YESSSS!!!! I’ve been waiting for this soundtrack since forever!
I am off to write with this soundtrack on repeat : )
Enjoy!
Click here for more period drama music.
Writing
Oil-Painting the Character from My Manuscript
The Story Behind My Artwork:
I, Miss Bluestocking, was commissioned by well-to-do parents to paint a portrait of their son, Lucas Creswell. He was a young man, 20 years of age, when he first sat down for me and my brush.
I was initially intimidated by his brusqueness but quickly warmed up to him. He was surprisingly humble and unaffected despite his privileged upbringing.
When I revealed the completed portrait to the family, let’s just say the Creswells did not look too pleased. They were expecting something more along the lines of classic realism than impressionism.
There were other issues with the portrait.
Lucas Creswell asked in a solemn voice, “Why, madam, do I have a moustache?”
I expelled a tragic sigh. “My hands, good sir, shook while trying to paint your lips!“
But the Creswells were still kind to me despite their disappointment.
To this day I am still well-acquainted with Lucas Creswell. We have kept up a correspondence for many years. He is now in his late twenties and is the magistrate of Devonshire.
But when he isn’t busy wielding undisputed power, fixing wages, building and controlling roads and bridges, I often find him taking long walks with his most intimate friend, Miss Amanda Hollingworth. An uncanny young woman with inky brown hair and a crooked smile.
.
The Real Story:
I wanted to take a few hours’ break from writing. Didn’t know what to do. So I oil-painted my story to life.
Painting always reminds me of writing. Draft by draft, brush stroke by brush stroke, we layer the story until it’s completed.
Story Character Chart: Your Book Turned into a Movie
As a writer, a guilty pleasure of mine is imagining which actor/actress should play the characters in my book. So I had great fun making this chart for the story I’m hoping to publish one day. The chart looks a little messy, but whateverrr.
England 1866: A love story about a prostitute and a gentleman in a time of social turmoil.
Léa Seydoux as Amanda Hollingworth
James Purefoy as Lucas Creswell
Gillian Anderson as Mrs. Creswell
Sally Hawkins as Madame Bedwyn
Amanda Hale as Jane Roderick
David Morrissey as James Roderick
Imogen Poots as Theodosia Drury
It was pretty easy making this chart, though very time consuming (at least for me). I don’t have a photo-editing program so used the following sites:
For pretty text fonts: Picmonkey
For combining photos: Fotoflexer
For cropping photos into circles (and other more complicated but wonderful stuff): Sumopaint*
*But if you’re a newb like me you might want to read the instructions on this site on how to crop circular photos.
If you do make your own character chart and post it on your blog, send me the link in a comment below! Happy Chart-Making!
Period Drama Soundtracks
I was with one of my writing friends, Kerrie Mcreadie (founder of Spectatorial and also a novel-writer), at a coffee shop, working away on our individual manuscripts.
It was pretty noisy where we sat, so she asked me to recommend a soundtrack she could listen to while writing. Right then, a list of period drama soundtracks scrolled endlessly through my mind. I ended up recommending The Crimson Petal and the White’s soundtrack, which she ended up really liking.
So I decided to compile here a few other period drama soundtracks that I often listen to while writing. Hopefully this list (though it’s a small list – I’ll post more, little at a time) will come handy to those writing historical fiction. Or even a fantasy. Or romance. Or anything dramatic.
Victorian Era Courtesans: The Man of Pleasure’s Illustrated Pocket-Book (1850)
In my research, I came across an interesting book (circa 1850) that lists London’s prostitutes, identifying them by name, location, and their special charms. It’s possible to forget that we’re reading about women with a heart and mind of their own, because the way in which they’re described is so objectified.
So-and-So prostitute has…
“…good teeth…”
“…beautiful legs and feet as the most delicate sensualist would wish to see…”
“…a good complexion, and a fine bloom on her cheeks, but never makes use of any art…”
“…breasts [that] are rather small, but as plump and hard as an untouched virgin’s..”
When describing how these women feel about their profession, the explanation goes along the lines of: “her life is not worth her care without the thorough gratification of every pleasure.” Prostitution, in other words, allows women unlimited access to their one and only desire: pleasure. Men are therefore assured that there’s no need to feel guilty in seeking out their sexual service.
But in introducing these prostitutes, the author leaves out one important factor: the reality. Many prostitutes had to deal with sexually transmitted diseases, fickle-hearted patrons/abandonment, abortion, abuse, depression… etc., Life was not always entertaining, glamorous, and pleasurable.
It’s therefore unsettling to read about women as being no more than objects with good teeth, pretty legs, and plump breasts. There’s so much more to ‘fallen women’ than their bodies, but we’re not told their stories, because they’re not given a voice
. They don’t deserve a voice (or so the Victorian misogynists believed). They were wicked creatures, lesser humans, unnatural, insane…
On a similar note:
In the current manuscript (TRC) I’m working on, my heroine, Amanda Hollingworth, is one of the women listed in the ‘book of prostitutes’. But I give her a voice, so she has a story to tell, and, at present, I’m a little past the half-way point of her life’s story.
I want to write faster (because I really want to share this story), but life has gotten busier after graduating from university. My days can be summarized by this Facebook status of mine:
My Current Writing Music:
June Hur 
