Photo courtesy of Elanor :)

Hello all!

Months and months and MONTHS ago, the original creator of the tag, Elanor, tagged me for this fun tag. You can see her original post here - provided the link still works. I understand she's closed down that blog when she moved over to her other one.....which serves me right for taking so darn long....

Also, Movie Critic tagged me in a later month. You can view her post HERE.

As you can see, I'm starting to work through some of the tags that I still have left over before I move into NaNo madness, LOL.

Better late than never, no?

And now for ze rules:

1. Answer the Questions (obviously!)
2. Link back to the person who tagged you (which would be the creator herself, Elanor)
3. Tag at least one blogger at the end.


The Questions:

1. What was the most recent period drama you watched? Share what you thought of it.

At the time of writing this tag, it was Little Women (BBC, 2018).

There were moments of brilliance. Aunt March, the theater/Apollyon storyline, the costumes and the scenery were among them. I liked the scene with the paper boats in Episode 3, and I LOVED Mark Stanley's portrayal of Professor Bhaer A LOT.

Favorite cinematic scene, was the "Land of the Leel" film sequence. That was so thrilling, and chilling, and emotional, and gahhhhhhh. The singing was absolutely gorgeous against the contrasting visual scenes from the battlefield. Alcott kinda glossed over John's war service, so it was really nice to see it, and even from Meg's perspective too!

And to be perfectly honest, I like this Meg and John better than the 1994 movie.

But there was a lot of disappointments in this too - the pacing was horribly off, some of the key characterizations were terrible (AKA Laurie and Amy), and some of it just was "forced". *SPOILER* The Christmas joy was very anticlimactic!! Super disappointed. It lacked the joy that the scene from the book entailed. They treated it as "oh. you're home" not like "OH MY GOSH, FATHER IS HOME". *END SPOILER*

One thing that drove me nuts was that there was a lot of little details that I knew (from reading the book) but there was not really a big picture. So I can't recommend that people see this to get a sense of what the book is about.


2. Do you generally prefer period dramas in the form of a movie or a TV series/mini-series? Why?

I don't mind if they are in a movie or a mini-series. Though it tends to be easier to get a hold of them if they are in a movie form than a mini-series, it seems!!


3. What is your favorite musical period drama?

I'll be honest - I don't have a favorite. I have a couple of period dramas that are musicals that I really like (Fiddler on the Roof, Sound of Music, Newsies, etc.) but none are my particular "favorite".


4. Read the book first or watch the movie first?

I've done both....though I would prefer to read the book first. Mostly because the film usually comes up short of the book or the film messed something up from the book. *rolls eyes*




5. What is a valuable life lesson you learned from a period drama? 

For goodness sakes, get to know the guy before you sell your heart and soul to him. There are cads out there and they are not looking in your best interests.

And for someone like me who may or may not be desperately looking for a match, that's an important thing to remember....


6. Which period drama hero would you be likely to fall in love with in real life?

Now there's a very hard question. Cause I have a small habit of, hem, falling in love with a lot of characters.

Henry Tilney is a good candidate...




Since his knowledge of muslin and his practical, soft-hearted nature is so endearing.

Gilbert Blythe is also a strong possibility....



He's too sweet and faithful NOT to consider him!

But I have a sneaky feeling that I would fall in love first with...


Jack Thornton.


7. Do you ever like to binge-watch a period drama series?

......me? Binge watch?

You mean that I would sit voluntarily in front of a TV with either needlework or my wool for hours and hours watching people in pretty clothes get into scrapes and possibly fall in love with each other?

If you thought that....YOU WOULD BE CORRECT!! *breaks out the DVD collection*  


8. What things go best with watching a period drama?

Some kind of needlework (either knitting, crochet, sewing, or embroidery).

Tea. Definitely tea.

Maybe a hankie. Depends on the film.


9. Which period drama do you think you would fit into best?

That's a fairly easy answer:

IMDB

Because I've reenacted in the time period that WCTH is set in (the early 1900s), it will be fairly easy for me to slip back into that mindset. No poshy-fancy manners to learn, the fashion is much more to my personal tastes, I can ride if I like, I can work as hard as I like (being out in the frontier has it's advantages), it's a small town and everybody will know me (which I love!)...and why in the world am I not THERE already?!


10. If you could have any period drama character for a best friend, who would it be? And why?

Hmmm...

When I originally wrote out this tag, I originally thought of Abigail Stanton (WCTH) or Charlotte Lucas (P&P) since they were the more phlegmatic personality types.

But you know....chances are that in real life, it would probably be Marianne Dashwood. And I only say that because Lia (aka, my unbiological sister/Best Friend Forever) is the Marianne Dashwood to my Elinor Dashwood.


11. Show us a picture of a period drama costume you wish you could wear in real life.






There's actually three in there that I would, because I couldn't find a picture of the one I wanted...*sigh*

The late Victorian/early Edwardian style of clothing is one of my most favorite, if you leave out all the sheer clothing that was becoming popular then. I've actually worn "period drama" costumes (1830s and 1900s) so I would wear practically every outfit from those time periods (and the ones in between) with relative ease every single day :). As soon as I get used to wearing a corset, that is.

Mini rant: One thing that drives me nuts about period drama is the fact that a lot of the costumes have really low necklines. In reality, those dresses were a lot higher or they had another piece of cloth covering that section of the body. Plus I'm never comfortable with low necklines.....

12. Are there any period dramas you like to watch during a particular season or holiday?

Well...not really. I'll watch period drama whenever.

Though I do tend to watch Anne of Green Gables (Sullivan edition) either in the springtime or in the fall. Lia and I just finished watching this a couple of weeks ago, LOL.


13. Which period drama has your favorite soundtrack? 

My favorite is the Sense and Sensibility 1995 soundtrack by Patrick Doyle. Which I was what  I was listening to as I wrote this tag....

It is really simple, but really poignant. It's not fluffy, and it has that classic appeal to it.


14. Dream cast your favorite actor and actress in a period drama of your choosing; tell which parts they would play and why.***deceased actors do count!

Ugh, I'm terrible at casting. Most of the time because I wouldn't change the casting of the original version.

Brent Bailey (who plays Alex Knightly in Emma Approved) should really play some kind of period drama hero, I think. But then, I can't picture him outside of the office.....

RRRGH. I GIVE UP.

(Oh, btw....this was totally the reason why the tag was taking so long to finish. I literally couldn't find anything, despite three major attempts.....)

15. Are there any period dramas you like more than one version of?

Persuasion (1998 and 2008). Both of these films did a good job with the story and I loved the acting in both of them.

Of all the other period drama with multiple versions, I've only seen one version of each. Or, in the case of Anne of Green Gables, I only got about five minutes into the latest version to shut it off in disgust.

Okay, correction, I have seen two versions of Little Women, and hope to see a third one of these days....but I like the 1994 movie better than the 2018 version, as you can see from the above commentary.


16. What are the top three period dramas that you haven't seen on your to-watch list? 

*consults The List*

Pride and Prejudice (1995 version)
Belle (2013)
Amazing Grace (2006)

17. Show a picture of your favorite period drama hairstyle.

Rrgh. I like a lot of them. They are so beautiful....I think my favorite one of all is the one that Emma Woodhouse (2009) wears a lot:




My second favorite may surprise you....



It's Elizabeth's "half-bun" style seen in this scene in Pride and Prejudice 2005.

I've actually managed to copy this hairstyle fairly easily. All it is a partial ponytail that has been braided and wrapped into a small bun. It's my go-to style for "nice occasions" such as professional engagements, church events, etc.

18. What was your favorite wedding in a period drama?

LEE AND ROSEMARY'S WEDDING FROM WHEN CALLS THE HEART!!!!




That whole episode was just.....AHHHHHHH.

I'm okay. Promise.

Until I see Jack and Elizabeth's wedding....


19. What is your favorite biographical period drama?

The Story of Ruth



Like any true biographical period drama, it's fictionized account of real people, has a romance (or two) in it, and is set in a specific time period. And it's one of my favorite movies of all time.


20. Which historical novel will you forever recommend to anyone and everyone?

Anne of Green Gables and the rest of the Chronicles of Avonlea. Those novels that are character and life driven are among my very favorites and it appeals to a variety of audiences.



I tag:

Grace Avender @ Maidens of Green Gables
And anyone else who is a period drama fan that hasn't done this tag yet!

Well, I should go catch up on some other tags now.....and maybe comment on about 50 posts that I really want to comment on....

Scribblingly yours,

Catherine

Hello all!!

We interrupt this blog's usual prattles about confabulated muses, blog tags and general novel nonsense to bring you a special announcement....

I'm officially embarking on my first journey into the land of NaNoWriMo this November!!!

I'm really really excited to finally take part in it this year. I had originally planned to do it last year too, but that was during the madness with graduate school....and let's face it, emotionally, I was not ready. I don't regret sitting out though.

Now, with my job hours being reduced and things taking an even keel again, I'm preparing to jump full force into this thing. Cause, I haven't really picked up any writing since July and my Muse is ready to jump out of my head because it's so bored up there.

In order to introduce this novel to y'all, I'm taking part in the Know Your Novel Linkup, created by one of my absolute favorite bloggers of all time, Christine @ Musings of an Elf!!! There are still five days left to participate in this first part, so if you would like to take part, follow THIS LINK to go to her blog!

Speaking of which.....y'all are probably wondering what I'm writing for NaNo.

Well, I'll tell you first thing - it isn't a new novel. That's right - I'm an NaNo Rebel. Let's face it though, 8 current novel WIPs is a lot and I still have that goal of finishing at least one of them this year. Well, it's gonna happen....one way or another.

So which one of the 8 is it????

It's.....



Y'all are probably thinking - AGAIN?

To be honest, this wasn't the original plan. I was going to write From the Cave, which is the sequel to this one. However, July's Camp NaNo proved that my notes and development on that particular story wasn't as sharp as I had previously thought. Plus, some pertinent history had to be settled in order to flesh out my antagonist's arc...


Currently, this story sits at about 15k words. My goal is to raise it to 65k words. Which I believe will be doable, since most of my world and my characters are developed already. All I really need is to write the actual PLOT.

Okay, I've prattled on far too long. Let us get to the main event, shall we???


1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?

It's a bit complicated....but then again, pretty much everything concerning my writing is complicated in some fashion.

It all started when I was developing the idea for one of my first WIPs, which is now called From the Cave. For some reason, I was seized with a fancy to create this whole backstory (mhmm, signature trademark right there....) for these two side characters named Ealdread and Janina.

It all started with this one note:


Later, I wrote a whole detailed synopsis/plot on a piece of paper.....and then stuck it on the farthest back corner of the Muse. After all, it wasn't really pertinent to the storyline of my original WIP.

Fast forward about two years.

Being the bookdragon that I am, I was searching Amazon for free Kindle books. (Great way to expand your Kindle library 😁) And I found this book called Pippa of Lauramore by Sherri Tapscott.

Oh my gosh. When I was reading that book, my muse was going WILD. Especially with the purity ring and the marriage tournament angles. It instantly made me think of that little story idea I had stored away, so I decided to bring it out of the shadows and give it a new life.

Later, I got inspired by a real family romance (my great-grandparents), and the book Marcia Schuyler by Grace Livingston Hill, which resulted in the age-gap romance that is featured in the book. Marcia Schuyler was also a huge influence in some of the book conflicts, such as the jealous older sister.


2. Share a blurb!

Hopefully this will be a better blurb than the last one, LOL.

A passing fancy becomes the heart’s trajectory…..

Princess Magdalena has long coveted the honor of being the Blue Star of Duventoliel – the designation of being a royal maiden fit for marriage. She dreams of a fairy tale ending – but how to find the prince of her dreams among so many dashing young men?

Her sister Princess Janina is on the threshold of her own maidenhood, and she couldn’t be happier. At last, she can be trusted with more responsibilities! But as she assists her sister in the preparations for the coming Karala Games, she cannot help but look forward to her own marriage tournament....

But mere days before the Games are set to begin, a tragic scandal rocks the royal family…

Thrust into the marriage market at a tender age, Janina must learn to keep her wits about her in the midst of sisterly jealousy, foreign sabotage, a persistent pair of matchmakers….and a dear old friend who patiently looks from afar.


3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects about the setting?

The story takes place in the fantasy world called Verden. It has several kingdoms and Nation-States including Ceberlandon, Jaquru (based on South America), Shaltei (based on Asia), Maisaka (based on Africa)....but the main setting for this story is a the High Kingdom of....

Duventoliel.

One of my favorite things about this setting is that the geography and the climate are turning out to be based more off of the United States (though there are definitely some UK elements in there). Almost every other fantasy story is based off of somewhere in Europe or the UK and I like to be different for once :).

The Nevada mountains are especially inspiring to me for the Fihell Sidabras, or the Silver Mountains

4. Tell us about your protagonist.

Oh goodness, what else to tell that hasn't been written in this post about Janina????

Janina (which is pronouced YAH-nee-na) is the youngest princess of Duventoliel, and daughter of King Reijo and Queen Carina. She is an Aelfdyn, which is a race that is descendant of an Elvish and human union. She is about 16 years old, has her father's light brown hair and green eyes.

She loves poetry, children, nature, and serving others. She's a natural diplomat, and is of a curious nature, but she can also become petulant, naive and hard to motivate.

She is most associated with the colors purple and white - her birthstone is Amethyst (which puts her born in Waning Spring) and her seal is a white rose.


5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?

There are some old stigmas and conflicting ideas, of course - but these are minor things that help build the drama more than anything. The main antagonist is one character - one of Janina's older sisters, Magda.

Magda is 19, has darker green eyes than her sister, and has her mother's dark hair. In contrast, she is much paler than her sister and almost all Duventolians. Her colors are red and black - while she likes red, she hates black because it bleaches her out which makes her look terrible.

Like her sister, she also loves the outdoors. She's more of a survivalist though - she loves to hunt and ride horses. She loves horses a lot - in fact she has several, including some for breeding. She is also crafty - she loves to make baskets especially. Her favorite flowers are called Dragon Snappers.

Her biggest faults are that she's boldly brash, impure, and she's really vain. Her strengths? She is very organized, has a very artistic eye, and she knows how to keep to a schedule.

Another antagonist may make an appearance....but I haven't decided if it's the right time or not....





6. What excites you the most about this novel?


Well, I'll be honest - Verden is my favorite story universe to work with. Working on this novel will bring me a lot closer to cementing some details that are extremely important for From the Cave.

I also love my characters to death - especially all of the good platonic relationships between a lot of my guy characters.

And, I'm really excited to see what my alphas will think of the new scenes. So far, I've gotten some great feedback :).



7. Is this going to be a series? Standalone? Something else?

At the moment, it's the first of a duology - From the Cave being the second one. At the moment, I don't have any intention of making the series any longer, but I may create a novella or two in that same universe.....


8. Are you plotting? Pantsing? Plansting?

Even though this has been called my most "pantsed out" novel, I'm doing my usual "plansting" style. Most of my scenes are pantsed out, guided by the outlining that is done in the synopsis and the world-building.





9. Name a few things that makes this story unique.

Gahh, I hate these kinds of questions. It always makes me think I'm bragging about my story.....

So, I'm going to turn to some of the feedback that I got from my alpha readers:

1. The age-gap romance. Many people stay away from this particular trope, but in reality a lot of marriages have couples that are 5-20 years apart. In fiction, it's a huge cliche for a princess to shudder at the thought of marrying an older king.....so I thought, why not turn it on it's head??


2. The religion and ethics are heavily based in Catholic dogma, Tradition and Social Justice. As a traditional Catholic, I find it exceedingly frustrating that Catholics and the Church are often either ignored or misrepresented. And I also find it exceedingly frustrating that a lot of fantasy novels have too much sorcery/bad forms of magic in them.


3. Detailed world-building. Besides all of the varied countries and kingdoms, I have lots of details about little things like birthstones and seals. Tolkein may or may not have been an influence *wink wink*



10. Share a fun “extra” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!).

I have a whole POST devoted to these extras - the only thing that is missing is a map....which I'm still trying to create *sigh*

I'll leave you to peruse that as you wish :)


Your turn to talk! Are y'all doing NaNo? Is the new blurb more interesting? Any suggestions on how to make a good story map or where to find any map creators? Chat with me in the comments!

Scribbingly yours,

Catherine <3





P.S. Because of NaNo, I'll be taking a hiatus from Maidens for Mary AND Rebellious Writing during the entire month of November, with the potential for it to be extended to December. I'll miss it terribly, but I NEED to have my full writer's concentration on this novel.  

And so ends my crazy attempt at explaining on how I keep track of multiple WIPs! I really hope that this helped you guys! I dearly hope that I can get back into the swing of things soon - especially in commenting on y'all's blogs! I shall be back soon - there are some linkups that I've been DYING to get to!! 

Scribbingly yours,

Catherine <3

*a very disgruntled blogger looks at her blog post page...especially at the last published post date*

Well shoot.

Another whole month has gone by.

Without a post. Or even consistent commenting.

*sigh*

Here's what happened......I was drafting this second part in between work, my offline life and my "other" blogging commitments; which I had intended to use as the ending to this mini-series. But as I continued to draft....it grew longer, and longer and longer. There was so much detail that I was having trouble condensing it down.

So, after I finished writing out all the parts, I broke it up into another two posts. So, this is part 2 of three of.....




In my last post, I elaborated (or I should say...rambled) about how important organization is for keeping track of multiple WIPs. And then proceeded to make a hypocrite of myself by showing my messy, half finished renovation of my own organizational system. I'm sure I lost a few readers in that jungle....(don't worry, guys, the search parties are out!)

Keeping everything organized is only half the battle, though.

Which brings to my second big "trade secret", which is......




Distinctness is super important to me as a writer.  I'm not above sharing some images or musical pieces between WIPs, but after my disaster with Apple in the Snow, I now think twice before reusing or sharing large numbers of aesthetics, themes or character descriptors from old WIPs.

I'm also a person that needs specifics on top of specifics. So to keep the 8 WIPs from getting all mixed up, I spent a lot of time developing characters, aesthetics, and themes so that when I go to draft them, I can easily familiarize myself with the story once more.

Because I've now split up this post, I'm going to break down that "trade trick" above into two practical takeaways....the first being:




This tip is more for music playlists and Pinterest boards, so that is what I'll focus on for this post. I'll tackle characters and theme in the final part.





When I first began to use Pinterest, I only had "general" story inspiration boards. I would stick in images that reminded me of a story....just a story.

Then as I collected more and more pins that were relating specifically to my WIPs, I realized that they were becoming lost in the shuffle. So again, separate spaces, in the form of boards for each WIP, was a mind saver.

And then when Pinterest created the option for "sections" in boards, it really was a gamechanger for me. Now I could organize pins by character, country, research, or whatever!

One trick that I learned from the writing/blogging community, was to "Base your character aesthetics on one person/actor/phenotype". Having that consistent model helps when you need a face reference for emotions, I find.

I've also starting to apply that principle to my setting aesthetics too. Each place has it's own unique features, so every story should have it's own landscape pictures. Like for example, I've got pictures of Nevada mountains only for my reference to the Fihells Sidabras. I don't really know what's different about them than from any other mountains, but it's a way to stay consistent in my descriptions.

Other than that, I use Pinterest like any other writer would.

Now music, on the other hand.....


Music is the biggest "aesthetic" that I work on when creating my novels, since music is so intrinsically linked to my creative muse.

While I do have a "general" writing music playlist, I find that I have better success if I have a separate playlist for every WIP. Listening to the same set of songs while I craft different stories doesn't have the same power that a specific playlist has.

Usually, I'll have one song or album that triggers the actual story itself. Call it the "main theme" if you will. I'll then build the rest of the WIP playlist around that particular piece of music.

For example, for "Shattered Chandelier", my main musical influence is Phantom of the Opera. Which is probably pretty obvious, considering that "Shattered Chandelier" IS a story centered around Phantom of the Opera. Building around POTO, I've added several songs from Damian McGinty (for a contemporary/soft/romancey feel) as well as this song from Abby Anderson:



I then try to find music that resonates with my characters, my story plot and my story world. I do not create character playlists, but I do try to keep track of specific songs for characters by creating a small list on the character profile sheet.

When I look for songs to put in my playlists, I'll play a random piece of music and listen to what emotions are being conveyed. Those emotions will then, hopefully, transpose me into a character's mindset and a scene will often play in my head.

Sound weird? Maybe this will help.

You know how if you listen to a movie soundtrack that you can "play" the scene in your head? It's that same concept except I'm pairing a piece of unrelated music to a scene in my head.

Oddly enough, this is why I rarely use actual cinematic music, unless it was a film I had never seen. I connect music to visuals and emotions at a ridiculous level; so unless the emotions can cut through, it's almost impossible for me to separate the soundtrack from the film in my mind. 

Instead, I'll use pieces from lesser known artists, such as Arlene Faith:



One thing that I make absolute sure of is that each WIP playlist is unique - even for those works which are a series.

Why?

Because sequels are almost never in the same time period as the previous story, and the story location can change. And we are dealing with different characters and a different story most of the time.

Remember, the style of music is influenced by several things: location, emotion, people's values, time period, etc. There are even regional differences within a country's music. Building playlists with this in mind can really help differentiate WIPs.

For example, my playlist for From the Cave features a strong "Celtic" influence and features artists like Adrian von Ziegler, Brunuhville, David Davidson, and others. This is because Aistaraina's culture has strong "Celtic" roots.

On the other hand, my playlist for The White Rose features a Celtic/Nordic/Medieval influence, and features artists like John Powell, Erutan, Antti Martikainen, Aryeh Frankfurter, Danish String Quartet, among others. The White Rose is set in Duventoliel, and it's set about 20-30 years before From the Cave. Duventoliel is more of a melting pot, but their near neighbors Ravndal and Aistaraina have a big influence on their culture. And, there is more acoustic music because of the "older" time period.

So, using almost completely different music, it sets a completely different tone and feel to the story. Which, in theory, will aid in not getting the stories mixed up!



In the next post (which will hopefully appear sooner than a month this time....), I'll delve into the second takeaway by talking about characters and themes and how subtle differences in each of those can help differentiate WIPs.


So, now I'm curious.....do you find that specific playlists or images help, or do you take inspiration from things in general? Who's prepping for NaNo??? And is it really possible that it is now October (sure doesn't feel like it....) 

Scribblingly yours,

Catherine