Tuesday's Child - Regency Romance - Chracter's Motivation.

When I answer the questions and answers on the character profile forms I fill in details about a character's appearance, abilities, education, likes and dislikes, family, eccentricities, body language etc.

 

I also give careful consideration to my choice of what drives them: Ambition Duty, Fear, Greed, Hatred, Jealousy, Loneliness, Love, Politics, Psychology, Revenge, Vanity and Self-Sacrifice.

 

This morning I completed the character profile of Harriet, Lady Castleton, a widow with a four year-old child. However, to further strengthen her profile, tomorrow, I shall consult the signs of the zodiac and choose the one which suits her best.

 

By the time I finish the profile Harriet will live in my imagination until her story is told in Tuesday's Child.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday's Child, Traditional Regency Romance, Research

Since I wrote my first Traditional  Regency Romance I have accumulated a lot of non-fiction books about the era. Today I piled them up around me and began to answer the question when, i.e. when were the main characters born, when did the hero go to school, when did he go to university, when did the heroine's husband die, when was her posthumous son born, etc.

Sunday's Child ended in 1815 when news of Napoleon's escape from Elba arrived. So it's a question of working backward to fill in the correct dates on my character profiles.

Tuesday's Child - New Regency Novel - Chapter One

I had a very enjoyable, but busy weekend that left me with not time to write, but I thought a lot about the opening paragraphs of Tuesday's Child. I had planned the beginning of the novel, however, the heroine, Harriet, Lady Castleton's past is crucial. I realised that I had decided to begin the novel at the wrong time in her life. Today, I jotted down the contents of the first couple of pages and am almost ready to write Chapter One.

Tuesday's Child - Character Profile

This morning I began filling in the character profiles for characters who will appear in Tuesday's Child, a follow on novel from my Regency Romances, Sunday's Child and Monday's Child.

The heroine is Harriet, the Dowager Viscountess Castleton, a widow, who has a four year old son, Viscount Castleton. I spent some time choosing his Christian name and chose Arthur.

At that time Arthur was popular because it was the future Duke of Wellington's Christian name.

After choosing the name, I spent an enjoyable fifteen minutes filling in various details on the character profile.

Character Profiles - Tuesday's Child

This morning I began filling in the character profiles for characters who will appear in Tuesday's Child, a follow on novel from my Regency Romances, Sunday's Child and Monday's Child.

The heroine is Harriet, the Dowager Viscountess Castleton, a widow, who has a four year old son, Viscount Castleton. I spent some time choosing his Christian name and chose Arthur.

At that time Arthur was popular because it was the future Duke of Wellington's Christian name.

After choosing the name, I spent an enjoyable fifteen minutes filling in various details on the character profile.

Dominic aka Nic - Final Surname

I chose Carlton for the surname of the hero in my sweet Regency novel, Tuesday's Child. However, when I went through the characters in Sunday's Child I remembered that the heroine's title is Lady Castleton. I heaved a very deep sigh and consulted Burke's Peerage in a final attempt to find a surname. After much a time consuming search and much thought I chose Markham.


I can't begin a novel until I have named the principal characters, so, another deep sigh, this time one of relief because I want to begin work on the character profiles.

The Hero - Dominic aka Nic Carlton

Now that I have chosen the name, Dominic Carleton aka Nic, for the hero in my new Sweet Regency Novel, Tuesday's Child, I have a mental picture of him. He is tall, his complexion is very fair and his eyes are bright blue. I chose his Christian name because I think it suits a strong man, and his nickname to imply light-heartedness. To soften his appearance he has black, curly hair. In other words, Nic, if he will allow me to call him that, is handsome.

Hero's Name for My New Novel

After a lot of thought, I have chosen the name for the hero of my new novel. It is Dominic aka Nic Carlton. I've also chosen his sister's name, Caroline Carlton.


When I choose names, I also research their history.




The origin of Dominic is the Latin word dominicus, which means 'of the Lord'. According to The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian names Dominic may have been given to children born on a Sunday. "The name was never common in England and after the Reformations was used almost exclusively by Roman Catholics."




With regard to the hero of Tuesday's Child, his family have chosen to name boys Dominic from generation to generation before and after the Reformation.


Caroline was introduced to England by George II's queen, Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach. "It became a favourite English Christian name in England in the 18th century."




Now that I have chosen their names I can work on their character profiles.




I hope you like the name I chose for a Regency gentleman.




P.S. I know the Prince Regent's house in London was Carlton House but I don't think my choice of Carlton is a problem.

Choosing the Name of the Hero of My New Novel

Yesterday I chose the name Harry Royston for the hero of my new Regency novel Tuesday's Child a follow on novel from Sunday's Child and Monday's Child. However, the heroine of Tuesday''s Child is Harriet, who had a walk on, but important part, in Monday's Child. I think Harry and Harriet might be confusing, but most people would address Harry as Royston, so maybe I'll choose it.

Other possibilities are for a strong name for a strong hero and a nickname which implies fun and light heartedness are:

Alexander aka Alex, but does Alex imply fun and light-heartedness?

Christopher aka Kit, but the name fell into disfavour in the 19th century.

Dominic aka Nic; I think Nic implies a devil may care attitude which might be amusing.

Of course the surname will be as important as the Christian name.

First Step to Writing a New Novel

I have not finished the revision of my mediaeval novel but, after a lot of thought about the characters, plan and plot while doing housework, gardening or shopping, I am almost ready to begin writing Tuesday's Child, the follow on novel from my published novel Sunday's Child, and Monday's Child, which will be published in spring, 2016.

Before I begin a novel I name the main characters.

To choose the hero's name I searched The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names. I want a strong name which also implies an element of light-heartedness. My first choice was Harry Royston, but the name of the  heroine, who took part in Sunday's Child, is Harriet. So Harry, which would have been ideal is unsuitable because Harry and Harriet would be confusing.

So, back to the Dictionary to see if I can find the right name for the gentleman I have in mind.

Suite Francais

A friend and I went to see Suite Francaise on Sunday afternoon. Can't praise it enough. I didn't know it was based on a non-fiction book. Must read it.

Historic London - Bus Tour

On Saturday a friend and I went on a London Bus Tour, which allows the passengers get on and off whenever they want to.

It was very interesting seeing how London developed over the centuries north and south of the River Thames.

Sandwiched between very modern buildings and narrow roads and lanes are many small and large mediaeval buildings to admire.

A building which fascinated me was the St George, the narrowest pub in London a tall black and white timber building, which I hope to visit.

The tour clearly delineated London from the oldest to the most modern parts.

All in all, a day well spent.

Medieval Novel, Revision, Sequence of Events

Apart from reading each sentence carefully and rewriting it if necessary, it is also important to make sure that the sequence of events is correct.

This morning I realised that after the birth of their son, Nicholas told his wife that his father was delighted, but he and his father have not spoken since the child was born. I should have written that Nicholas told his wife he knew his father would be delighted by the birth of his grandson, or something similar.

Carried away by writing the story, it is all too easy to overlook such inconsistencies.

Medieval Novel. Revision With Style.

While I revise my medieval novel set in England during the reign of Edward II I get rid of repeated words and phrases.

I also rephrase sentences which contain gerunds that I tend to over use. For example:-

I changed "...trying to smooth away his pain" to "in an attempt to smooth away his pain."

Another examples follow.

I replaced "Yvonne broke her fast in the great hall before going..." with "Yvonne broke her fast in the great hall before she went..."

After I tweak the next 100 pages I shalll read the novel from beginning to end to check I for the last time.

I hope that the rewrite will be stylish after so much hard work.

Medieval Novel Revision and Emotion

This morning I continued to revise my medieval novel set in the reign of Edward II of England.

From the day of her birth the heroine's life takes many twists and turns, some of them tragic. While she grows from childhood into a capable lady,  I'm happy when she is and cry when she does. I hope that when the novel is published my readers will be swept away on the same tide of emotion and care deeply about her.

Raised Bed & radishes.

I have an eight foot by four foot raised bed in which I planted rows of baby lettuce, radish, rocket, carrots, turnip and beetroot. All of the vegetables, which I make good use of, are flourishing. Radish and turnip greens as well as beetroot leaves can be cooked and enjoyed in various ways.

Today, I ate this season's first radishes with crackers spread with Philadelphia cheese. Previously, I bought some radishes from the supermarket. They were large, a little woody and almost tasteless. My home grown ones are tender, juicy and slightly spicy. My grandson, who popped in after school to give me a slice of upside down cake that he made in food technology, agreed with me when he  tasted the radishes.

Such a humble salad vegetable but so delicious. I shall plant another row elsewhere.

Mediaeval Novel - Final Revision

I wrote my mediaeval novel set in the reign of Edward II of England a few years ago. Since then, I five of my novels have been published and a sixth has been accepted for publication. In between writing those novels and dealing with lots of 'writerly' matters as well as the demands of daily life, I have dipped in and out of my mediaeval novel. Now, I am determined to finish the revision, but the main problem is that I have dipped in and out of it so often that I see what should be on the page, not what is actually on it. Sometimes it seems as if it will never be ready to submit but, fingers crossed, I shall submit it in June.

Winston and Winnie Are Dead

Winston and Winnie, a pair of plump wood pigeons annoyed me when alive. They pecked at any greens in the garden which were not covered with netting and stone seeds I put out for smaller birds.

On Friday, feathers floated on the surface of my small garden pond. This morning, I saw  feathers scattered over the lawn near the pond. I assume a fox from the nearby woods caught them or, maybe, a cat.

So sad not to have seen them today.

Winston and Winnie are Dead

False Pretences a Romantic Regency Mystery is a Guest

My novel, False Pretences. a Romantic Regency Mystery and I are guests at Story Teller Alley, do pop in and visit us at: http://storytelleralley.com/falsepretenses (My hostess misspelt pretenses and will correct it, so you might need to visit: http://storytelleralley.com/falsepretences.)