Jane

[hopfrog]

Reading this thread has a wonderful psychological effect on my writer's mind -- it makes me want to be productive. Indeed, it heightens my growing interest in trying to write a novel. You have revealed, here, to me, that there is an experience in novel-writing that cannot be duplicated in any other form. You've also instill'd within me a desire to read more novels, as opposed to short stories. The only novels I am reading at the moment are THE TENANT and OSCAR WILDE AND A GAME CALLED MURDER. Thanks for the inspiration. (I've also just this instant subscribed to your MySpace blog, which will lead me to more of your fictive work.)

[Odalisque]

Quote Originally Posted by hopfrog

(I've also just this instant subscribed to your MySpace blog, which will lead me to more of your fictive work.)

My Blogger site:

Golden Goddess and Bloody Times/Of Bondlings and Blesh

contains a draft version of Odalisque. That has been superceded by a greatly changed (and much better) version. And that, it seems, is likely to be changed again later this year (and into next year, too, I expect). I hadn't bothered to change the Blogger version of the novel because I was convinced that no one read it in that place. Either Des or I could email you with the up to date (so far) chapters, if you are (or anyone else is) interested.

[Mr. D.]

Novels are a real trip! I've written two and for the first one I was like a dog worrying a bone for two years until I got it right. The second one wrote itself in three weeks. I don't understand the process very well myself but I can say one thing: the better you can see the whole story in your mind the easier it is to write the first draft. It's a lot of work but, even if no one else ever reads them, I have two works that I wanted to create to my credit. (For whatever little that is worth.)

[Odalisque]

Last night, I thought of the name of the spring festival for "Jane" (and the rest of the projected "Warriors of Love" series). The new name is:

Lifenbud

I think it would be pronounced much like "leaf and bud" which has much to do with spring. It would also contain "life in bud".

I'm rather pleased with the name.

[Odalisque]

I put the 18th chapter to bed today. Only two more to go... Then I plan to rework some of earlier chapters, but it's coming on!

[Odalisque]

Today, I put the penultimate chapter to bed and made a start on the final one.

Really, I ought to be making more effort to engage a literary agent.

[candy]

I can't wait to read it!!!

[Odalisque]

The latest chapter mentions the credit crunch:

“A bit of that, and a lot of just drifting into things. It all started, I suppose, when I discovered Royal Victoria Credit. Coming from Surrey, I don’t suppose you’ve heard of it.”

“Means nothing to me,” I said

“Me, neither,” Nicola added.

“It was one of the Usurper’s ways of raising money, sneakier than taxes. The RVC was a company he owned. It loaned money to help people buy things. Only, of course, they had to pay it back, and bit extra to line the Usurper’s pockets.”

“There used to be something similar in Surrey, under the Democracy,” Nicola said. “There were half a dozen companies who loaned money. The Empress did away with them all. She hates debt.”

“Viva Her Majesty!” Diqui replied. “She did good, there. Royal Victoria Credit seemed great when I was treating myself to shoes and fancy underwear. But when it came to paying them back, that was another matter. I fell a bit behind with the repayments – not seriously, though, and I thought it was all right. Then came the credit crunch.”

“Credit crunch?” Nicola asked. “It sounds like some kind of biscuit.”

“It was biting off more than we could chew. The economy took a downturn, money was much tighter, and RVC demanded immediate payment of all arrears. But I was skint that month, feeling the squeeze as much as anyone.”

“So you were enslaved for debt,” Nicola said.

“That’s about the size of it. Maybe they called me Barguin to convince the slave buying public that I was a bargain. If so, it didn’t work. With so much bad debt, there was a glut of slaves in the market, and hardly anyone had the money to buy them. So, I didn’t sell, and was set to work in the Palace Victoria. Martello Brown told us – me and at least a dozen others – that we’d have to work hard to recoup the losses the Usurper had turned on our loans. Saw that each of us had a sample whipping to drive the point home. Bastard! I skived as much as I could, of course, and notched up more doses of the whip.”

[Odalisque]

After (as I thought) putting the penultimate chapter to bed, I noticed this creaky sentence. It had slipped through the polishing process:

There had been much truth spoken when, on the flat roof, Modesty had said that having no lives on our consciences was an innocence we should not lose.

Danger signs included the word "had" twice in the same sentence, together with "having" (which is, of course, another part of the same verb). Too much having in a single sentence, in my opinion. After some thought, this morning, I produced this revised version which is, I hope, much neater (although not much shorter):

Significant truth had been aired when, on the flat roof, Modesty spoke of having no lives on our consciences as an innocence we should not lose.

I'm contemplating splitting it into two sentences thus:

Significant truth had been aired when, on the flat roof, Modesty spoke of having no lives on our consciences. That was indeed an innocence we should not lose.

It's a bit longer than either of previous versions, but probably better.

The struggle to bash text into an acceptable form!

[Odalisque]

I have today reached the end of "Jane". That is to say the final chapter now exists in draft form. There is still much work to do. From the start, I was very vague as to how the novel was to end. And important elements of the ending didn't occur to me until I was in the process of writing the last chapter. At the moment, I'm very pleased by the way in which the book will end. It seems to me an extraordinarily uplifting conclusion. Here, in draft form, are the final paragraphs:

Reaching out into the dimness of the auditorium, I squeezed the hand of Nicola, the Surrey girl in the next seat. She returned my pressure.

“That,” said Nicola as we emerged from the theatre, “is the finest show I’ve ever seen.”

“Life,” I replied, “is a fine show.”

We stepped out into the street, illuminated by many flambeaux, light reflected in puddles left by a recent shower. Heavily laden, an omnibus trundled past, freighted with revellers – laughing, singing. A pair of fine ladies in exquisite evening gowns and plumed headdresses clambered into a cab. The driver flicked the reins and the wheels clattered upon the cobbles. Onions, frying on a street trader’s brazier filled the air with a heavy scent. Barguin handed round the last of her honeycake candies. Placing one on my tongue, its perfumed sweetness filled my mouth.

The sweet seemed a metaphor for what life might be, and perhaps would be. I smiled at the reflection – and at my reflection, in a puddle. Daughters – I hope that your lives will be filled with such joy as was mine at that moment.