Category: Writing

Posts in which we talk about the writing craft and process

Collecting Quotations

Updated on February 17, 2013 by Diane Gaston

I love to collect inspirational quotations. I even subscribe to an email Inspirational Quote of the Day. Today’s inspirational quote:

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.”
— Robert Fulghum
(author of All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarden)

Another favorite of mine:

It is never too late to be who you might have been.–George Eliot

This got me thinking to search for some inspirational quotes from “our” era, the Regency:

Let’s start with–who else?

“There will be little rubs and disappointments everywhere, and we are all apt to expect too much; but then, if one scheme of happiness fails, human nature turns to another; if the first calculation is wrong, we make a second better: we find comfort somewhere.”
–Jane Austen (Mansfield Park)

Here’s another:

“Be discreet in all things, and so render it unnecessary to be mysterious about any.”
–Duke of Wellington

This one will surprise you:

“The highest of distinctions is service to others.”
–King George IV

The Poets:

“He ne’er is crowned with immortality Who fears to follow where airy voices lead.”
–John Keats

“Be thou the rainbow in the storms of life. The evening beam that smiles the clouds away, and tints tomorrow with prophetic ray.”
–Lord Byron
(It was hard to find a quote of his that was not pessimistic or cynical)

“I can give you a six-word formula for success: ‘Think things through – then follow through.'”
–Sir Walter Scott

The Brontes:

“There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.”
–Charlotte Bronte

“I have dreamed in my life, dreams that have stayed with me ever after, and changed my ideas; they have gone through and through me, like wine through water, and altered the color of my mind.”
–Emily Bronte

“But he that dares not grasp the thorn Should never crave the rose.”
–Anne Bronte

What are your favorite inspirational quotes or quotes from the Regency?

(The painting is The Artist in the Character of Design Listening to the Inspiration of Poetry by Angelica Kauffmann 1741-1807)

Posted in Reading, Writing | Tagged inspirational quotes | 6 Replies

Class Warfare

Updated on February 17, 2013 by megan

Many of the Riskies–probably all, when I review all of our books–have had our heroes and heroines cross class lines to find love.

Right now, I am revising a manuscript where a genteel woman meets and falls in love with a member of the aristocracy. And I am reading Loretta Chase’s Silk Is For Seduction, where a dressmaker meets–and presumably falls in love with–a member of the aristocracy. A duke, no less.

Now, we’ve all discussed how dukes are very thick on the ground in our romances, and that it would be near impossible for a duke to actually marry someone who didn’t share some of his aristocratic blood lines. So just pretend the hero or heroine is a member of the aristocracy, but not as high as a duke; can you suspend disbelief enough to think they’d fall in love? I know it happened in real life, if rarely, and could those couples look forward to a married life of ostracism from the ton? How different would their worlds be?

In my heroine’s case, she’s never left the small village where she grew up, and now she is heading for London, where she will be introduced as the hero’s wife. I’m wrestling with how much she would know already, in terms of polite behavior, and if she would be absolutely freaked out upon encountering London. She does take things in stride, generally, but it would still be a shock.

Last question, do you like reading romances where the couples cross class lines? Which are your favorite?

Thanks!

Megan

Posted in Reading, Writing | Tagged Megan | 8 Replies

Tapped. Out.

Updated on February 16, 2013 by megan

I approach writing my weekly Risky Regencies posts as I do my fiction writing: I let my mind wander and seize on something that seems like it might go somewhere. Usually, it works, at least enough for me to get something tapped out on the keyboard.

But today? I am Tapped Out. I officially have NO IDEAS for this post. Which means, unfortunately for you all, I’ll have to let my mind wander as I type, not just show the finished product.

Yesterday, my son, my father and I went to the Bronx Zoo, which is truly spectacular. It made me think about what zoos were like in the Regency–pretty pathetic things, I think, and I am pretty sure they were called “menageries,” not zoos, and can you imagine how poorly the animals were treated? Horses were treated well, they had to carry the Men on their Important Hunting Expeditions, after all, but other animals did not get very good treatment. No wonder our heroines always befriend cats and dogs and the like.

I was also thinking about what made a plot good–sure, there’s that catch in the throat when you’re not quite sure the author is going to live up to the expectations of a romance, and are they really going to get together, because sheesh, it sure seems like there’s no way they can get out of this mess, not without a lot of deus ex machina. And when they do, you’re almost pathetically grateful to the author for making us breathe easier. Mary Balogh is the queen of this, and she makes my heart stop almost every time I read one of her books. Who does that for you?

And the weather–our heroes and heroines did not have the benefit of central air, heat, or Polartec fabric. It’s gorgeous here on the East Coast now, and the crocuses are starting to spring up and the weather will be in the 70s today, and it fills one (meaning me) with a feeling of enthusiasm and joy. I wonder if our heroes and heroines felt the same, only moreso, because they were confined inside their drafty houses? Or did they combat their winter lassitude by doing all sorts of outdoorsy things that put a sparkle in their eyes and a healthy pink blush in their cheeks? Did they even talk about seasonal depression?

Now, here’s the class participation part: When your mind wanders, what does it wonder about? What authors make your breath catch in your throat? And is it Spring where you live? If so, what’s the part you like the best about Spring?

Megan
www.meganframpton.com

Posted in Reading, Regency, Writing | Tagged Regency Romance, weather, zoos | 6 Replies

Congratulations…!

Updated on February 16, 2013 by Laurie Bishop

Congratulations to the Regency RITA finalists for best Regency of 2005!

Drumroll…..

A Reputable Rake by Diane Gaston–Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited – Linda Fildew, editor
Miss Whitlow’s Turn by Jenna Mindel–NAL – Rose Hilliard, editor
Just Say Yes by Myretta Robens– Kensington Books – Hilary Sares, editor
The House Party by Jeanne Savery–Kensington Books – John Scognamiglio, editor

I particularly want to congratulate my friend Jenna Mindel, a critique partner before she moved away from central New York to the boonies of Michegan (smile!). Jenna, I know how much this means to you, and I know how hard you’ve worked for this. A nicer person couldn’t be made happy!

And for those who did not final–keep doing what you do. We are all winners, doing what we love, writing romances for the best readers in the world.

Viva the Regency!

Laurie
Lord Ryburn’s Apprentice
Signet, January 2006

Posted in Reading, Writing | Tagged RITA | 6 Replies

RITA-Mania!

Updated on February 16, 2013 by megan

Today is the day the Romance Writers of America announce the list of finalists for the Golden Heart and RITA awards. RWA says, “The purpose of the RWA contests–RITA and Golden Heart–is to promote excellence in the romance genre by recognizing outstanding romance books and manuscripts.” These two contests are the big fish in the little pond of romance writing.

Or, as I explain to my non-romance friends, it’s like the Oscars, but for romance books. Finaling in either contest is a huge honor, at least among romance authors. I wonder, however, how important that “Golden Heart Winner!” or “RITA Award Winner!” emblazoned across the top of the book is important to readers (and no, I am not just saying that because I am doubtful of finaling myself). Reviewing the list of past RITA winners is impressive; reviewing the list of past Golden Heart winners is just as fun, especially since some of those authors have since been published.

But does it mean anything? I don’t know, but I am still hoping against hope I get a phone call today from the RWA office in Texas. Barring that, I hope one or more of my fellow Riskies get the call.

So–have you ever been more interested in a book because it’s won an award? If you’re a published author, do you enter these kinds of contests? What do you get out of them? If you’re unpublished, have you found contests to be helpful in forwarding your career?

And–before you answer any of that–wish us luck!

Megan
www.meganframpton.com

Posted in Reading, Writing | Tagged RITA | 4 Replies