Mourning was a public act, so to do it correctly was high fashion.  Whether an aristocrat mourned or not showed his animosity or recognition toward the deceased.  If the relative that had passed was loathed, one might don mourning as slight as possible, just enough not to give offense.

 

How long would a gentleman mourn his deceased wife?  It was considered indecent to mourn less than one year for a spouse.  Anyone who broke that rule came up against substantial disfavor from family and friends.  Especially for Londoners who were much fussier than those in the country.  

 

What about other family members? While mourning for a parent, spouse and sibling were established, other relatives remained uncertain.  However, husbands and wives mourned equally for each other's relations.

 

Parents or parents-in-law--6 month

Sibling--3 months

Sibling-in-law-- 6 weeks

Uncle or Aunt--3 weeks

First cousin--2 weeks

_{(Mourning periods from Regency Reference Book)}

 

 

 

 

Weepers are actually a knot of ribbon, or a long, narrow scarf which is attached to the shoulder of a coat.  Weepers are usually white, not black (perhaps to show up better against the dark coat!).

 

 Typically, an ornament of a man's costume, this picture provides an instance of weepers on a lady's dress.  The weepers are two inserts of white crape in the short black puffed sleeves. 

 

Occasionally, I will come across a reference to a "morning stole and weepers" and believe this to be a long scarf, affixed to the shoulder with the knot of ribbon of the weepers.

 

 

"The characters can own villas and yachts, and armies can be deployed at no cost. A novelist is limited only by his or her imagination. Writing a novel is a heady experience, for a novelist creates worlds and plays God." _{--Sidney Sheldon}

 

And people wonder why I write!

As I  said yesterday in my post, I have been getting contest entries ready.  So I had to rethink the title for one of my MS's "Sutherland Family Curse" as that was a working title only and I didn't want to enter it into a contest with that name.  Usually, I don't have trouble when it comes to naming my stories, but this one...I don't know nothing great or fitting would come to me.  I threw a bunch of names out at my CP and she helped me to narrow it down to two.  I asked my daughter and she was no help whatsoever.  So I wrote them both on a piece of paper, tossed them in a bowl, closed my eyes and picked one.  The "Sutherland Family Curse" is now "The Viscount's Potion".  I'm still not the happiest with this name, but it does fit the story a little better.  

If your working titles are not appropriate for your stories.  If they're not catchy enough, or you just need some direction with your titles check out this article by B. W. Clough entitled the "Theory of and Practice of Titles":  http://www.sfwa.org/bulletin/articles/clough.htm

I've been working a lot on contest entries and writing synopses,etc. I read over my work get frustrated or just flat out wonder who the heck is ever going to want to read any of these stories and want to shove everything in a drawer and forget about it and move on to something new.  And then I came across this quote:

 

"When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap." _{--Cynthia Heimel}

Do you have a hard time getting yourself into the groove of writing everyday?  What do you do to get yourself ready to write?  Take a look at this article on writing rituals from some the highest successful writers around, see what they do to clear the distractions and get themselves into the flow and ready to write.

http://www.absolutewrite.com/novels/right_writing_rituals.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I love this quote!

 

 

 

 

"Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer." --_{Barbara Kingsolver}

 

 

 

 

 

"I do a lot of talking to myself when I write, trying out the sound of dialogue. Neighbors must think I always have a roomful of company." _{--Tennessee Williams}

 

I read this quote and it made me laugh.  This is me, to a tee.  I laugh and I'm moved emotionally at my own work.  

 

A couple of years ago, I took a week off from work just to write.  I wanted to get to "The End" of my MS and I knew I needed some uninterrupted time.  So, my husband parked our travel trailer at one of the camping resorts we have membership to, gave me a kiss, patted the dogs on the head and left us there for the entire week. It was bliss.  A whole week by myself to write—undisturbed.

 

The only gadgets I took with me (besides my laptop) were my cell phone and I-Pod.  There was no internet access, so I had no distraction with e-mail and surfing the net, etc.  I didn't even have cell phone service unless I walked from the resort down the road and even then it was spotty and sometimes dropped calls.  But I loved it!  I got so much writing accomplished.

 

I would sit at my table every morning and start writing.  I would have to remind myself to take a break and walk the dogs.  It was lovely.  The only distractions I had were the other campers at the resort.  And there were people outside of my trailer.  Lots of older retired people who have time to travel around.  They were coming and going.  Moving trailers and whatnot.  My dogs let me know anytime they felt someone was too close to my trailer.

 

Then I began to notice who they were barking to.  The park manager who kept coming onto my site to check...I don't know something?? Water my site, etc.  My little patch of grass was flooded (I stepped out of my trailer into puddles of water) and a little sapling that was growing there drowned (poor little thing).  Some of the older gentlemen were sitting outside my open trailer window at the next site.  First it was just the old man that was parked next to me.  One day, his wife tried to get him to come in and he kept putting her.  In a moment...in a moment...just a moment...until she came out to see what he was up to and bring him inside with her.  Next he had a friend or two sitting with him.  My windows were open, but I didn't hear they talking.  The only reason I knew they were out there was because my dogs would bark when someone new would approach. 

 

I still think back on that week and wonder.  Did all those old men hang around my trailer because they were curious about what was going on inside my trailer?  I read my work aloud and had been doing so all week.  I had written some explicit, touching and funny scenes throughout those days.  Had they been listening to my story?  Or did they just think I was psycho?  Hmm...

 

Entered two MS into contests last week.  Wish me luck!  Going to need it...

 

 

One of my recent characters was an Admiral.  So I had the opportunity to research nautical terms/phrases, etc. and I learned that many phrases originating from the days of sail have been adopted into everyday use. Undoubtedly, seafaring is also the source of more false etymology than any other.  Luckily, recorded records help us distinguish the truth.  I thought I would list some of the phrases I came across in my research.

All at sea

Meaning:

 

In a state of confusion and disorder.

 

Origin:

 

This is an extension of the nautical phrase 'at sea'. It dates from the days of sail when accurate navigational aids weren't available. Any ship that was out of sight of land was in an uncertain position and in danger of becoming lost. 'At sea' has been in use since the 18th century, as here, in Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the laws of England, 1768:

"If a court of equity were still at sea, and floated upon the occasional opinion which the judge who happened to preside might entertain of conscience in every particular case."

The earliest reference to 'all at sea' in print that I can find is from Travel and adventure in south-east Africa, 1893, by Frederick C. Selous:

"I was rather surprised to find that he seemed all at sea, and had no one ready to go with me."

 

 From the web site: http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/all-at-sea.html

 

 

 

Nicholas Sparks--a formulaic romance writer or author of unpredictable love stories?  Hmmm...has he read his own work?

 

http://www.cracked.com/funny-4725-nicholas-sparks/

 

 

 

How do you turn a deaf ear to family, home and other responsibilities, in order to get those words on paper?  Because writing a novel takes time.  Hundreds of hours.  At least it in my case hundreds and hundreds of hours.  And many more dedicated to editing and submitting…

 

A great deal of people dream of writing a novel one day.  In reality, a trifling few of those actually begin, and considerably less of them get to "the end".  I wondered at times if I would ever achieve the Happily Ever After with my first novel.  I am happy to be able to count myself among the lucky few to have accomplished this goal.

 

So, what keeps you plucking away at the keyboard day in and day out?  What gives you the push to keep to one's course when doubts set in?  Me?  Even if there was no one other than myself to read my stories (which pretty much at this point there isn't) I think I would still scribble away...perhaps not with the same dedication to editing.

 

I came across a great article on Regency Mourning Customs.  You can read it here: http://lindabanche.blogspot.com/2010/04/donna-hatch-regency-mourning-customs.html 

So I thought I would share with you a few of my Regency mourning fashion plates.These are from the end of the Regency era.   I have included a Carriage dress, a half-mourning dress and evening attire.

 

CARRIAGE DRESS, MOURNING (1820)

A loose wrapping-coat of very fine black cloth worn over a black bombasine dress.  The coat is lined and trimmed with ermine.  The pelerine, collar and cuffs are also of ermine.  A white crape fichu, with a full puckered collar, tied with a black love ribbon, shades the bust of the dress and stands above the collar of the coat.  Headdress, a bonnet composed of black crape over black sarsnet: the crown is ornamented with twisted rouleaux of black crape, placed crosswise; the brim is lined with double white crape; a black feather ornament is placed in front, and a full bow of crape ties it under the chin.  Black chamois-leather half-boots and gloves.

 

EVENING DRESS, MOURNING FASHION (1820)

A black crape round dress over a black sarnet slip: the corsage is cut very low all around the bust.  A pelerine of while crape is affixed to the back, and comes down on each side of the bust as low as the waist in front.   It consists of four falls of double puckered crape; is rounded behind, and pointed at the fronts.  The bottom of the skirt is ornamented with a broad trimming of white crape; intersected with narrow coquings of black crape, disposed in a scroll pattern.  There are two rows of these laid on the white crape, at some distance from each other.  Headdress, a demi-cornette, composed of white crape, over which is a small crape hat.  The brim is of equal breadth all round, but is bent down a little in back.  It is lined with white crape, and trimmed with a full puffing of the same material round the edge of the brim.  Three white feathers decorate the crown.  Necklace and earrings, jet.  Black chamois leather gloves and shoes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WALKING DRESS, HALF MOURNING (1819)

A round dress of figured silk, the ground grey, with a small black leaf.  The body is made partially high round the shoulders and back but sloped low in front; it is trimmed with a puffing of grey crape ornamented between each puff with a jet bead.  The bottom of the skirt is trimmed with a deep flounce of black crape, embroidered in grey silk: this is surmounted by a plain band of black crape embroidered in grey silk, and the whole thing is finished by a broad band of bias black satin laid on full.  Fishu of white crape with a very full ruff. Over this is a pelisse composed of either black or grey velvet, lined with a white sarsnet.  The body is made tight to the shape and comes up high behind but has no collar; it is sloped in front so as to display the fichu; it wraps across the front and has a falling white satin pereine.  he sleeve is tight; the shoulders are finished by puffings of white satin.  The trimming, which goes all round the pelisse, consists of satin coquings, interspersed with leaves.  Headdress a gypsy hat, composed of British Leghorn, and ornamented with full plume of ostrich feathers;  the brim is turned up before and behind.  Black leather half-boots.  White kid gloves.  Ermine muff.

 

I read this quote and it hit home for me.

 

"You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do
nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out
again and again, while you're working on another one. If you have
talent, you will receive some measure of success -- but only if you
persist." _{--Isaac Asimov}

 

 

I found this little pamphlet on one of the many outings with my husband.  As I read through it, I could imagine an old school Master or Marm controlling their charges with these rules as their guide.  The following is only the first chapter.  As the "long" title at the bottom states, there is a chapter for each topic.

 

THE SCHOOL OF MANNERS

 

Short and mixt Precepts

 

1. F^EAR God.

2. Honour the King.

3. Reverence thy Parents.

4. Submit to thy Superiors.

5. Despite not thy inferiors.

6. Be courtious with thy equals.

7. Pray daily and devoutly.

8. Converse with the Good.

9. Imitate not the wicked.

10. Hearken to Instruction.

11. Be desirous of Learning.

12. Love the School.

13. Be always cleanly.

14. Study Vertue.

15. Provoke thy Schoolfellows.

17. Please thy Master.

18. Let not play entice thee.

19. Refrain thy tongue.

20. Cover future Honour , which only Vertue and Wisdom can procure.

 

^{The School of Manners or Rules for Childrens Behavior: At Church, at Home, at Table, in Company, in Discourse, at School, abroad, and amoung Boys.  With some other short and mixt Precepts.  By the Author of the English Excerises.  Fourth Edition.  LONDON. Printed in the Cockerill at the ThreeLegs and Bibleagainst Grocers-Hall in the Poulerey, 1701}

 

 

I know I have been really neglectful of this blog again this week, but I have been working on getting a couple of stories contest ready.  And since I only have so much time in the morning to work, I have to choose either to work on them or blog.  They win out!   

 I found a fun web site related to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and movie now in theaters.  You can make an avatar of yourself!  Have fun!

 

http://www.wimpyourself.com/?w=dca642bb25551a3e5f9b9a2b1