Handbags say a lot too...

How many Handbags do you have?

Now I will admit to at least half a dozen (that I can think of immediately) but there may be a few more...

But do you ever think about their purpose, or even what they say about the owner?

I'm a large handbag girl- everything but the kitchen sink basically- so it's fortunate I didn't live hundreds of years ago when I would have only had a small reticule spacious enough to hold a hanky, smelling salts and some small change perhaps... just in case.

Go forward to the early part of the 20th C and the small bag might hold a powder compact, a cigarette case, perhaps a lipstick and of course the hanky/small change were probably still there too.

Whether your character is contemporary or historical look inside her bag (or his, men now have them too) and see if they have anything you don't expect, and if they have, ask them about it.

If you just want to wallow in bags from different times then here is a link to the V&A search the collections option, put bags in the search box and then click on resulting images.

Books on handbags often concentrate on the 20th century designs, but if you want beautiful images then you will certainly find them in books.

The V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) currently have a book available with images from the museum's collection:

Bags by Claire Wilcox  (PB) ISBN 10: 978-1851775361

Other books available from online booksellers include:

Handbags by Anna L Johnson (PB) ISBN 10: 978-1851775361

Vintage Handbags by Marnie Fogg (PB)  ISBN 10: 1847323006

Perhaps I better clear the junk out of my handbag...

Plot Bunnies

I'd never thought that those 'moments' writers get, had a name. You know those times when an idea or a character pops into your thoughts and won't let go until you've started writing or typing  it. This is a plot bunny...

I always have a notebook in my handbag- whatever the size, I just change the usual  A5 notebook for a smaller one that fits the bag- just in case I overhear a bit of conversation or see something interesting and don't want to forget it. Or when one of those bunny's hops into view.

If you are a writer and don't always carry some device for recording those moments- shame on you. :)

Last week I blogged about clothes and the character. This was the indirect result of a plot bunny.

I was out food shopping and stopped to look at the woolly dresses that are one of this winter's fashions, and realised that they are too short for me. I'm a calf length hem type of girl, not above the knee- I don't have suitable legs for them!

(Though a few of my friends think I was born in the wrong century entirely...)

It started me thinking about the difficulties some young women must have had with clothes in the past and this was when the plot bunny struck.

Before I even got on the bus to go home I had my hero and heroine, and an idea of their problems. So on my next writing session I sat down to get on with one of my longer projects, but the plot bunny was thumping me on the head- until I gave in and started writing about them and the bunny went back to its warren happy.

So next time a plot bunny jumps into view, take it home with you and listen...