A Geek Girl's Guide to Jane Austen

In 2009, I spent the year listening to classical music and reading nothing but Jane Austen. I was obsessed! And I didn't just read Austen novels; I geeked out on everything Austen or Austen related. Since that time, Jane Austen's stories have gotten more and more popular. The fact that we can relate to her work even today speaks to the timeless nature of her storytelling. So without further ado, the geek girl's guide to everything Jane Austen!

PERSUASION

Read the novel
I've read Persuasion nine times. It's my favorite Jane Austen's novel, and I feel the most overlooked. It's all about second chances, following your heart and forgiveness.
Read Persuasion free on Project Gutenberg >

Geek out

• Film adaptations: There are two film adaptations, neither of which did the book justice in my opinion:
  1995 ~ Director, Nick Dear
  2007 ~ Director, Adrian Shergold

• Retelling: For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
  This is a young adult sci-fi retelling of Persuasion. Does it get better than that? I haven't read it yet, but I've heard great things.

PRIDE & PREJUDICE

Read the novel

Perhaps the most popular and iconic of Jane Austen's novels, this novel was once titled First Impressions. The main characters, Darcy and Elizabeth both must overcome their pride and rethink their prejudice in order to find love. Read Pride and Prejudice free on Project Gutenberg >

Geek out

There are countless ways to geek out on P&P, so I'm only going to list my faves. 

• The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: This YouTube series is contemporary vlog retelling of P&P. Filming is now complete, but you can watch the episodes in their entirety. Be sure to follow the spinoff channels along the way.  
  >> Lydia Bennet's channel
  >> Maria Lu's channel (Charlotte's sister)
  >> Pemberley Digital
  AND...if you're really into it, you can watch all the actor Google+ Hangout interviews through the LBD Seahorses channel on YouTube.

• Film adaptations: My favorite film versions of P&P are the 1995 BBC mini-series and the 2005 film version, but I'm also partial to the 2004 Bollywood version, Bride and Prejudice. And while it wasn't my favorite, many people enjoyed Lost in Austen, a story of a modern day woman who finds herself switching places with Elizabeth Bennet.

• Comic book: What? I just found this. What? Awesome.

• Paraphernalia: There is tons of stuff out there! Here are my favorites:
  Keep calm and read Jane Austen postcards
  Shades of Pemberley print
  Future Mr. Darcy onesie

My eat-sleep-austen mug!

NORTHANGER ABBEY

Read the novel
This is one of Austen's earlier novels and I think it kind of shows. It's not my favorite, but the villains carry this book. They are so manipulative! Read Northanger Abbey free on Project Gutenberg >

Geek out

Gothic novels: Ok, this is when my true geek nature really comes out. To get a full understanding of Northanger Abbey, it helps to read gothic novels from the times (the characters in the book are engrossed with them). I really like the idea of reading the book the characters are reading. If you want to read along with the characters in this Austen classic, check out The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe.

EMMA

Read the novel
I found Emma to be the most fun and lighthearted of all Austen's novels. Matchmaking goes wrong and I found myself laughing out loud several times.
Read Emma for free on Project Gutenberg >

Geek out

• Film adaptations: Almost all the film adaptations of Emma are great. My favorites are the Gwyneth Paltrow version from 1996 and Clueless (a modern adaptation from 1995).

• Gothic novel: One of the characters in this book, Harriet Smith, recommends a book to her suitor. But it's a real book so you can read it too. If you want to try, check out The Romance of the Forest, by Ann Radcliffe.

MANSFIELD PARK

Read the novel
This is my least favorite Austen novel. It's dark and the main character's situation is so dire and depressing. Even when it ended, I wasn't happy. BUT...plenty of people feel differently so don't take my word for it. Read Mansfield Park on Project Gutenberg >

Geek out
I personally didn't geek out that much on this book since I didn't love it. But, here's some options.

• Film adaptations: I watched two film versions, from 2007 & 1999. Both were ok.

• The play: Some of the characters in the book perform the play Lovers' Vows. I might be worth tracking down. It was a controversial play in the book and it would be interesting to see why.

SANDITION

Read the novel
Jane Austen died before completing this novel, but that doesn't mean it didn't leave its mark. Hypochondriacs in a small beach town are hard to forget!

Geek out

• Completion stories: An unfinished novel is like a choose your own adventure novel. I love reading these completion stories just to see how different they are:
  
  Sanditon: Jane Austen's Last Novel Completed
  This is my favorite completion. I've actually read it several times and highly recommend it!
  
  Jane Austen's Charlotte
  This is terrible! But I still enjoyed reading another version.
  
  That's all I've read so far, but there are several others detailed here.

• Welcome to Sanditon: The next YouTube series by the makers of the Lizzie Bennet Diaries will be based on Sanditon and some of the storyline to be crowd sourced! (May 2013)

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

Read the novel

I can't believe I almost forgot tel. I even named my husband's car Willoughby! Read Sense and Sensibility on Project Gutenberg >

Geek out

The musical: The 1995 film is great, of course, but did you know there's now a musical? Yes, that's right and it's playing in my city! I'm sure if it's good, it will start making the rounds.

EVERYTHING ELSE

This is definitely not the extend of my geekery, but this post can only be so long. Here's the best of the rest...

The Jane Austen Fight Club
This does not get old. May be the best video ever!

Lady Susan
This is my favorite of Austen's lesser works. It's a story told in the form of letters. Lady Susan is a recent widow scheming for husbands for herself and her daughter.

The Letters
I'm not huge on biographies, so I haven't read one, but I did get into Austen's letters briefly. If you watch the film, Becoming Jane (I have mixed feelings about it), there are some allusions to the fact that there may be some semi-autobiographical aspects to her stories. Also, they're free for perusal on Project Gutenberg!

And that's it! Intense, right? Do you have anything to add to my geek list?

5 Free Writing Resources on YouTube

I used to have this thing against YouTube. I pretty much saw it like the slushpile for the late and not so great America's Funniest Home Videos. Silly cats. Giggling babies. Viral dance videos. Rinse. Repeat. Blah.

Then I magically saw the light! YouTube is awesome for countless reasons. And if you're a writer, there are many videos you might find helpful. Here are some of my favorites:

1. FREE WEBINAR: Revising a Novel They Can't Put Down
The Writers Digest channel posts many helpful snippets on different topics and most of the videos are under ten minutes long. This one, however, is a full webinar from James Scott Bell, author of Plot & Structure. The video is over an hour in length so make sure you have time to watch. I'm sure a group of students paid good money for this webinar, but now it's free!

2. MARTHA ALDERSON'S CHANNEL
Martha Alderson, author of The Plot Whisperer, has many videos covering the topics discussed in her books. Sometimes she's in a garden, on a mountain or by the beach. Frankly, her choice of settings can be a little distracting, but she has some great content that's worth wading through.


3. HOW A BOOK IS MADE with Lauren Oliver
This series of videos was posted to the HarperKids channel. It's somewhat of a promotional series for Lauren Oliver's book, The Spindlers, but it does give an interesting look into the making of a book and the publishing process.
4.

4. JACKSON PEARCE'S WRITING VIDEOS
Jackson Pearce is the author of Sisters Red, Purity and many other titles. Her videos discuss everything from outlining to critique partners to naming characters (as seen below).


5. NEIL GAIMAN'S COMMENCEMENT SPEECH 
This video is inspirational, not instructional, but I love love love it!

So...that's it! Those are my 5 faves. Do you have more to add to the list? Do you turn to YouTube for this type of content?

The quest for awesome book trailers

I really love the idea of a book trailers, but I find myself disappointed with the majority of them. Cheesy stock photos, cardboard acting, bad graphics and vague concepts abound. But in my quest for awesome book trailers, I didn't come up empty handed! Here are some trailers that had me wanting to read, read, read!

1. WHAT'S LEFT OF ME by Kat Zhang
I like how this one has actors, but leaves out the dialogue, which has the tendency to come off stiff and forced. It has an artful way about it that makes it work.




2. PRESS HERE by Herve Tullet 
I really think picture books and trailers are made for each other in ways that novels are not. I love that this trailer not only sells the story, but how much fun the little folk might have interacting with it.




3. SENSE AND SENSIBILITY AND SEA MONSTERS by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters
This is so ridiculous. And yet it manages not to be embarrassing to watch. Kind of a remarkable feat.



4. SUPER SAD TRUE LOVE STORY by Gary Shteyngart
Um, I have no idea what this book is about. But I was thoroughly entertained so I'm calling it a success. Of course, we can't all afford random James Franco appearances, but hey.


So what do you think? Do you have a favorite book trailer? Has watching a book trailer ever led you to buy/read the book?

A Peek at My Secret Pinterest Board

We were discussing writing prompts during the #writersroad chat Monday on Twitter and some people mentioned that they sometimes get inspiration from Pinterest.

Love Pinterest! If you haven't delved into the relatively new secret boards, I encourage you to give them a try. I create one for my manuscript and collect little clippings of inspiration as I come across them. Below is a quick glimpse at my secret board for my current work in progress:

So above we have clothing that my main character wears, an actress that would be a good fit to play her in a film adaptation, food one character prepares (sweet potato burgers with roasted garlic cream and avocado -- um, yum!) and music one character recommends to another in chapter 15. Then we have this:

As you can see, this board includes a variety of donuts. There is a scene in my novel where one of my characters springs for donuts for the whole gang. And when I say donuts, I actually mean fonuts from this joint in LA. Doesn't that maple bacon one look delish?

I digress... Anyway, have you ever used Pinterest for writing inspiration? Do you have a super secret board? Since I showed you mine, will you show me yours? Gross! Pretend I didn't ask.

If you want to follow me on Pinterest, you can do so here.

Peepsqueak II is available!

I meant to post this earlier, but my mom's second book, Peepsqueak Wants a Friend!, is in stores! It makes a great children's gift (hint, hint).

If you're interested in the original Peepsqueak!, here's the trailer:

Best of all, they're making these!!!

 

If you can't resist this face, you can follow him on Facebook.

 

Want a copy of the book? Buy one at Barnes & Noble, Amazon—or better yet—support your local bookstore and have them order it if it's not in stock!



Battling overused words

We all have our pet words. Words we either can't help using, or words we don't even notice we're using over...and over...and over again. My worst offenders are usually "just" and "somehow," to name a couple. To find my overused words, I pasted the first chapter of my MS into Wordle:

And voilà! This is a great visual way to find overused words in your writing. From this exercise, I figured out that I was using the word "like" way too often. Also, "just" (which I should have known!) I made some changes. After making some wording adjustments, my new word map looked like this:

I might make a couple more adjustments. Apparently, Mr. Shepherd is an important character in this scene, but I might be overusing his name a tad...

Want to try it? Visit Wordle!

Revision trick experiment

I do all of my editing online, but it seems like everyone I know was telling me to go old school. The collective advice seemed to be "print out your MS in a different font and size and suddenly you'll see everything in a whole new light."

I was skeptical (plus, going paperless is cool), but I decided to give it a try. And the results were...


Drum roll please...



Suspense!



Keep scrolling...



Almost there!



MAGIC. Wow, it actually worked. Suddenly everything sounded wrong. The parts that seemed fine before were gushing blood. I'm calling this experiment a success.

Have you ever tried this method? What did you think?