever."

This is the story arc I'm in the middle of right now. He tells her later in that same passage that though he was angry with her at first, "my anger soon began to take a proper direction." Her words, "had you behaved in a more gentleman-like manner," started a transformation inside him, but it didn't happen over night. That gradual change from indignation to regret isn't easy to write. I begin to think Jane knew what she was doing when she followed Elizabeth rather than Darcy!

So today I have two questions. First, how long did it take Darcy to get past his anger, and second, what was the inciting incident that turned his thoughts in another direction? I already have some ideas on the latter, but I'm interested in your opinions.

Like Everybody Else, He's Got a Dream

I watched Tangled with some of my Janeite friends a few weeks ago, and midway through the movie, I realized the hero, Flynn Rider, has something in common with Darcy. Like all well-written characters, there is one thing they want more than anything else.

Almost every writing how-to book will tell you that you must know what your character wants. Motivation goes a long way toward understanding who they are. It's not just what does he do, but why does he do it? Chances are, your plot will follow one of two courses--either your character's dream will change because of what happens to him, or your character will change as he pursues his dream.


Flynn Rider from Tangled is an example of the first option. Here's a clip from the movie; pay attention to his dream.



Of course, it doesn't take long for him to wonder if hanging out all by himself on a beach might not be all it's cracked up to be. As he sees the world through Rapunzel's eyes, he realizes the thug was right--his dream does stink.

For the first time in his life, he's found someone he can trust with who he really is. That changes him, and the change inside him changes what he wants most. It's the classic rogue to gentleman character arc.

When he and Rapunzel are watching the lanterns later, she turns to him and asks a very perceptive question: What happens when you achieve your dream? His answer summarizes the movie. "You get to go find a new dream."

Of course, the challenge when writing this kind of story is to make the transition believable. What could happen in the story to change someone's deep-down dream? Have any of you written this kind of story? How have you handled this?

For other Disney insights into writing and Jane Austen, check out these blog posts:

Prince Phillip by Jessica
Prince Naveen by Kaydee
The Beast by Rebecca

Tune in on Thursday for my post on Darcy, a perfect example of a man changed by his dream.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

I have had this song stuck in my head for two days now, and it is driving me a little crazy. For one thing, it's a catchy tune that just will not go away. For another... I don't want to look on the bright side!! What bright side??

Yep, I'm in the middle of edits again. For three days, my twitter hashtag of choice was #chapterelevenorbust, which had a certain delicious irony to it. This is the chapter of the Netherfield Ball--the moment Darcy realizes he loves Elizabeth, and then circumstances make him choose to leave Hertfordshire, and her, behind. It's the first major turning point of the novel, and I needed to nail it.

I thought once I finished Chapter 11 I could move on to easier things, but alas it was not meant to be. I spent two hours last night rewriting Chapter 12, which I now get to go over with my purple pen. When I'm done with that, Chapter 13 awaits. Oh joy.

But you know what? All this editing is there to make my story stronger, hence my new hashtag: #strongerstoryyadayada. I wince when I cut large sections of my novel, and spending long hours on the computer rewriting is actually physically painful. If I can just remember though that all the hard work serves a greater purpose, I'll be able to look on the bright side.

So, to paraphrase:

Some things I write are bad,
And that really makes me mad--
Then other parts I find are even worse!
When I'm reading all this gristle
I grumble (I can't whistle)
But I get a stronger story, yada yada...

 

And I'll leave you with the video, just in case the song isn't already stuck in your heads. Are you editing, friends? Cheer up, you know what they say!

Hero profile: Fitzwilliam Darcy

Two of my Twitter friends and I have discovered that in addition to Jane Austen, we all share a love for Star Wars and Superman. As these aren't interests that tend to go alongside each other, we wondered what common point they all share and eventually we landed on the ideal of a hero. Since today is Valentine's Day, the three of us are all blogging about our favorite hero: Jessica is writing about Superman and Rebecca about Han Solo. I get to share my love of Darcy with you for the first time.  

First, I have a confession to make: Darcy did not immediately win me over when I first read Pride and Prejudice as a teenager. His first proposal was disastrous and though his second was better, there just didn't seem to be much to swoon over. I was much more taken by Elizabeth's strength and wit. I wanted to be Elizabeth, rather than be with Darcy. 

That didn't really change until I decided to tell Darcy's story. To gain a better understanding of him, I read the novel once more with I had two questions in mind: 1) What made him so reluctant to give his good opinion to others, and 2) How did Elizabeth so easily gain it, almost against his own will? The answer completely won me over. 

Darcy prizes honesty above all else. As a man of position and wealth, he is accustomed to being used and pursued. Men want to be known as his friend and women want to be courted by him. His disdain of this is clear in his response to Miss Bingley in Chapter Eight: "Undoubtedly," replied Darcy, to whom this remark was chiefuly addressed, "there is a meanness in all the arts which ladies sometimes condescend to employ for captivation. Whatever bears affinity to cunning is despicable." Caroline catches enough of his point to drop the subject.

Elizabeth is often described as artless--that is, free from deceit. She never pretends to like Darcy, and thus he cannot help but fall in love with her. Unfortunately, it does not occur to him that if she shows him the barest civility, she actually might not like him. This he discovers in his proposal, when that same admirable honest streak leads him to say things he perhaps ought to have kept to himself.

However, Darcy is not just honest with others, he is also honest with himself. After the immediate sting of Elizabeth's rebuke dulls, he sees the truth in her words and he resolves to change. He respects her opinion enough to trust her insight, even when her words hurt.

An honest man who wants nothing more than to be deserving of an honest woman? Swoon. Then he takes Lydia's rescue upon himself to save Elizabeth the pain of having a fallen woman for a sister and his character is fixed as the noblest man in Derbyshire. I could not help but fall in love with him, as generations of women before me have done.

So much of modern courtship is deceit. Pretend to be someone you aren't, so the other person (who is also pretending) will then fall in love with someone that doesn't exist. No wonder relationships are falling apart! We need heroes; men who are honest with us and with themselves, who are willing to tells us the truth about our flaws and listen when we gently point out theirs. We need... Well, just watch this.