Sunday 31 July 2016

Trying a New Method...

At the moment I'm working on a shorter project set in the late 1920's.

1920's Red Cloche Hat
from Shaping The Body Exhibition
Castle Museum, York.
With the school/university holidays there's not as much quiet around me as I need to concentrate on the editing of draft 1 of my Nottinghamshire short novel, so I'm researching and jotting down ideas on this other project.

I've always written sequentially, so start at chapter one and work through to the end, but this shorter project isn't working that way.

I have scenes and dialogue in my mind but not the joining up or narrative pieces.

So I decided to try something different; write the dialogue in the scenes I do have in mind and fit it together later on when I'm clearer on the descriptions and narrative.

Admittedly I was sceptical  that it would work, but surprisingly it has worked well and I'm making progress quicker than I anticipated.

The core prompt has been in my ideas book for years, and despite considering a few possibilities- one set in the early 19th century- it didn't go anywhere, until the couple from the past revealed a brief conversation that made sense of the 1920's plot.

One day I'll write that other story that will tie up the early 19th century to the 1920's...

Meanwhile the disadvantages are that I've got to learn about everyday facts of 1920's life.

For example can my heroine turn on a light? How widespread was electricity in country houses?

It's interesting in another way, because my mother was born in the early 1920's so some of the questions & answers will relate to her childhood too.

At least I'm writing... :-)





Thursday 21 July 2016

Regrets and Serendipity...

Thank you all for all your support and kind words recently, it encouraged and reminded me that sometimes I need to step back and relax and not feel guilty for it.

And of course, when I did stop worrying, my creativity returned.

That was when I regretted not buying that old book last month.

The old book that I picked up, browsed, then put back down on the book stall during the rainy day at Lowdham Book Festival. I'd left it, deciding it wasn't useful. :(

While it's noisy at home at the moment, I decided to do some research for an idea that may be suitable as a pocket novel, as it's buzzing around my brain at the moment.

If you want to know about Steam Locomotives there's lots of information on the internet, and plenty of photographic examples, but interior views of the carriages on the line I am interested in, no. I could find a few pictures for the 1890's.

So I decided that the start would need a rethink and put it aside.

Then today I popped into an Oxfam book shop that I'd never visited before, and a very well-worn cloth bound book caught my attention. The books of the early 20th century were often cloth-bound, so I always look at these when I see them.

I'd found a gem. The Blue Guides to England. They are still going and you can read more here.

There were a few pages loose, but they were there. There were little maps of different regions of the country, information on stations, buses, fares and hotels, as well as the standard tourist information of the time. Everything a visitor to England might need to know in the late 1930's. And no adverts.

From America to England the steamer took 5-10 days, and just like now it cost more to travel in the summer season; off season was 10% less.

The rail route I was interested in described the views as the train travelled from London to Brighton, the classes available and how long the journey could take.

Of course all the fares and hotel charges are in pre-decimal currency, so £-s-d.

I'm old enough to remember those, and many of the coins shown here. My pocket-money as a child was a thruppenny bit (three pence). :-)

It's going to be fun to dip into the pages and learning more about places I've visited, over the years.

But I will be getting on with the writing/editing too.