Gone With the Wind

Gone with the Wind, published in 1936 won the Pullizer Prize in 1937. It is one of my favourite novels, and I have enjoyed watching the film several times. The author, Margaret Mitchell was killed by a drunk driver in 1949 so she was not subjected to later accusations of racism which in my opinion were unfair. She was a liberal, who lived when racicism was rife but endowed scholarships at Morehouse College for black students. Scarlet O'Hara, the  heroine in Gone With the Wind, raged against women's passive lived a privileged life protected from the cruel brutality of slavery.

T is for Theme

Now that I am back from holiday and am recovering from a virus I shall complete my ABC about writing.

 

As a reader and a historical novelist I consider a strong theme is essential. For example, the theme of Gone With the Wind (until the end of the novel) was Scarlet O’Hara’s unrequited love for Ashley Wilkes and the theme of Romeo and Juliet was unconsummated love. In my novel, Sunday’s Child it was the hero’s fear of his future wife becoming pregnant caused by a dreadful experience when the British fought against Napoleon in the Iberian Peninsula.

 

It would be interesting to know how many authors only begin a novel when they have chosen a theme.

 

I spend a lot of time creating my characters and naming them after deciding on a plot and then choosing the theme.

R is for Romance

Many of the most famous novels are either romances or have an element of romance in them.

Most of us have experienced romance which novelists can draw on when writing about the subject. Whatever we write the characters must spring to life from the page and, if the reader is not going to lose faith in them, their circumstances and behaviour be believable.

Consider Pride and Prejudice which contains the classic ingredients of an engrossing romance with many obstacles which inhibit it until the happy ever after ending.  When the couple first meet they should not fall in love at first sight, although they can be attracted to each other, on the other hand they could be angry or suspicious, be reluctantly drawn to each other, be wary, embarrassed or annoyed.

The setting must be romantic - a holiday in a five* hotel or cottage with rambling roses round the door, an exotic place - a houseboat in Kashmir, a log cabin by a lake in Canada, Venice, a beautiful island.

When writing about the location, descriptions and language needs to be sensuous, employing the five senses, and conveying food, perfumes etc. Everything should be larger than life.

Romance has it's own language to draw the reader deeper and deeper into the story. Short sharp sentences emphasise conflict and drama. Longer sentences allow the reader 'to smell the roses'.

Historical romance requires extensive research - a foolish mistake will cause the reader to lose faith in the author.

Finally, the reader should be able to fall in love with the hero or heroine in spite of their faults. After all, in Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind Rhett Butler understood Scarlet's flaws and loved her passionately in spite of them.

O is for Opening Lines

When I write the opening lines of a novel, I visualise a customer reading the first sentences. No matter how attractive the front book cover is, or how intriguing the blurb on the back cover is, if the first lines don't grip the reader, the sale will be lost.

When I submit a novel or short story, I send it with a prayer, hoping the agent or publisher will be hooked by the first lines and be reeled in by the following ones.

My historical novel Far Beyond Rubies begins:-

 

' “Bastards, Juliana! You and your sister are bastards.”

'Aghast, Juliana stared at William, her older half-brother, although, not for a moment did she believe his shocking allegation.' 

William's accusation and Juliana's reaction are intended to grip the reader and make them want to read on.

The first sentence of Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind is:-

"Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realised it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton Twins were."

In his book, Writing the Blockbuster Novel, Albert Zuckerman comments. "This sixteen-year old girl is presented as someone out of the ordinary."

The first lines are crucial and the author needs to give them very careful consideration.