Better English Writing - Geddes Grosset Webster’s Word Power 2014

Writing your own fiction composition
Writing creatively

We’re now going to look at how you can apply these elements to your own compositions - whether you are writing a short story, a novella or a novel.

We are going to use a very famous novel to illustrate these characteristics. Pride and Prejudice was written by Jane Austen and published in 1813. It is one of the most popular novels ever written, and it has been adapted for film and TV. If you are studying English composition, it’s a book you should read.

Jane Austen was born in 1775, and she wrote with insight, intelligence and wit about the social etiquette (the customs or rules controlling social and moral behaviour) of the upper classes of the period she lived in. Her main themes were how the upper classes interacted with each other, how they viewed love and the importance of marriage to a woman at that time. If you were angry in 19th- centur y English polite society, you couldn’t show your feelings and shout. You had to be dignified at all times. If you were a woman and your parents couldn’t provide for you and you didn’t marry, you would either fall into dire poverty or have to become a dependent of another relative. Getting married - or getting daughters married - was therefore a big concern. Pride and Prejudice is set in this time, and deals with many of these themes, as well as how pride and prejudice can stop people from seeing things as they really are.

Setting

The setting is where the novel takes place. It can:

✵ create the atmosphere for your novel, and help your reader to imagine the scenes

✵ give information about a character - for example, if your character is a bit forgetful, you could show them rushing around the house looking for keys

✵ provide opportunities for a plot - for example, if your setting is in a major city and a meteor suddenly hits the Earth, then that’s going to be interesting!

Jane Austen does all this brilliantly in her first chapter. We find out about Mr and Mrs Bennet and their five daughters, Mrs Bennet’s obsession with getting her daughters married, and the sort of marriage that the couple themselves have. Austen also sows the seeds of the plot, and tells us about contemporary social etiquette - or how you had to go about getting introduced to eligible young men.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.

’My dear Mr. Bennet,’ said his lady to him one day, ’have you heard that Nether field Park is let at last?’

Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.

’But it is,’ returned she; ’for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.’

Mr. Bennet made no answer.

’Do you not want to know who has taken it?’ cried his wife impatiently.

’You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.’

This was invitation enough.

’Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of lar ge fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.’

’What is his name?’

’Bingley.’

’Is he married or single?’

’Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of lar ge fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!’

’How so? How can it affect them?’

’My dear Mr. Bennet,’ replied his wife, ’how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.’

’Is that his design in settling here?’

’Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes.’

’I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley may like you the best of the party.’

’My dear, you flatter me. I certainly have had my share of beauty, but I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now. When a woman has five grown-up daughters, she ought to give over thinking of her own beauty.’

’In such cases, a woman has not often much beauty to think of.’

’But, my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr. Bingley when he comes

into the neighbourhood.’

’It is more than I engage for, I assure you.’

’But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would be for one of them. Sir William and Lady Lucas are determined to go, merely on that account, for in general, you know, they visit no newcomers. Indeed you must go, for it will be impossible for us to visit him if you do not.’

’You are over -scrupulous, surely. I dare say Mr. Bingley will be very glad to see you; and I will send a few lines by you to assure him of my hearty consent to his marrying whichever he chooses of the girls; though I must throw in a good word for my little Lizzy.’

’I desire you will do no such thing. Lizzy is not a bit better than the others; and I am sure she is not half so handsome as Jane, nor half so good- humoured as Lydia. But you are always giving her the preference.’

’They have none of them much to recommend them,’ replied he; ’they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sister s.’

’Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion for my poor nerves.’

’You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these last twenty years at least.’

’Ah, you do not know what I suffer.’

’But I hope you will get over it, and live to see many young men of four thousand a year come into the neighbourhood.’

’It will be no use to us, if twenty such should come, since you will not visit them.’

’Depend upon it, my dear, that when there are twenty, I will visit them all.’

Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife under stand his char acter. Her mind was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news.

Plot

Most novels tend to have the following plot outline or variations of this:

✵ Exposition. This is the early part of the novel, where we find out about the setting, characters and what the story is about.

✵ Conflict. This is usually introduced quite early on, and can be a conflict between two people, between people and nature or an internal conflict that somebody is having.

✵ Rising action. This is the stage of the novel where the conflict increases and the reader ’s sense of excitement, tension or interest increases accordingly.

✵ Climax. This marks the high point of the conflict, and usually means a turning point - either good or bad - for the main characters.

✵ Falling action. This follows the climax, when the reader’s sense of excitement, tension or interest declines. This usually happens towards the end of the novel.

✵ Resolution. The character (s) deal with the conflict, and there is a natural ending to the story. This could be either good or bad.

Let’s illustrate this by looking at the plot of Pride and Prejudice.

Exposition

We have already found out from the first chapter that Charles Bingley, a wealthy young gentleman has rented the manor of Netherfield Park. The Bennet household and the rest of the village of Longbourn are very excited about this news.

Mr and Mrs Bennet have five daughters called Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty and Lydia, and Mrs Bennet’s main aim in life is to get them married to rich and respectable men. Mr Bennet pays a social visit to Mr Bingley, and the family attend a ball where Mr Bingley and his friend Mr Darcy are present.

Conflict

The conflict is introduced at the ball. Mr Bingley makes a good impression and is friendly with everybody, but his friend, Mr Darcy, appears to be haughty and unsociable, and - worst of all - he refuses to dance with Lizzy Bennet, which makes everybody think he is arrogant and rude:

’Come, Darcy,’ said he, ’I must have you dance. I hate to see you standing about by yourself in this stupid manner. You had much better dance.’

’I certainly shall not. You know how I detest it, unless I am particularly acquainted with my partner. At such an assembly as this it would be insupportable. Your sisters are engaged, and there is not another woman in the room whom it would not be a punishment to me to stand up with.’

’I would not be so fastidious as you are,’ cried Mr. Bingley, ’for a kingdom! Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty.’

’You are dancing with the only handsome girl in the room,’ said Mr. Dar cy, looking at the eldest Miss Bennet.

’Oh! She is the most beautiful creature I ever beheld! But there is one of her sisters sitting down just behind you, who is very pretty, and I dare say very agreeable. Do let me ask my partner to introduce you.’

’Which do you mean?’ and turning round he looked for a moment at Elizabeth, till catching her eye, he withdrew his own and coldly said:

’She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humour at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men. You had better return to your partner and enjoy her smiles, for you are wasting your time with me.’

Mr. Bingley followed his advice. Mr. Darcy walked off; and Elizabeth remained with no very cordial feelings toward him. She told the story, however, with great spirit among her friends; for she had a lively, playful disposition, which delighted in anything ridiculous.

Rising action

Jane and Bingley’s relationship develops during a number of social events, and Jane is invited to visit Netherfield Park. She gets soaked on the way there and catches a cold. Elizabeth walks over to Netherfield to make sure her sister is well, and ar r ives looking mud-spattered and windswept. Mr Bingley’s sister makes sarcastic remarks about her, and tries to get Darcy to agree with her. However, Elizabeth and Darcy have been thrown together at a number of social functions since the ball, and he has become increasingly attracted to her.

Occupied in observing Mr. Bingley’s attentions to her sister, Elizabeth was far from suspecting that she was herself becoming an object of some interest in the eyes of his friend. Mr. Darcy had at first scarcely allowed her to be pretty; he had looked at her without admiration at the ball; and when they next met, he looked at her only to criticise. But no sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she har dly had a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes. To this discovery succeeded some others equally mortifying. Though he had detected with a critical eye more than one failure of perfect symmetry in her form, he was forced to acknowledge her figure to be light and pleasing; and in spite of his asserting that her manners were not those of the fashionable world, he was caught by their easy playfulness. Of this she was perfectly unaware; to her he was only the man who made himself agreeable nowhere, and who had not thought her handsome enough to dance with.

Mr Bingley’s sisters, however, think that Jane and Elizabeth are beneath them socially, and don’t try to hide their scorn:

’I have an excessive regard for Miss Jane Bennet, she is really a very sweet girl, and I wish with all my heart she were well settled. But with such a father and mother, and such low connections, I am afraid there is no chance of it.’

’I think I have heard you say that their uncle is an attorney in Meryton.’

’Yes; and they have another, who lives somewhere near Cheapside.’

’That is capital,’ added her sister, and they both laughed heartily.

’If they had uncles enough to fill all Cheapside,’ cried Bingley, ’it would

not make them one jot less agreeable.’

’But it must very materially lessen their chance of marrying men of any consideration in the world,’ replied Darcy.

To this speech Bingley made no answer ; but his sisters gave it their hearty assent, and indulged their mirth for some time at the expense of their dear friend’s vulgar relations.

Jane and Elizabeth return home to find that Mr Collins is visiting. Mr Collins is a clergyman who will inherit Mr Bennet’s property when he dies, because the girls can’t inherit the property and he is the nearest male heir. Mr Collins is pompous and arrogant. He proposes to Elizabeth, who refuses him. He is very offended. Meanwhile, some militia officers have been stationed near Longbourn, and are introduced to the Bennet girls. One of them, Wickham, is a handsome soldier whom Elizabeth finds attractive. He tells her that Darcy has cheated him out of his inheritance. Because of how Darcy treated her, Elizabeth is ready to believe him.

At the beginning of winter, there are two unexpected events: the Bingleys and Darcy suddenly leave Netherfield for London, leaving Jane upset and disappointed, and Mr Collins announces that he has become engaged to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s best friend, and the poor daughter of a local knight. Elizabeth is shocked at this, but Charlotte explains that her parents can’t support her, and she needs to get married for financial reasons. Elizabeth promises to visit them. Jane, meanwhile, visits London, hoping that she might see Bingley. While she is there, Miss Bingley visits her and is rude to her, and Bingley doesn’t visit at all.

This is the worst point of Elizabeth and Jane’s fortunes. However, the tension and excitement build up again when Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr Collins. They

live near Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who is Darcy’s aunt. Elizabeth and Darcy are thrown together socially several times, and we are aware of Darcy’s increasing attraction to Elizabeth. However, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Darcy’s friend and cousin who is also visiting Lady Catherine, unwittingly tells Elizabeth that it was Darcy who persuaded Bingley not to marry Jane. Elizabeth is devastated.

Climax

When the climax comes, it is unexpected and very dramatic. Darcy visits Elizabeth at the Collins’ home and completely shocks her by telling her that he loves her (despite the fact that he has fought against it):

’In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed.

You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.’

Elizabeth’s astonishment was beyond expression. She stared, coloured, doubted, and was silent. This he considered sufficient encouragement; and the avowal of all that he felt, and had long felt for her, immediately followed. He spoke well; but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed; and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. His sense of her inferiority - of its being a degradation - of the family obstacles which had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit.

Elizabeth tells Darcy that he is arrogant and accuses him of persuading Bingley not to marry Jane, and of disinheriting Wickham. She refuses him:

’From the very beginning - from the first moment, I may almost say - of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.’

He replies, very formally:

’You have said quite enough, madam. I perfectly comprehend your feelings, and have now only to be ashamed of what my own have been. For give me for having taken up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.’

This is a great example of verbal sword-play with manners.

Dar cy leaves but returns with a letter, and it is this that is the climax of the conflict, and the turning point for Elizabeth. In the letter Dar cy admits that he persuaded Bingley to distance himself from Jane, but this was because he didn’t think that Jane cared much for his friend. He also says that the reason he fell out with Wickham was because Wickham tried to elope with his young sister, Geor giana, to inherit her money.

The letter makes Elizabeth see Darcy in a different light - she starts to lose her prejudice against him.

Falling action

This process continues when she returns home. The militia (with Wickham) is leaving town, and Lydia persuades her father to give her permission to stay with an old colonel in Brighton, where Wickham’s regiment is to be stationed. Elizabeth begs him to refuse Lydia permission, but he gives in.

Elizabeth then goes on a trip to Derbyshire with her aunt and uncle, the Gardiners. They visit Pemberley, Darcy’s estate, believing that Darcy is away. Darcy’s servants obviously love him, and say that he is a wonderful master. Darcy arrives unexpectedly, but behaves warmly and kindly to Elizabeth and the Gar diner s, and invites them to be his guests. They meet his sister, Georgiana. Elizabeth realises that her feelings towards him are changing:

As for Elizabeth, her thoughts were at Pemberley this evening more than the last; and the evening, though as it passed it seemed long, was not long enough to determine her feelings towards one in that mansion; and she lay awake two whole hours endeavouring to make them out. She certainly did not hate him. No; hatred had vanished long ago, and she had almost as long been ashamed of ever feeling a dislike against him, that could be so called. The respect created by the conviction of his valuable qualities, though at first unwillingly admitted, had for some time ceased to be repugnant to her feeling; and it was now heightened into somewhat of a friendlier nature, by the testimony so highly in his favour, and bringing forward his disposition in so amiable a light, which yesterday had produced. But above all, above respect and esteem, there was a motive within her of goodwill which could not be overlooked.

It was gratitude; gratitude, not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough to for give all the petulance and acrimony of her manner in rejecting him, and all the unjust accusations accompanying her rejection. He who, she had been persuaded, would avoid her as his greatest enemy, seemed, on this accidental meeting, most eager to preserve the acquaintance, and without any indelicate display of regard, or any peculiarity of manner, where their two selves only were concerned, was soliciting the good opinion of her friends, and bent on making her known to his sister. Such a change in a man of so much pride exciting not only astonishment but gratitude - for to love, ardent love, it must be attributed; and as such its impression on her was of a sort to be encouraged, as by no means unpleasing, though it could not be exactly defined. She respected, she esteemed, she was grateful to him, she felt a real interest in his welfare; and she only wanted to know how far she wished that welfare to depend upon herself, and how far it would be for the happiness of both that she should employ the power, which her fancy told her she still possessed, of bringing on her the renewal of his addresses.

But then comes a bombshell - Elizabeth receives a letter from Jane saying that Lydia has run off with Wickham, and that nobody can find them. If they are living together and aren’t married, the whole family will be disgraced. Elizabeth goes home, and a letter eventually comes from Mr Gardiner saying that the couple have been found, and that Wickham has agreed to marry Lydia in exchange for an annual income. Lydia and Wickham return briefly to Longbourn as a married couple, and Lydia lets it slip that Darcy paid Wickham off and saved the family’s reputation.

Resolution

By this point, we are desperate for a happy-ever-after resolution - especially after all those trials and tribulations. And this is exactly what Jane Austen signposts in the falling action and delivers to us in the resolution. It all works out beautifully in the end. Bingley returns to Netherfield and proposes to Jane. That same night Lady Catherine visits Elizabeth and says she has hear d that Darcy is planning to marry her. She tries to bully Elizabeth into promising that she won’t marry him because she is so far beneath him on the social scale, but Elizabeth refuses. As she says:

’I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me.’

Darcy obviously hears about this exchange and it makes him think that Elizabeth’s feelings towards him could have changed. Several days later, he visits the Bennets with Bingley and goes for a walk with Elizabeth. During the walk, he proposes and tells her that he knew she would have told his aunt if she definitely didn’t want to marry him:

’It taught me to hope,’ said he, ’as I had scarcely ever allowed myself to hope before. I knew enough of your disposition to be certain that, had you been absolutely, irrevocably decided against me, you would have acknowledged it to Lady Catherine, frankly and openly.’

So there was a double wedding with Jane, Bingley, Elizabeth and Darcy, and they all lived happily ever after.

Narrator/voice

The narrator is the voice that is telling the story. It can either be in the first person, where someone is talking to the reader directly - for example, ’I did this’ and ’I said’ - or in the third person, where ’he’, ’she’ or ’they’ tell the story, and it’s up to the reader to form a view of the characters.

The narrator or voice in Pride and Prejudice is in the third person omniscient - this means that the narrator knows and describes the thoughts and feelings of all the people in the story. But the narrator tells the story through Elizabeth’s eyes and from her point of view. She is in every chapter and in the pivotal Chapter 36 (the climax of the book after she has read Darcy’s letter) the narrator tells us about the emotional transformation she goes through as a result. The narrator tells us what people say and do, how they behave and what they think through the use of dialogue. Sometimes the narrator is very judgemental, but very funny. Here’s an example:

Mr. Collins was not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society; the greatest part of his life having been spent under the guidance of an illiterate and miserly father ; and though he belonged to one of the universities, he had merely kept the necessary terms, without forming at it any useful acquaintance. The subjection in which his father had brought him up had given him originally great humility of manner; but it was now a good deal counteracted by the self-conceit of a weak head, living in retirement, and the consequential feelings of early and unexpected prosperity. A fortunate chance had recommended him to Lady Catherine de Bourgh when the living of Hunsford was vacant; and the respect which he felt for her high rank, and his veneration for her as his patroness, mingling with a very good opinion of himself, of his authority as a clergyman, and his right as a rector, made him altogether a mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self-importance and humility.

Dialogue

The dialogue is the conversations that the characters have. The dialogue spoken in Pride and Prejudice is extremely witty and well-observed, and it is the main way that Jane Austen tells us about her characters. For example, Mrs Bennet and Lydia, her favourite, come across as being silly, shallow women. Lydia has nearly plunged the family into complete disgrace, but she has absolutely no remorse or insight into what she has done - and neither does her mother. Her main concern is that she got married first before her sisters, and she boasts about being able to find husbands for them:

’Well, mamma,’ said she, when they were all returned to the breakfast room, ’and what do you think of my husband? Is not he a charming man?

I am sure my sisters must all envy me. I only hope they may have half my good luck. They must all go to Brighton. That is the place to get husbands. What a pity it is, mamma, we did not all go.’

’Very true; and if I had my will, we should. But my dear Lydia, I don’t at all like your going such a way off. Must it be so?’

’Oh, lord! yes;—there is nothing in that. I shall like it of all things.

You and papa, and my sisters, must come down and see us. We shall be at Newcastle all the winter, and I dare say there will be some balls, and I will take care to get good partners for them all.’

’I should like it beyond anything!’ said her mother.

’And then when you go away, you may leave one or two of my sisters behind you; and I dare say I shall get husbands for them before the winter is over.’

Characters

Characters are the imaginary people that you write about in your book or composition. If your characters aren’t interesting and realistic, they won’t work. They also need to be contrasting to provide drama and conflict in the plot.

For example, the characters in Pride and Prejudice range from stupid and shallow, to witty and intelligent, to deceitful. They are complicated and fascinating and hook the reader into the story. Let’s look at the main characters in the novel, and what they are like.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth is the heroine of the novel. She is her father ’s favourite, and is witty, intelligent and attractive, with a ’fine pair of eyes’. She stands up for herself against Lady Catherine, although Catherine is far above her in social standing. She is loyal and loving. She walks three miles to take care of her sister. However, she allows herself to be prejudiced against Darcy, and this prevents her from seeing through Wickham.

Darcy

Darcy is the hero of the novel. He is from a very old and reputable family. He is proud, and he can act in a superior and arrogant way, as if he is better than everybody else. This isn’t always intentional - it’s because he is shy and reserved. He is very kind and generous to those he loves and cares about (family, friends and servants). He pays off Wickham. He becomes very attracted to Elizabeth, but has to fight his pride and prejudices to admit that and propose to her.

Jane

Jane is the oldest and most beautiful of the Bennet girls. She is a very good person, and can never see the bad in anybody. She and Elizabeth are very close and support each other. She can be quiet and reserved, and Darcy misinterprets this as lack of interest.

Bingley

Bingley’s money comes from his father ’s business - it isn’t inherited like Darcy’s.

Bingley’s personality is like Jane’s - he is very easy going and charming. He isn’t bothered about Jane’s social standing, but he does allow Darcy to persuade him to leave her, so he doesn’t seem to be very strong minded.

Wickham

Wickham is a smooth-talking liar, who spends the money Darcy gives him and then tries to get more by eloping with his sister, Georgiana. When that doesn’t succeed, he elopes with Lydia Bennet, who is only sixteen. He is the opposite of Darcy, but Elizabeth is still duped by him because of her prejudice against Darcy.

Mrs Bennet

Mrs Bennet’s only interest in life is getting her daughters married off. She doesn’t really care about the true happiness of her daughters - only how things look - hence her reaction to Lydia’s marriage to Wickham. She is shallow, lacking in sensitivity and acts inappropriately, to the embarrassment of her family - particularly Elizabeth and Jane.

Mr Bennet

Mr Bennet married the wrong person, and is now having to put up with it. He is intelligent, witty and loves reading, and goes to his library to get peace and quiet. He and Elizabeth get on very well. He wants a quiet life and isn’t strict enough when he needs to be (for example, when he lets Lydia go to Brighton). He can make insensitive comments, but he loves his daughters and wants what is best for them.

Mr Collins

Mr Collins is a bit of a comic character. He is a clergyman, but doesn’t act like one. He is pompous rather than humble, although he pretends to be. He doesn’t appear to have genuine feelings, because he was able to propose to Jane, Elizabeth and then Charlotte in quick succession. His speech and manner are overly formal and

verging on the ridiculous, and he is obsessed with Lady Catherine’s favour.

Lady Catherine de Bourgh

Lady Catherine is at the top of the social ladder, and she knows it. She is a bit of a caricature of the worst characteristics of the upper classes. She’s a bully who is rude and insensitive and expects people to do what she wants without question. She hates Elizabeth because she stands up to her. Unlike Dar cy, Lady Catherine has no manners.

Themes

A theme is an idea that runs throughout the story. There can be more than one theme in a novel. Themes give a novel more depth - they make it about more than just a story - there are hidden meanings lying underneath.

The themes in Pride and Prejudice include:

✵ pride and prejudice (obviously)

✵ love and marriage

✵ reputation

✵ class and social standing

Pride

Pride is having too high an opinion of your worth or importance. Prejudice is making judgements about other people without really knowing them or knowing the facts about them. There are examples of how pride and prejudice affect characters’ behaviour and actions all through the novel.

For example, Mr Darcy appears to be very proud of his social standing, and gives a bad impression to strangers:

... but his friend Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year. The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, till his manners gave a disgust which turned the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud; to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend.

Lady Catherine on the other hand is deliberately proud - she is at the top of the social ladder, and she wants to make sure that everybody knows it.

When the ladies returned to the drawing-room, there was little to be done but to hear Lady Catherine talk, which she did without any intermission till coffee came in, delivering her opinion on every subject in so decisive a manner, as proved that she was not used to have her judgement controverted. She inquired into Charlotte’s domestic concerns familiarly and minutely, gave her a great deal of advice as to the management of them all; told her how everything ought to be regulated in so small a family as hers, and instructed her as to the care of her cows and her poultry. Elizabeth found that nothing was beneath this great lady’s attention, which could furnish her with an occasion of dictating to others.

Prejudice

Darcy forms a prejudice against the Bennets, without really knowing them.

Elizabeth isn’t normally prejudiced, but Darcy’s refusal to dance with her offends her and hurts her pride. This leads her to develop a prejudice against him, and she makes everything about him from this point on fit this prejudice - that’s why she is willing to believe Wickham.

Mrs Bennet’s prejudice against Darcy becomes downright open and embarrassing - although she seems to forget it right away when he proposes to Elizabeth.

’Good gracious! Lord bless me! only think! dear me! Mr. Darcy! Who would have thought it! And is it really true? Oh! my sweetest Lizzy! how rich and how great you will be! What pin-money, what jewels, what carriages you will have! Jane’s is nothing to it—nothing at all. I am so pleased—so happy. Such a charming man!—so handsome! so tall !—Oh, my dear Lizzy! pray apologise for my having disliked him so much before. I hope he will overlook it. Dear, dear Lizzy. A house in town! Every thing that is charming! Three daughters married! Ten thousand a year! Oh, Lord! What will become of me. I shall go distracted.’

This was enough to prove that her approbation need not be doubted: and Elizabeth, rejoicing that such an effusion was heard only by herself, soon went away. But before she had been three minutes in her own room, her mother followed her.

’My dearest child,’ she cried, ’I can think of nothing else! Ten thousand a year, and very likely more! ’Tis as good as a Lord! And a special licence. You must and shall be married by a special licence. But my dearest love, tell me what dish Mr. Darcy is particularly fond of, that I may have it to-morrow.’

Love and marriage

The different types of love and marriage are another main theme of the book. For most women in the nineteenth century (unless they were very rich and financially independent), marriage was essential for their financial security and social standing. Charlotte Lucas is a good example of this - her parents are too poor to support her, so she has to jump at the first chance of a decent match. Otherwise, she will be left in poverty, or will have to rely on the charity of friends or relatives - not a good position to be in. She is willing to marry Mr Collins and put up with him for the financial security, social standing and reputation he will bring her:

’I see what you are feeling,’ replied Charlotte. ’You must be surprised, very much surprised - so lately as Mr. Collins was wishing to marry you. But when you have had time to think it over, I hope you will be satisfied with what I have done. I am not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins’s character, connection, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.’

Mr Bennet married Mrs Bennet because she was beautiful - but regretted it very quickly afterwards because she is shallow and embarrassing and they have nothing in common. He now avoids her by spending a lot of time in the library. Elizabeth can see this relationship, and doesn’t want it herself.

Darcy and Elizabeth have it all - they have overcome obstacles, learned about themselves and each other and have a mutual love and respect for each other’s qualities.

Reputation

Reputation in Jane Austen’s time was everything. If a member of the family lost their reputation, the rest of the family was disgraced - and that meant being outcast from ’good society’. This is why Elizabeth is devastated when she hears about Lydia eloping with Wickham - if they aren’t married, it will bring disgrace on all the family, and nobody will marry any of the girls because they will be tainted with it. Lydia seems blissfully ignorant of or insensitive to this.

Class and social standing

Again, social standing was key in Austen’s day - who you were and where you were on the social ladder and what people thought of you were of great importance. Elizabeth isn’t as concerned as other people about reputation - she is prepared to stand up to Lady Catherine and walk to Netherfield and get muddy because she doesn’t care very much what people think.

Mrs Bennet, on the other hand, is more concerned that Lydia has gotten a husband than she is about the fact that she has married a selfish, lazy liar.

A good beginning and a good end

It’s important in any piece of fiction writing to have a good beginning and a good end.

A good beginning will get the reader hooked, and a good ending should provide a resolution to the story. The reader should feel that this resolution was inevitable.

The first chapter of Pride and Prejudice hooks the reader in immediately, and sets the tone for the whole novel with one of the most famous and witty lines in English literature:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.

We know because of the various signposts in the climax and falling action that there is going to be a happy ending - although Austen throws in the news about Lydia and Wickham to create tension and worry us for a few pages. Everything is resolved as it should be in the ending, and we are left feeling that really, it couldn’t have ended any other way.

The writing process - fiction

We have looked at all the different elements that you need to think about in fiction writing and have illustrated these with examples. Now we’re going to look at the

actual writing process that every writer goes through. Understanding this process should help you when you write your own compositions. This process doesn’t have to be linear, where each stage is only done once. You can repeat different parts of the process and revise your work until you are happy with it.

Here’s an example of a process you could use:

✵ What is the story you want to tell? What is your story about? Is it a real-life story or one that you have created yourself? Once you know this, you can work on the plot, characters, dialogue and setting.

✵ Brainstorm your ideas. People can find it very stressful if they are faced with a blank piece of paper. Don’t panic. Instead, write down all your ideas about the story/plot, your setting, characters and dialogue. What is the narrative voice - first person or third person? What sort of structure are you going to use? Are you going to tell the story from start to finish, or use flashbacks, or put it in the form of a diary?

✵ Plan and develop your structure. Write down notes under chapter headings - where does the story get to during each chapter ? What is the conflict and when is it introduced? What is the climax in the story and when is it introduced? What is the resolution? How is your story going to end? Having the big picture of your story before you write it can make it easier to follow the plot and not get lost. Apparently JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, wrote out the entire plot of all seven books during a long train journey.

✵ Write the first draft. Don’t worry too much at this stage about getting everything perfect - you can come back to it and edit it later.

✵ Revise and edit your work. Read over your story objectively. Does the plot make sense? Does it flow? Does the dialogue sound realistic? Are the characters believable? Ask a ’critical friend’ to read it over and give you their honest feedback.

✵ Cut out anything you don’t need. Editing also reveals repetitio n and unnecessary detail.

✵ Writ e the final draft.

If you don’t have a complete story in mind, though, this doesn’t mean you can’t start writing.

If you are having problems getting initial ideas, there are plenty of things you

can do to spark inspiration. Don’t let yourself be intimidated by an empty page: write ideas, character sketches and dialogue without worrying about where it’s going to go. Once you have a story in mind which catches your imagination you can then follow the kind of process above.

Writing exercises and prompts can be useful for coming up with ideas or just as a warm-up exercise, to get you over initial hesitancy and into the right mind-frame to write. There are many books of these available, as well as websites, including blogs which post new prompts regularly and often allow you to post your own work in reply.

Try some of the following sites:

www.creativewritingprompts.com

www.writersdigest.com/prompts

storyaday.org/category/inspiration/writing-prompts/ andrewbosley.weebly.com/the-brainstormer.html

You could also try a plot generator, which sets you a scenario to work from in your story, as here:

www.archetypewriting.com/muse/generators/plot.html.

First lines

Starting any work of fiction can be intimidating: the pressure to get the ’perfect’ first line can leave you staring at a blank page, unable to get to the story itself. A good way to deal with this, as well as to spark first ideas, is to write first lines for stories - as many as possible. You don’t need to do anything further with these if you don’t wish to, or have any idea of what the story itself would be about. If you feel inspired to continue on with a story you have started in this way, great. If not, writing lots of first lines will still help in getting over the stumbling block you may experience between having an idea and putting pen to paper - as well as teaching you to recognise a good first line.

So what makes a good first line? Here are some famous examples to consider:

And after all the weather was ideal.

The Garden Party, Katherine Mansfield

A green and yellow parrot, which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over :

’Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! That’s all right!’

The Awakening, Kate Chopin

I first heard of Antonia on what seemed to me an interminable journey across the great midland plain of North America.

My Antonia, Willa Cather

While the present century was in its teens, and on one sunshiny morning in June, there drove up to the great iron gate of Miss Pinkerton’s academy for young ladies, on Chiswick Mall, a large family coach, with two fat horses in blazing harness, driven by a fat coachman in a three-cornered hat and wig, at the rate of four miles an hour.

Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray

There was no hope for him this time: it was the third stroke.

Dubliners, James Joyce

1801. - I have just returned from a visit to my landlord - the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with.

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy

I had the story, bit by bit, from various people, and, as generally happens in such cases, each time it was a different story.

Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton

Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all night, was seated at the br eakfast table.

The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

These openings are all vastly different in what they tell us about the story to follow. Some establish the point of view of the story (first person or third person), or its form (diary entries in Bronte’s case). Some establish setting. Some introduce the protagonist or a major character. (Conan Doyle even introduces some of his char acter and habits.)

Wharton and Cather both introduce the idea of a narrator reminiscing, looking back on completed or past events. Tolstoy and Wharton both start with a generalisation or a universal truth. Thackeray gives us a more traditional sense of a narrator beginning to tell us a story, while Mansfield gives us the sense that we’ve barged in upon our narrator mid-thought.

Joyce tells us very little about the story to follow, merely suggesting a sense of mood - of foreboding - while Thackeray throws in the metaphorical kitchen sink with the amount of information provided. (Thackeray here illustrates the fact that rules are made to be broken: for all that authors would usually be told not to bombard the reader with too much detail right at the beginning, here he does exactly the opposite, to great comic effect.)

So what, if anything, do they have in common? They all, in their diverse ways, hook the reader into the story - grab our attention with a character, with a thought, with dialogue or an engaging image (both in the case of Chopin’s talking parrot), with a vividly introduced setting or mood, or with the direct appeal of a first-person narrator. They all throw us right into things rather than losing our attention with introductory build-up before the story begins. Even Thackeray’s sentence, with its more traditional format where the narrative voice is consciously introducing us to a story, puts us straight into the events of the novel, with the action of the coach drawing up on the morning described. This is beginning in medias res (in the middle of things) and is key to grabbing your reader ’s attention.

Now try writing ten of your own opening sentences.

Setting the scene

This time, let’s look at some examples of writers introducing setting:

The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

The particular Jelly-bean patch which produced the protagonist of this history lies somewhere between the two—a little city of forty thousand that has dozed sleepily for forty thousand years in southern Georgia, occasionally stirring in its slumbers and muttering something about a war that took place sometime, somewhere, and that everyone else has for gotten long ago.

The Jelly-Bean, F Scott Fitzgerald

Wuthering Heights is the name of Mr. Heathcliff’s dwelling. ’Wuther ing’ being a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather. Pure, bracing ventilation they must have up there at all times, indeed: one may guess the power of the north wind blowing over the edge, by the excessive slant of a few stunted firs at the end of the house; and by a range of gaunt thorns

all stretching their limbs one way, as if craving alms of the sun. Happily, the architect had foresight to build it strong: the narrow windows are deeply set in the wall, and the corners defended with large jutting stones.

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte

Take a mining townlet like Woodhouse, with a population of ten thousand people, and three generations behind it. This space of three generations argues a certain well-established society. The old ’County’ has fled from the sight of so much disembowelled coal, to flourish on miner al rights in regions still idyllic. Remains one great and inaccessible magnate, the local coal owner: three generations old, and clambering on the bottom step of the ’County’, kicking off the mass below. Rule him out.

The Lost Girl, DH Lawrence

These examples again show the diverse options open to writers. Some introduce the physical setting, relying on the senses, while some introduce the personality or structure of the society described. All create a mood which informs how we picture the setting described (compare the sensual tranquillity of Wilde’s studio to the aged backwardness of Fitzgerald’s Jelly-bean patch; the barren desolation of Bronte’s tortured landscape and precarious house to the anxious, unsettled society suggested in Lawrence’s townlet).

Use one (or all) of these four examples as your inspiration to introduce a setting of your own. Write a description of a setting dominated by a sense other than sight (as Wilde does); use per sonification (describing it as if it were a per son) to introduce a setting’s personality (as Fitzgerald does); use the eyes of a character who is a newcomer, seeing the place, as we are, for the first time (as Bronte does); or speak directly to your reader to create an unusual hook (as Lawrence does).

Prompts

Some of the books and websites mentioned above use prompts, rather than the kinds of exercises we have just done, as writers’ tools. These can be small snippets (a photograph, a line of poetry, a quote, a theme) that you can use as inspiration to write your own piece - a kind of mental stepping stone. They can also be short story summaries which contain more detail (the plot outline, a character or event to be included, other themes). It is remarkable just how vastly different writers’ finished pieces can be which use the same line or event as a leaping-off point. Using this kind of prompt helps you to focus on one thing in order to begin writing, but it doesn’t limit creativity. The possibilities for your unique creation are still endless.