Five Tips for Writing a Letter, Jane Austen Style

I was inspired by this picture to imagine what advice Jane Austen might give to those who want to write a good, old-fashioned letter. (I'm not the only one who misses real letter-writing, am I?) And so, without further ado, here is an imagined letter from Jane herself.

Gentle Reader:

I understand you have suffered of late from a serious lack of letter-writing. I cannot comprehend how such a thing can have happened, but I am distressed on your behalf. One may do away with embroidery, the pianoforte, or the hunt, for all I care, but the joy of penning a letter is a pleasure I cannot imagine doing without. Therefore, I am moved upon to instruct you somewhat in the ways of letter-writing.

To write a good letter, one must:

1. Have appropriate tools. A good pen is essential. Choose one that does not trail ink around in unwanted pools or faint away before a word is completed.

2. Choose high quality stationery. For maximum enjoyment for the reader, ensure the paper is smooth to the touch and of such quality that the ink does not bleed through from one side to the next.

3. Take your time. Letters are meant to be read over and over again. Do not rush your writing. This is not the appropriate place for abbreviations or sloppy penmanship. Make your words beautiful to both the eye and the mind.

4. Say something worth the time, effort, and cost of a letter. Platitudes that have become customary in social settings are often unnecessary in the real communication made possible through letter writing. Put your heart in your letter, and you will have created something worth saving.

5. Write regularly. Practice will increase your skill as a correspondent, and, as a result, the pleasure you take in the activity. With a little perseverance, you may form a habit of letter writing which will bring you joy for years to come.

Sincerely,

Jane Austen


Let's write more letters! I'm going to write a real letter in December and actually mail it, instead of letting it sit on my desk for months. I'll let you know who I send it to. What about you? 

Happy Thanksgiving!

What I will NOT be eating today.

Today I will be eating my first gluten-free Thanksgiving dinner.

My gluten-free diet is something I have to do or else I will be doubled over in pain all day. If it weren't for the pain, I would eat nothing but bread morning, noon and night. I love it. I love it so much that I've been mourning its loss for the past five months.

But I have so much to be thankful for, too. I'm thankful that I finally discovered what was causing me such pain every day. I'm thankful that I don't have to take medicine to treat my condition. I'm thankful that my dad has been experimenting with gluten-free pie crusts just for me. There is so much to be thankful for, even while I am secretly mourning the lack of warm rolls, stuffing, and flaky pie crusts. It is a bittersweet experience.

Perhaps the great accomplishment of this season is to focus our attention on the sweet so fully that the bitter simply slips out of sight.

Reading: A Countess Below Stairs

Eva Ibbotson is a gem among writers. I stumbled upon her quite by accident in the YA section of my local bookstore. But her stories are not YA. I mean, if a teen picks it up and enjoys it, that's great. But her stories transcend the brief span of teenage years and the angst of teenage problems. Her characters hail from Russia and Vienna and England. They are endearing and flawed and very easy to like. Her heroes and heroines are people you absolutely want to get together in the end. And when they do, it's magical.

A Countess Below Stairs is my favorite of her books. (But my friend Jaime loves A Morning Gift the best. They're both great.) It's one of the first books I recommend to anyone who likes romances or books set in England. Here's the back cover description:

"After the Russian Revolution turns her world topsy-turvy, Anna, a young Russian countess, has no choice but to flee to England. Penniless, Anna hides her aristocratic background and takes a job as servant in the house hold of the esteemed Westerholme family, armed only with an outdated housekeeping manual and sheer determination. Desperate to keep her past a secret, Anna is nearly overwhelmed by her new duties--not to mention her instant attraction to Rupert, the handsome Earl of Westerholme. To make matters worse, Rupert appears to be falling for her as well. As their attraction grows stronger, Anna finds it more and more difficult to keep her most dearly held secrets from unraveling. And then there's the small matter of Rupert's beautiful and nasty fiancee..."

Doesn't that sound fantastic? And did I mention that there are no bedroom scenes? Yeah, it's one of those. A classic. Five stars in my book.

Follow Your Passion

A friend of mine recently said to me, "I have been dying to live the dream of being an author for years, but I don't even know how to start or what to do." Some of you may have the same feeling. I hope that I can offer some good advice through this blog of mine. This is a big question, and to give it justice I'll have to spend more than one post on it. But to begin, the first thing I suggest you do is to figure out what you're passionate about.

Writing a book is like having a baby as opposed to getting a dog. I got a dog a couple of years ago, and the first thing she did was pee on the bed. When she bit one of my kids, she was gone. I also had a baby who peed on my bed and bit other children. But I kept him, because I adore him. I love his laugh and his kissable cheeks and his small hands. I love his auburn hair and deep brown eyes. I love my baby, even when he misbehaves.

The story you write is bound to misbehave at times. All stories do. If you don't at least begin with excitement about it, you will have a long, tortuous road ahead of you. Edenbrooke spent the first two years of its life misbehaving for me. I nearly threw it out many times. But in the end, I simply couldn't let go of it, because I loved my characters. I was, and still am, passionate about that story, five years and dozens of drafts later.

So what do you get excited about? What do you love to think about or talk about? What, in essence, is your passion? 

Once you find your passion, follow it, and it may lead you to a great story. But whether it does or not, it will definitely make your creative journey something you look forward to every day. It will be like that adorable baby that you're happy to wake up to. You will love your story, and you will want to spend time with it every day. And there is no greater motivation.

A Proper Romance

When I first felt the undeniable urge to write a novel, I heard the advice to "write what you know." I said, "Hm...what do I know?" And for me, I didn't want to write about being a stay-at-home mom, even though that is one thing that I know. I wanted to escape dirty diapers and laundry.


So I said, "I know Regency."

(Here is a tiny tutorial. Regency refers to the period of time in England when the Prince Regent ruled. It lasted from 1811-1820. It was marked by classical styles in clothing and proper manners. If you think Jane Austen, you're thinking correctly. Her novels, like Pride and Prejudice and Emma, are set in the Regency period.)

I have been enamored with the Regency period for decades. I studied English in college with an emphasis on British literature. I have read every Georgette Heyer book ever written. Next to Jane Austen, she was the expert on the Regency. And I have written entire college papers on Jane Austen's works. 

So when I first started thinking about writing a novel, the Regency period was the logical choice. But I wanted it to be more than a flimsy romance. I wanted it to be a story that moved readers and changed them. Edenbrooke is, in essence, a love story. But it is so much more than a romance. It's a story about how love can change a person--the love of a father, or a sister, or, yes, even a dangerously handsome young man. 

The sad thing is that most Regency romances these days are just as racy as any other category romance. I can easily imagine Jane Austen rolling over in her grave at all of the Regency young women running around being immoral with Regency men. I would rather never have my book see the light of day than ruin it by putting sex in it. And that almost happened, as agents told me they loved my story but couldn't sell it unless I made it "sexier."

And then along came Shadow Mountain and my agent Laurie McLean, with their visions of a new kind of romance...a Proper Romance, where you get all of the great stuff you want in a love story and none of the other stuff. The most exciting part of this is not that my book gets published, but that it opens an avenue for other writers of clean romances.

Aren't you excited? I am. If you're a writer with the kind of manuscript that would fit in this category, please contact me and I'll give you some information about who to send it to. I would love for other authors to contribute to this new trend in publishing. I would love to have Jane Austen's legacy elevated and for Regency romances to return to their rightful place as Proper Romances.

The World of Your Story

When I was in the middle of writing Edenbrooke, I said to my husband Fred, "Wouldn't it be terrific if we could go to England someday? So that I could actually SEE the places I'm writing about?"


That question turned into a burning desire to GO. TO. ENGLAND. Right then. And luckily for me, I have a very supportive husband who said, "Let's make it happen for you."


And so it came to pass that in July 2007 I flew to England. My friend Jaime met me over there, and we spent five adventurous days driving ourselves around the English countryside. That trip changed my life, and it definitely made my book come alive for me.


But what if you can't take a trip to the world your story is set in? Or what if you've made up your world? I recommend finding pictures that represent your setting. Print them and post them where you write, like on a bulletin board. Or set your favorite picture as your desktop wallpaper. Have you heard of Pinterest? Go look on there for pictures of the world of your story and create your own digital pin board.


It will help you when you write your scenes to be able to ground them in real places. And for me, it helps me get immersed in that world when I'm transitioning from my full-time job of mother and homemaker to my part-time job of writer.


Here are some of the pictures I used for inspiration when I wrote Edenbrooke.

The Royal Crescent in Bath, where my story starts.

A bridge at Wilton House, which is an estate I loosely based Edenbrooke on.

A Regency era dress.