Stuff I Like: The Other Jane

It’s no secret: Anyone who knows me well is aware of the influence JANE EYRE has had on my life. Charlotte Bronte’s classic has rocked my world since I was a tween of twelve—I’ve probably read JANE EYRE on an annual basis since then. I’m thankful to my English great-aunt who insisted I read it way back when. (Interestingly, she claimed I’d enjoy the picturesque descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside. Go figure….)

As a sensitive, artistic, and introverted teenager from a complicated home environment, Jane’s character especially spoke to my condition. I loved Bronte’s exploration of class and gender issues; in the nineteenth century, this was especially provocative stuff. On the romantic end, the scenes between Jane and Mr. Rochester are brilliantly written slow-boils of sexual tension. JANE EYRE has even inspired a few tributes in THE LILY MAID, my novel underway. For example, I couldn’t resist naming a little girl Adele, after Jane’s French charge in the novel.

I consider JE “the other Jane” to Jane Austen–her quieter, deeper, more passionate cousin. With all the retellings of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE abounding, I’ve always wondered why no author had ever attempted to update JANE EYRE (to the best of my knowledge, not including WIDE SARGASSO SEA). Anyway, you can imagine how delighted I was when tarotist Diane Wilkes mentioned to me that JANE EYRE had been rewritten as a YA novel. (Well, delighted as well as a bit trepidatious. We JANE EYRE lovers are very protective of our girl!)

JANE EYRE has been recast by author April Lindner as JANE. The good news: JANE is a really fun, well-written read which would be a great gateway drug for teenagers who have yet to read the original Bronte. I sped through it in one sitting, unable to put it down. Since I know the original Bronte so well, I think a lot of my page turning was because I wanted so badly to see how Ms. Lindner would handle each of the original’s plot points: How would she translate them for a twenty-first century teenage audience?

Short answer: I think she did a great job. To make Rochester into the burned out rock star of Nico Rathburn was a brilliant inspiration. Ditto for updating Jane Eyre as an impoverished college drop out with the nom de moderne of Jane Moore. These choices communicate so well the extreme class disjuncture between the original JE and Rochester; of how shocking and impossible their love would be viewed by most of society. I especially liked the author’s handling of the last third of the book, which brings in the subplot of the Rivers siblings. Some reviewers have commented on JANE’s sexual content, but I actually thought it worked very well within the context. After all, this is 2011, not 1847, when the original JE was published. These days, true love leads fairly quickly to tangled sheets (unless you’re Bella Swan). The original JANE EYRE is pretty hot stuff, so it makes sense. I also was thankful for how closely Lindner hewed to the Bronte’s original dialogue, which I’ve always found completely delightful. If it ain’t broke, why fix it?

My quibbles with JANE are few and far between, but for the sake of balance, I’ll include them. I do wish that the flashbacks revealing Jane Moore’s unloving, dysfunctional family were better handled and more subtly developed. They felt a bit shoehorned in and a little confusing–the proverbial info dump for the sake of providing backstory and motivation. It’s a challenge, though; the original JE had many, many pages devoted to presenting Jane’s formative years with her relatives-from-hell and subsequent life at Lowood. These reveal her character’s awareness of social hypocrisy and class consciousness, thus clarifying her later choices and actions in the novel. Perhaps this was just too complicated to pull off within the YA constraints?

My other issues probably arise from my love of the original JE. For example, Jane Eyre is this almost fey character (Rochester repeatedly refers to her as fairy-like, of another world), which contrasts so beautifully against his dark cynicism. One really understands their attraction–they’re opposites who have been cut of the same cloth. She serves almost as an angel leading him to personal and spiritual redemption. In JANE, this doesn’t feel so apparent to me; Rathburn seems attracted to Jane Moore because of her blunt honesty and integrity in a world of sycophants. One major plot point (no spoilers) required some serious suspension of disbelief, though for the most part I thought it was handled well.

Overall, JANE is a very enjoyable and well-written retelling of a novel I consider one of the feminist ur-texts. Recommended. I also hope it will encourage teens to read Bronte’s original, which I consider essential reading.

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On a related note, it seems like JANE EYRE may be finally getting the film adaptation she deserves. I’m excited by this trailer, which captures the intensely dark, gothic qualities of the book. Can’t wait to see it!

I was also surprised to find JANE EYRE referenced in this Stone Soup comic strip last week.

Also, Jane Eyre Illustrated offers a web-based overview of all of the illustrated versions of JANE EYRE through the centuries. Love it! I have many fond memories of reading the edition illustrated by Nell Booker.

With all this Janeite stuff abounding, maybe it’s just the other Jane’s time? Hmmmmm…..

• Filed under The Novel, retail therapy, reviews + press, stuff I like | 8 Responses

Stuff I like: NaNoWriMo

Now that we’re at the tail end of September, is it too soon to consider the approach of November? I think not. After all, November is National Novel Writing Month, better known by its jaunty abbreviation of NaNoWriMo. That alone makes me happier about winter’s approach. (I dread winter’s cold and dark days.)

NaNoWriMo challenges writers to write a novel—50,000 words—in a month. Last year there were 167,150 participants. Think this is impossible? It’s not. I did it last year and “won.” So did 32,177 other writers. I finished with 50,590 words of THE LILY MAID’s first draft (since extensively reworked and expanded to over 100,000 words).

Would I have gotten it together to start a novel otherwise? Perhaps, but doubtful. Knowing myself, I’d just put it off until a future date. Or until I felt more confident as a writer. In other words, probably never. The good people at NaNoWriMo acknowledge that most people have these same excuses reservations. They offer these wise counterarguments:

1) If you don’t do it now, you probably never will. Novel writing is mostly a “one day” event. As in “One day, I’d like to write a novel.” Here’s the truth: 99% of us, if left to our own devices, would never make the time to write a novel. It’s just so far outside our normal lives that it constantly slips down to the bottom of our to-do lists. The structure of NaNoWriMo forces you to put away all those self-defeating worries and START. Once you have the first five chapters under your belt, the rest will come easily. Or painfully. But it will come. And you’ll have friends to help you see it through to 50k.

2) Aiming low is the best way to succeed. With entry-level novel writing, shooting for the moon is the surest way to get nowhere. With high expectations, everything you write will sound cheesy and awkward. Once you start evaluating your story in terms of word count, you take that pressure off yourself. And you’ll start surprising yourself with a great bit of dialogue here and a ingenious plot twist there. Characters will start doing things you never expected, taking the story places you’d never imagined. There will be much execrable prose, yes. But amidst the crap, there will be beauty. A lot of it.

3) Art for art’s sake does wonderful things to you. It makes you laugh. It makes you cry. It makes you want to take naps and go places wearing funny pants. Doing something just for the hell of it is a wonderful antidote to all the chores and “must-dos” of daily life. Writing a novel in a month is both exhilarating and stupid, and we would all do well to invite a little more spontaneous stupidity into our lives.”

I can attest that all of this is true. NaNoWriMo is life-changing. It’s also a lot of fun, which is reason enough to participate imho.

Though I won’t be participating in National Novel Writing Month this year—instead, I’ll be doing a private National Novel Editing Month as I revise my novel—I’ve been encouraging all of my writer friends to participate. I’m envious of the wonderful time they’ll be having, but it would be difficult to abandon THE LILY MAID at this point to jump into another narrative—like leaving a baby in the bathwater without supervision.

So, think you have a novel inside you? (Of course you do!) Are you ready to jump into a month of literary abandon? (I hope so!) Can you stand so much creativity? (Mais oui!) Good news: the 2010 NaNoWriMo website will be live at the end of the week for you to sign up for free. Then you can use October to outline or research your novel in preparation for November.

Let me know if you do. I’ll be cheering from the sidelines.

ETA: The 2010 site is now live!

• Filed under The Novel, be-mused, creativity, events, stuff I like, the world around me | One Response

Creativity Friday: Reading to Write

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I’ve started work on the second draft of THE LILY MAID, my novel set in Victorian England’s Aesthetic art movement. Yet I have not written a word of the draft yet. Instead, I’m compiling lots and lots of notes in a small journal* I carry everywhere with me—even to my bedside at night in case a stray thought should arrive.

Some of these notes are inspired by feedback from my literary agent and readers. (I had four supportive friends read the first draft. Not surprisingly, their comments mirrored many of my literary agent’s, which is why it’s Important and Necessary to have more than one reader at this stage of the game.) My other notes are along the lines of stream-of-consciousness musings-to-myself. Many of them have been triggered by the reading I’ve been doing in preparation for writing this second draft.

So far, if I was to divide the labor put into revising the novel so far, it would be tilted to 85% reading, 15% writing.

Just as humans need food to live, writers require inspiration to transform into creative energy. The time between finishing a first draft and revising the second is made for this sort of intake. I’m fortunate that, along with notes on my manuscript, my agent also gave me a reading list of novels to help me refine character motivation, plot arc, and all those other persnickety details that give a book emotional resonance.  Other suggestions came way of friends familiar with my novel and the era in which it takes place.

So, curious what I’ve been reading? So far, the books have fallen into three categories:

1. Fiction with similar themes and character dynamics.

2. Biographies of Victorian-era artists and muses.

3. Nonfiction about the craft of story.**

Here are a few of the books I’ve been perusing:

FICTION:

The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton)

Year of Wonders (Geraldine Brooks)

Inamorata (Joseph Gangemi)

The Piano Teacher (Janice Yee)

Girl With a Pearl Earring (Tracy Chevalier)

The Good Soldier (Ford Maddox Ford)

Anne Perry’s Victorian-era mysteries (for setting and details on class structure)

and a host of others….

***

BIOGRAPHIES:

Lizzy Siddal: Face of the Pre-Raphaelites (Lucinda Hawksley)

Jane and May Morris (Jan Marsh)

Oscar Wilde (Richard Ellman)

Several group biographies of the Souls, a Victorian cohort of artistic intellectuals

The Gentle Art of Making Enemies (James McNeill Whistler)

also several books on photography, Victorian spiritualism, and other related subjects….

***

NONFICTION:

The Fire in Fiction (Donald Maass) – Has great revisions suggestions for novels underway.

Story Structure Architect (Victoria Schmidt) -  The author breaks down plot in examples using mythic examples. She includes diagrams for the story arc for each plot example too, which I think is reason enough to buy it.

Story (Robert McKee) – This book is a classic for screenwriters but has lots of applicable ideas for novelists.

Plotting and Writing Suspense Fiction (Patricia Highsmith) – Recommended to me by a novelist-friend who teaches fiction writing. Has applicable ideas even if one isn’t writing a thriller or mystery.

Bestseller: Secrets of Successful Writing (Celia Brayfield) – Corny title, but she uses Joseph Campbell’s hero’s return to illustrate plot structure in novels. It offers great advice for shaping what my agent calls the “C Plot” of a book—character development.

And several others, some which I haven’t mentioned because I found them a bit simplistic or jargonesque.

***

What has been the result of all this reading to write? Well, I’m starting to chomp at the bit to dive into Draft #2 in earnest. In other words, I feel inspired and prepared for the next phase. If all goes as hoped, I plan to have a revised draft of THE LILY MAID sometime this winter.

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* Yes, that is my journal in the photograph. I have very messy handwriting, alas!

**To those reading this blog who are also writers: What are your favorite books for writing and revising a book? I’d love to hear! Please share in the comments.

• Filed under The Novel, creativity, stuff I like | 4 Responses

Creativity Friday: Spoonflower!

A deep, dark secret from my past: I used to sew most of my clothes when I was a mere slip out of art school. Usually these efforts were inspired by favorite paintings. For example, I created a Lady of Shalott dress to wear to a gallery opening. Another time I created a Jane Morris-inspired dress, complete with underdefined waist in a pomegranate-colored cotton. Sometimes I’d wear a stiffly starched petticoat under it for that proper Aesthetic buzz.

These days, my schedule doesn’t allow me to explore this form of creativity—it’s been some years since I’ve sewn something beyond the occasional pillow slipcover or a loose button. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t yearn to. I recently unearthed my sewing machine from the back of a closet and have been staring at it mournfully while watching episodes of Project Runway. I will befriend you again, I vow to it. I promise.

In the meantime I’ve discovered Spoonflower, a wonderful website that makes it possible for artists to design, print and sell their own fabric designs. The custom-printed fabrics are available in a number of weights. My first two designs are up, one which has been entered in their fabric-of-the-week contest—the theme is masks, just in time for Halloween festivities.

Venetian Masks
Design inspired by THE LOVER’S PATH.

Here’s the fun thing: Each Venetian-style mask can be worn. Simply adhere to iron-on backing, cut out, and sew ribbons to each side. The masks can also be decorated with sequins and embroidery as desired to invoke a sumptuous evening on the Grand Canal. Added bonus: this design also works as a large-scale repeat. Great for drapes and upholstery in your private paradiso.

(Psst. If you want to vote for it as fabric of the week, click here.)

Goddesses Galore
Design adapted from THE BOOK OF GODDESSES.

I think the goddesses would make wonderful curtains or pillows, don’t you? Future fabric ideas include a pattern to create goddess dolls and a Doomed Queens repeat pattern complete with tiny guillotines. As you can tell I’m having fun.

You can view my fabric designs on Spoonflower here. So far, only my goddess fabric is available for purchase. You’re required to proof your fabric creation before releasing it to the public—I hope to be able to release the masks fabric in a few days.

Or, if you’re an artist, you can set up your own Spoonflower account to upload your own designs for free. If you do so, let me know—I’d love to see what you create!

• Filed under be-mused, creativity, goddesses, stuff I like | 2 Responses

The Return of Hank

You know spring is here.

Eye candy Jonathan Rhys Meyers has returned as King Henry VIII (or “Henry 8″ as he’s deemed in this poster), along with his entourage of Doomed Queens in the final season of THE TUDORS. I’m eager to find out how vacuously they’ll portray Catherine Howard (which I’m sure will horrify author Alisa Libby), how stately Catherine Parr will be, and whether the ghost of Anne Boleyn will make the obligatory appearance. I suspect that only Joss Stone’s Anne of Cleves will come out a winner.

THE TUDORS is hardly the stuff of high culture, but it’s a ton of fun. Maybe I’ll even play a drinking game: for every mention of divorce, reformation, or execution, take a shot of your favorite beverage!

The good news is that we don’t have to wait until April 11th to watch the premiere, thanks to the good people at Showtime. Player not working in your choice of browser? You can also view the episode on YouTube here.

Enjoy! And welcome back, Hank!

• Filed under be-mused, queens, stuff I like, the world around me | 4 Responses