Confronting the Blank Page

Jane writingJane Austen is now so acclaimed an author that it’s difficult to imagine she might have suffered, as many in the writing profession do, blank page paralysis. Did she charge into a new book without a single qualm, confident of her story and her ability to tell it effectively? Or did she suffer a fresh attack of trepidation each time, even after having achieved a measure of success?

I thought long and hard about these questions when I wrote The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen (mentioned here in a BookBub top ten list recently). Here’s what I came up with – my interpretation of how she might have felt beginning her sixth and last novel, Persuasion.

 

The-Persuasion-of-Miss-Jane-Austen_NOOKMy breath catches in my throat as I hold my pen, suspended over the sheet of pristine paper. This is the moment that both thrills and terrifies me, the moment before commencing a new novel when all things are possible but nothing has yet been achieved. To begin is to risk everything – crushing defeat, utter failure or, worse still, mediocrity. However, not taking the risk is unthinkable. I have come through successfully before, but that hardly signifies. With each new work the familiar doubts and niggling questions resurface, chiefly these. Do I really possess whatever genius it takes to do it again? And if so, what is the best way to go about it?

I don’t know for certain that this is how our beloved Jane felt at the time, but I doubt she could have been completely immune to these emotions. And it does express a lot of the excitement and insecurity I feel right now, because I’m also, at long last, beginning work on my sixth novel. As I wrote above, I’m both thrilled and terrified. Yes, I’ve come through successfully five times before, but each book is a new challenge. And how to begin is, once again, the most troublesome question.

This is going to be a different sort of book for me. Although it will still be very much a Jane Austen fan fiction piece, it won’t be a sequel or variation of one of her books. It will actually contain elements of three of them (P&P, S&S, and MP). It even starts in a different time period than usual. I say “starts” because we won’t be staying in the modern day. Yes, you guessed it; there will be time travel involved, which will definitely be a new challenge for me!

Our perky and impossibly optimistic heroine, Katie, who has always believed she would feel more at home in Regency England, will get a second chance at a life of her own choosing. She thoroughly intends to land in a life worthy of a Jane Austen story, with a romantic happy ending. But as you might imagine, things don’t go exactly according to plan. I hope to inject a lot of humor and good, campy fun into the story. I’m just three chapters in so far, and no title yet. Here’s the prologue as it stands now:

Katie Berg – recent orphan, college student, and Jane Austen devotee – awoke completely uninjured but mystified to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings.

 

The last thing she remembered, she had been minding her own business, just walking down one of the many tree-lined sidewalks on campus, on the way from her freshman English class to a ten o’clock appointment with someone by the name of Mrs. Tanaka, a guidance counselor. It was a beautiful spring morning – deliciously cool but already hinting at the balmy South Carolina summer ahead. The air smelled of fresh-cut lawns. Birds were singing. Magnolia trees had begun bursting into bloom all over town. Long-legged youths in khakis and polo shirts played Frisbee with their dogs on the quad.

 

In short, it was the sort of day that made a person glad to be alive.

 

And Katie was glad to be alive, that is. No, her life wasn’t perfect. For one thing, she was pretty much alone in the world. She’d never had any siblings. Now her parents were gone. And she still hadn’t stumbled across the hunky-but-sensitive man of her dreams that the Regency era novels she read inspired her to expect. Yet her native optimism, which had allowed her to move beyond the tragedy of her parents’ deaths a year and a half before, also told her Mr. Wonderful was bound to turn up at any moment. She was sure some romantic adventure lay in store for her, at least she dearly hoped so.

 

In the meantime, she planned to focus on finding her calling. The fact that she didn’t know exactly where she was headed, career-wise, wasn’t at all unusual. Less than half of the kids on campus had decided on their major by the end of their first year. Most of the others had changed their minds at least once.

 

It wasn’t so much that nothing interested her. Quite the opposite; nearly everything did. College was a glorious buffet to Katie, with a hundred tantalizing entrees to pick from. English literature had the upper hand at the moment, but public health, environmental science, art history, and even paleontology had all been contenders at one time or another. Making a definite choice was the challenge, and, even more difficult, sticking to it. But that’s what guidance counselors were for, right? – to help students who lacked clear direction get things sorted out? Even though she had never met the woman, Katie placed the utmost confidence in Mrs. Tanaka’s ability to do just that.

 

And there was plenty of time to get herself sorted, have adventures, and fall in love, she reasoned. After all, she was only nineteen.

 

Yes, plenty of time.

 

Ironically, that’s what Katie Berg was thinking that April morning as she leisurely made her way toward Grady Hall. Then suddenly she heard a roaring noise overhead and time ran out.


 

 

I’m eager to hear your comments. Are you intrigued enough by this prologue that you would read on? Do you want to hear Katie’s story? How do you think a modern-day coed would deal with the confining facts of Regency life? Would you like to see Katie discover her Mr. Darcy, or would it be more interesting if she got sidetracked by a rake such as Wickham or Henry Crawford? Many questions. I don’t have all the answers yet, but I think it will be fun finding out.

I have a lot of work ahead of me to turn three chapters into a completed novel, but it feels like I’m over the first hurdle. At the least the page isn’t blank anymore. Yay!

PS – You might get a kick out of this related post, Blank Canvas, from 2011, documenting how I had donned my “artist” hat and started work on what would become the cover art for my first novel, The Darcys of Pemberley (pictures included). Blast from the past. Seems like a lifetime ago; so much has happened since!

31 comments

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    • Patricia Finnegan on February 16, 2016 at 1:29 am
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    Do you have an idea when this will be released? I cant wait to read it!

    1. I’m delighted to hear it, Patricia!
      It all depends how much time I get to work on it and how quickly it comes together. I’m sure it will be at least six months, though, considering what it takes to write a full-length novel and ready it for publication. If you haven’t read my other 5 yet, I’ll invite you to do so while you’re waiting. 😀

  1. Ah, a time travel novel, eh. Sounds interesting. I’ll look forward to reading it. In the meantime, I have my own blank pages after I finish tweaking ‘Darcy Chooses the Complete Novel.’ After that I’ll be doing a Regency mystery. Probably be like most I’ve done: lots of blank pages until it comes together. I think all authors identify with this. We just try not to do it too often. All the best with Katie’s story. Give us a heads up when it’s available and all of us can get a copy. And, thanks, for the excerpt.

    1. Glad you can relate, Gianna. I’ll keep you posted on my progress with Katie (at AV, FB, and I’ll be starting a work-in-progress page at my own site too: http://www.shannonwinslow.com). Good luck with all your projects and blank pages!

    • Glynis on February 16, 2016 at 3:20 am
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    This sounds good already. I do hope Katie doesn’t get taken in by a villain as I think she definitely needs Mr Darcy to look after her (by the way I hope at least that if that is the case then at least her middle name is Elizabeth! Good luck with this I’m afraid I wouldn’t get past the blank page fear 😱

    1. Well, we weren’t all born to be writers, Glynis. We need lots of READERS too! Readers don’t have to deal with blank pages; we’ve already filled them all up for you. 😉 Thanks for the idea for Katie’s middle name. I’ll think about incorporating it.

    • Nathalie on February 16, 2016 at 4:24 am
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    I love time-travel novels especially when a Jane Austen variation, and would certainly read yours with great delight.

    1. Thanks for the encouragement, Nathalie!

    • Michelle on February 16, 2016 at 7:08 am
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    Sounds fab. I love time travel. In fact, Katie sounds like me. I would love to time travel back to Regency times but not to meet a rake and become best friends with the Darcys andvthe Bibgkeys!

    1. Haha! Okay, thanks, Michelle. I’ll keep that in mind, but I could see there could be a lot of humor in that scenario. Of course, it would all have to come out right eventually. I’m all about happy endings!

    • Maggie on February 16, 2016 at 7:22 am
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    What a teaser…I’m ready to read this new book but no pressure. What school is the picture from? My kids and son-in-law all went to college in South Carolina. Some wonderful and beautiful places. Hope Katie loves it as much as they did.

    1. I’m afraid the picture is random (UTC – University of Tennessee at Chattanooga), and I didn’t base what I wrote on any particular college. I figured I’d get more specific later if Katie ends up spending a lot of time there. Otherwise, it probably doesn’t matter. But if I’d known you had experience in this field, Maggie, I would have just consulted you! 🙂

    • Meg on February 16, 2016 at 8:01 am
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    I, too am ready to read the novel when it’s published! The hook is there for sure. Hopefully it will be a novel not novella in order for enough space for character growth and development of plot. Of course she needs to find her Darcy and a good friend to confide in since she has no siblings. She will find the lack of medical knowledge and cures a challenge, hygiene might also be a challenge if she’s not put in a situation where it’s possible. She definitely needs Elizabeth Bennet’s wit and intelligence. She’ll be thrilled with the best of the Regency. Perhaps her rake could be the Prince Regent or one of his brothers instead of an Austen antagonist?

    1. Thank you for your thoughtful comments, Meg! It will be a full-length novel, like my others. I don’t seem to know how to write anything else. By the time I’m finished telling the story, I have 100,000 words.

      Katie will have siblings in her new life, I promise you, since she’ll have some choice in where she lands. But the Prince Regent? Haha! That would be fun, but I’m not sure I can arrange that!

    • Stephanie L on February 16, 2016 at 9:47 am
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    I love time travel/time slip so I’m excited about this prospect! I think she should find her own version of Darcy, maybe assisted by he and Col. Brandon or something LOL Being friends with Elizabeth and the other Austen heroines could be fun. She could be sidetracked by Wickham/Willoughby/Crawford but have her own personal hero save the day. As to how she’s going to handle it…no bathrooms, no showers, no Secret, no Starbucks 8-o LOL Not sure. I will watch for it!

    1. Good ideas, Stephanie! I have a very rough outline of where I think the story will go, but sometimes they take on a life of there own. I especially found that true in “Return to Longbourn”, which headed off in an entirely new (and better) direction than I had originally planned. That was a delightful experience!

    • Carole in Canada on February 16, 2016 at 10:16 am
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    Sounds like the book will be a lot of fun! I can just imagine her reaction to the ‘reality’ of living without indoor plumbing and daily showers…not only will she not have deodorant but greasy hair! No one ever talks about that in time travel! LOL! Thank goodness she will have a knowledge of behavior if she loves reading Jane Austen books. I think of the ‘Lost in Austen’ movie and how much fun that was. As for getting sidetracked by a Wickham or Crawford, maybe ‘a little’ but she could be rescued by Colonel Fitzwilliam! Looking forward to this book and any updates you wish to share! Good luck and may the writing force be with you!

    1. Thanks for the good wishes and excellent feedback, Carole! I do think this one’s going to be a lot of fun to write. I’ll keep you posted on progress. 😀

    • JerryT on February 16, 2016 at 12:06 pm
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    What an interesting prologue. Thanks also for the flash back.

    1. You’re very welcome, Jerry!

  2. It sounds marvelous, Shannon! Count me in!! 😀 I love Kate’s intellectual curiosity already; it will serve her well in Regency England and all the changes such a time shift will entail. 🙂

    A brilliant beginning–I can’t wait to see more!! 😀

    Warmly,
    Susanne 🙂

    1. Thanks for the encouragement, Susanne. I’m so glad you like it!

    • Madenna on February 16, 2016 at 4:08 pm
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    I am definitely looking forward to more of this story! Good luck with your blank page.

    1. Thanks, Madenna! Once I get going, though, I’m usually fine. I’ve got about 25 pages now, so it’s a good start. 🙂

    • Anji on February 16, 2016 at 4:51 pm
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    JAFF and time travel? Bring it on! I definitely want to read more of this. Actually, I think I NEED to read the rest of this tale.

    One of the things I enjoyed about Lost in Austen was seeing how a young woman from our times coped with the trials of living 200 years ago. I suspect I wouldn’t do very well as I much prefer indoor plumbing and modern health care. Katie sounds as though she may do a lot better, though.

    That scene from The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen is one that tends to stick in the mind and having been to Chawton and seen that little writing table, I can imagine Jane herself sitting there with quill poised over a blank sheet of paper.

    Looking forward to reading more, Shannon.

    1. Lovely! I’m thrilled that the words I wrote in PMJA accompany your picture of Jane at her little table in Chawton, Anji! That’s an honor.

      Yes, although I think Katie will be less prepared than she thinks for Regency inconveniences, I expect her to cope pretty well. It’s her dream, and she’s all in, no matter what that entails.

  3. I like the time travel idea. I have read a few stories with it. I like the set up of this story.

    I think having Katie see the good in Crawford would be great. I like him, but I think his personality could be tweaked to not run off with Maria. He has some redeeming qualities because he helped her brother with the Navy. I read a couple of novelas that demonstrated his remorse over Maria and Fanny.

    1. I like your thoughts on Henry Crawford, Patty. At this point, I don’t expect Katie to meet any of the actual characters from JA’s novels, but people who are so like them that she wonders if they could have been the JA’s inspiration. We’ll see. I tend to make things up as I go along, allowing the story to take me where it needs to go. I know that sounds a little crazy, but that’s how it works for me. 😀

    • Deborah on February 17, 2016 at 6:36 am
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    What a great premise, Shannon. I always felt I am living in the wrong time as Katie does. I think she should get sidetracked by a rake, at her age, it would be easy to be sweet talked by a Wickham or Crawford and for them to take advantage of her. And of course to have an HEA. I am eagerly anticipating reading this book. Thank you so much for sharing.

    1. I appreciate your comments, Deborah. And I’m excited about seeing where the story take Katie!

    • Sheila L. M. on April 13, 2016 at 3:33 pm
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    Shannon, I am spending most of today opening and reading e-mails. At times, obviously, I am overwhelmed by the number I receive and they just sit. I do like time travel books and am loving the Outlander books and TV series. So bring it on. A roar overhead??? Trying to imagine what that would be. I will look for this book when it is published. Hope your weather is good. We had Spring then a freeze and orchards had buds freeze so the farmers lost a lot!

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