Annie's A - Z of writing...C is for Characters by Annie Burrows

Each month, Novelista Annie Burrows shares insights into her writing life.  In a sort of alphabetical order.  This month the letter C, which is for...Characters.

Not long ago I joined a reading group.  Quite a literary one.  I was hoping to stretch my mind a little, by reading more challenging books than I'd normally choose.  But what I've gained from attending has been so much more.  Discussing books with others has reminded me what readers are looking for in a book.

Time and time again, it hasn't been the cleverness of the prose, or originality of the plots, or evocative descriptive passages that have sparked off the most heated discussions.  No - it's been the likeability of the characters.  No matter how well written a book, if we don't find something about the main characters to like, we won't give the book a high mark.  But we think of the whole book with fondness if we connect with the main characters.

 

This is one of the reasons Jane Austen's books have prompted so many people to write sequels, or spin-offs.  Her characters are so well-drawn that they not only come to life on the page, but often take on a life of their own.  A lot of us want to know what happens after Lizzie and Mr Darcy get married, and will gladly read books, or watch films where they go on expeditions to Egypt, solve murders, or even fight zombies.

Oh, I want to create characters like that!  Characters that step right off the page and take on a life of their own.  Long ago, I realized that I don't have a gift for writing descriptive passages, or thinking up cleverly twisty plots with a surprise at the end.  but anyway, I would rather my readers empathize so deeply with my heroines that they will laugh with them, weep with them, and fall a little bit in love with the heroes who stride manfully into their life and make their hearts flutter.

So I spend ages reading books on psychology, problem pages in the backs of women's magazines (because aren't a lot of the problems in them caused by partners?) and life stories of people who lived during the Regency era, to learn how they would have treated the problems life threw at them.

I also read other writer's tips on how to create characters that will come to life in a reader's imagination.  Just this week, I've discovered fellow Harlequin writer Annie West's website, on which she gives some very useful advice about creating heroes.  All of which could apply to Mr Darcy.

Annie's next book, "Lord Havelock's List" comes out in September2014 .  The hero is sadly nothing like Mr Darcy, but Annie hopes you will fall a little bit in love with him anyway. 

Scones with Mr Darcy by Annie Burrows

Novelista Annie Burrows writes historical romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon.  This month, pretending it was research, she went on the hunt for Mr Darcy...

This year is the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice".  As part of the celebrations, a huge statue of Colin Firth is on tour throughout the UK, at locations where various parts of the 1995 BBC series were filmed.

I'm lucky enough to live close to Lyme Park, which stood in for Pemberley, Mr Darcy's home. 

  

And yes, that is where he dived into the lake, got his shirt soaked, and won Lizzy Bennet's heart (according to the Andrew Davies adaptation!)  And it is at Lyme Park where the 12ft fibreglass statue will make its permanent home.

First off, my chauffeur and I went to the tea rooms.  The scones were enormous, fluffy on the inside, and crispy on the outside.  While the chauffeur was warming his hand on a mug of tea, I went off to try on some Regency gowns, which I'd noticed that visitors could try on.   

I had great fun dressing up as a Regency lady, and imagining myself the owner of a stately home.

On the day I went to Pemberley (ok, Lyme Park, but I was starting to get into the spirit of things by the time I'd tried on the costume), visitors could also take a horse and carriage ride.

There was also a collection of the costumes worn during the filming of the BBC series.  Below are:

Lizzy and Mr Darcy's walking costumes

 

Lizzy and Mr Darcy's wedding costumes

and

That Shirt! 

Finally, we wandered round the grounds until we came to the lake, into which Mr Darcy (or rather Colin Firth) dived to cool off on that memorable day when Lizzy Bennet came calling.  And there he was, dripping wet and twelve feet tall.

Annie's next book is out in January.  "Courtship in the Regency Ballroom" contains reprints of two of her early stories: "His Cinderella Bride", and "Devilish Lord, Mysterious Miss."