Hello readers! I’m very excited to be participating in the Longbourn’s Songbird Blog Tour and to be able to welcome back author Beau North to Austenesque Reviews today! Last month you may remember we participated in a cover reveal for Ms. North’s new release, 
Longbourn’s Songbird, and I greatly enjoyed the discussion and seeing all your thoughts! Today Beau shares about the creation of her first novel and some thoughts about writing longhand.
Humble Beginnings
First off, thank you to Meredith and everyone at Austenesque Reviews for being part of my first blog tour! In Persuasion, Anne Elliot says “My idea of good company…is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation…” and that’s what can be found here at Austenesque Reviews.
Persuasion was the first book I ever read by Jane Austen. To own the truth, I chose it because it was the shortest and least daunting. For a 32-year old woman who’d seen her share of disappointments in love, it was the right choice. From Persuasion I quickly moved on to Austen’s other works, impressed that her humorous observations on family, life and love were still so relevant.
I decided to dip my toes into the JAFF pool not long after, first as a reader and then as a writer. My first attempt would eventually become Longbourn’s Songbird, but you’d hardly know it looking back on it now. I’m lucky to have a writing partner and beta reader in my best friend, who took one read at my first version and declared it wanting. “There were no consequences,” she told me. “Everything happened way too easily.”
So a six-year process began. Stripping old layers away, adding new ones, then stripping those down too. I didn’t fully hit my creative stride until I finally started writing things down. I used post-it notes, napkins, sheets torn out of co-worker’s notebooks, whatever was handy. When I got an idea, or thought of a snippet of conversation, I had to write it down right away. There was something about the act of putting the words on paper with my hand that made it stick in my mind. I have notes in my phone and voice memos I’ve recorded that I’ve long forgotten, simply because I didn’t physically write them.
There’s a lot of discussion and debate on why some people write better longhand. Some say it engages both left-and-right brain activity, some say it keeps you from getting distracted–and I’d say there’s some truth to that. John Steinbeck said “sometimes when I am writing I am very near to a kind of unconsciousness.” I’m no Steinbeck, but that feels right.
I certainly found myself being very surprised by the writing that flowed from my hand in writing this book.
Darcy’s realization of his true feelings for Elizabeth is one of my favorite things I’ve ever written, and it shows. The more excited I was about the idea or turn of phrase, the more incomprehensible my handwriting becomes.
If I was filling in plot holes or mapping out conversations, I could afford to be a little more legible.
Going back to Steinbeck, he called the act of writing “a strange and mystic business.” I can see that. Writing out my first draft on my aging Macbook was not the same experience as sitting off to myself somewhere, whether it was the office cafeteria or the corner coffee shop, my hand moving over the page, lost to the world around me. I would come home and type up what I’d written, watching the story grow and evolve in front of my eyes. And now look at how far it’s come! From it’s humble typed-out beginnings, to scribblings in a series of notebooks, to a novel that the mailman only just delivered today. And it was all thanks to the encouragement of people like my friend, the people who I encountered on this journey who gave advice, support, encouragement. And of course you, dear readers.
Thank you, Beau! I think it is lovely that you write by hand! 🙂 I can easily understand how special it feels to hold your writing tangibly in your hand and see your words in your handwriting on a page. Very special!
Connect with Beau
Blog ❧ Twitter ❧ Facebook ❧ Goodreads
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GIVEAWAY TIME!
Michele and the lovely people at Meryton Press have kindly donated 1 paperback copy of Longbourn’s Songbird for me to give away to 1 lucky winner! Woot Woot!
To enter this giveaway leave a comment, question, or some love for Beau below!
- This giveaway is open worldwide. Thank you, Meryton Press!
- This giveaway ends November 23rd!
Click image to check out the rest of the tour!
Great interview! I enjoyed reading about how this book developed over time. And I loved that it was written in longhand!
I’d certainly love to win a copy! Thanks for the giveaway!
Thanks Pamela, good luck!
Very interesting! I don’t seem to have the talent to write anything original to save my life so I admire greatly those who do. This book promises to be an interesting read, so here’s to hoping I get lucky!
I think everyone is capable of storytelling in one form or another, so don’t sell yourself short! Best of luck!
Thank you so much, Meredith! And good luck to everyone who enters the giveaway. I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Thrilled to have you visit, Beau! You have been a pleasure to work with and I really excited about your debut novel – I can’t wait to read it!
Wow!! Who knew?
That’s nice, that you wrote it by hand! I read the story online and loved it, well done!
Thank you! Maybe you’ll win the giveaway and can see how Christina Boyd worked her magic on the manuscript. Sometimes she knew me better than I knew myself!
Thank you for a very interesting interview
and the giveaway. I can’t wait to read this
book!
I hope you enjoy it!
What a lovely post, and I appreciated the photos of your notebooks. You have beautiful script! I write first drafts by hand as well—as a dyslexic person, I learned that the process of shaping the words with my hands (as well as the slower pace) gives me better access to my vocabulary. And then the chore of keying it all on the keyboard helps me rethink, acts as a first polishing draft. And don’t feel bad about those six years: my first novel took me more than ten! Thank you for the giveaway!
Thank you, Abigail! And allow me to say how much I enjoyed ‘An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl’ – I like that we have this in common! I find that writing things out does help, vocabulary-wise, in that it forces me to think of alternate words AND prevents me from looking up synonyms online that may be a little too fanciful. I prefer to keep things simple 🙂
Thanks for your warm note–and for reading An Obstinate, Headstrong Girl! Puts you in rare company: maybe only a hundred or so people in the world 😉 Keep up the longhand!
I thought she had lovely script too! 😉 I can only imagine how fast you want to write when you have the ideas flowing and words you want coming to mind…I’m sure my handwriting would suffer greatly at those moments and then I’d not be able to read what I wrote down!
Thanks for sharing your journey leading to the printing of your book. I like that you wrote it out in longhand. I agree that it is easier to remember things if you actually write them down. (I just wish I was as neat). Thanks also for the giveaway and that it is worldwide.
Thanks Glynis! And I’m not always as neat as these photos show – I opted not to show you the worst of my penmanship, which is truly a sight! I find the right tools help. I like a certain weight to my paper (not to thin, not too thick – Moleskine notebooks have it just right) and I write with an ultra fine felt tip like the Sharpie pen or an archival pen. You wouldn’t think these things matter but there’s nothing that will hinder writing down a thought like a subpar ballpoint!
I admire you greatly Beau for sticking with your dream. It must have been fantastic to see your novel in print after all that hard work. Good luck with it.
Thank you, Teresa! I was lucky to have some very supportive people in my life who helped make this happen, even if it was just to be a sounding board through periods of self-doubt.
Congratulations! I find writing out my annual Christmas letter to friends and family by longhand allows me to capture my thoughts better than just typing them out on the computer, which I do later when I am reading for printing. I look forward to reading your debut novel! Thank you for the giveaway!
In the past year or so I’ve cajoled some of my friends into a letter exchange, and it’s been a lot of fun writing and receiving letters in the mail. It’s such a personal connection! Of course, sometimes time only allows us a email or Facebook post, but it’s a nice gesture. Good Luck in the giveaway!
Can’t wait to read this novel! I love the original take on this beautiful love story and I am very eager to read how you have Darcy and Elizabeth find each other. No matter how many JAFF I have read, I think it is amazing that there are still so many ways being found to retell this romantic tale. Thank you for your incredible efforts to entertain and inspire us with your take on the story, Beau. I’m ready to swoon 😉
Thanks Debbie! I truly hope you enjoy it and find it swoon-worthy 🙂 It is fascinating to see how many variations can be made off of one timeless story!
Hi Beau,
I am really looking forward to reading your book, and I’d love to win a copy in this giveaway. My question has absolutely nothing to do with the book, but rather your name! Assuming that ‘Beau North’ is not a pseudonym, I am wondering whether ‘Beau’ is your given name, or if it is a nickname. I especially am curious because it is an unusual name for a girl. If it is a nickname, I wonder how it came about, because nicknames typically are some derivative of a given name. But I can’t come up with a female name that would have ‘Beau’ or ‘Bo’ in it. Can you shed a little light on this (assuming that you wouldn’t be giving away anything you’d prefer to keep private, which if that’s the case, I certainly understand your not sharing) ?
Haha Ginna, that would be telling 🙂
Haha, that’s funny how you plotted out your first Austen read based on length. Guess Emma wasn’t even a consideration. 🙂
Your friend getting you to write to your full capacity is a gal to ride the river with. I have one of those, too. She keeps me honest. I think she was right about the consequences being a vital need. Your story is so engaging- all the emotions- as a result. I was struck by this early on. You have a good strong connection to the past, too- story was organic with the era.
The notebooks are treasure troves. I wish I could write by hand. I’d love to see how it affects my writing. But with my carpal tunnel issues, my writing swiftly becomes illegible and my mind focuses on the pain. I have been blessed in that I can lose myself in a story even when typing it out.
Congrats on the new book, Beau!
*Meredith please do not enter me for the giveaway.
Having a good critic in your life like that, who can tell you that you can do better and have it be from a place of love, of wanting to see you succeed, is vital. Not only does it make you think about what you are trying to accomplish with your storytelling, but it helps the editorial process overall.
Can’t wait to read. I really enjoyed hearing about your writing journey!
Becky
I hope you like it, Becky! Thanks for stopping by!
I remember reading your story on one of the jaff sites and loved your story. Would love to win a copy of the book enjoy reading it again. Thank you for the giveaway.
I’m so glad you liked it, I hope you like the finished version even more 🙂
Great interview! You know I have the book Beau 🙂 so please don’t enter me in the giveaway. I just wanted to come by to say how much I’ve enjoyed it (even though you know that too). Best of luck with your debut story (and what a debut it was!!) and looking forward to your new one.
Thanks Joana! Hopefully the next one will not take me a full six years to write 🙂
Thanks for sharing your experience of writing by hand. I prefer to write down my thoughts by hand for my work. But when it comes to reviewing books, I know I missed out some parts that I would like to convey but had forgotten. So sometimes when I remember, I go back and edit my review.
I read up on this some when I was preparing for this post – some scientists think that writing things down is engaging both “left brain” and “right brain” – your logic and your creativity, essentially, which is the best method of remembering ANYTHING. Interesting theory, I can see the merit in that argument.
Thank you for the fascinating process that you went through when writing Longbourne’s Songbird. I agree that the mind “clicks in” when writing with actual pen and paper. Thank you for the giveaway!
Thank YOU for stopping by! Good luck in the giveaway!
I have been following your blog tour and each time I love your book more and more, can’t wait to start reading it!
Thank you Gabriela! I hope you enjoy it!
Thank you for sharing your process! Writing by hand is quickly becoming a lost art form. The book itself and the time it is set in sound so interesting!
Thanks for the giveaway 🙂
Part of what made me start writing longhand is wanting to improve my penmanship. Some days it’s nice and other days…not so much! Thanks for stopping by, good luck in the giveaway!
Thanks for this wonderful feature and great giveaway. A fascinating novel.
Why, thank you!
Thanks for this great post! Sounds wonderful
Loved the interview! I really enjoyed reading it, and I love that you wrote the book longhand:-)
Thanks Sarah! I’m so glad you liked it!
I wish I was as lucky as you with writing things down and actually using them! I have pages of notes from little scraps that I’ve transcribed to Word but never used them, then more little scraps of paper in zipper sandwich bags that need to be transcribed in case I can use them! The description of them almost being like you’re in touch with your subconscious is fascinating. Thanks!
I have a whole box filled with little scraps of paper – conversations, settings, ideas. It’s a total mess but fun to dig through sometimes.
Wow, that is even more work than I can imagine doing it in longhand. Although I read and enjoyed this book on my kindle I would love to win a paperback copy so do count me in this one, please. Congratulations on this publication after all that hard work. Well done.
I just wanted Ms. North to know that I finished reading her book this afternoon and really enjoyed it! I was resistant because I usually don’t like adaptations outside of the original time period, but I saw it was on Kindle Unlimited so I thought I would check it out before my subscription runs out. I was very impressed with how well the story and characters were crafted– there was a lot here that you don’t typically see in the “Austen fan fiction” category. The story had surprises and depth and heart. I will be thinking about this one for awhile. Also, as someone living in the South, I am often annoyed while reading books set in the South where the authors get it all wrong. The dialogue is clunky and the doesn’t ring true. Well, this was spot on. You should be very proud of yourself, Beau!
Thank you Sarah! I’m so glad you liked it! Also, I’m pleased it passes muster with my fellow southerners!
That’s awesome to hear you enjoyed the story so much, Sarah! Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I can’t wait to read it for myself!
I imagine that this giveaway is only for US. However, I have to say that the reviews I have read show it as an amazing book. It is from the first day on my TBR list and obviously in my TBB (to be bought) list. I am looking forward to read about Will and Elizabeth and I am very intrigued with the real topics that you also explore, I think the setting, end of the 40s is very appealing!
I do love Persuasion and I was wondering if you are thinking in writing another book where Persuasion is the frame.
Hello! As stated above the giveaway is worldwide 🙂 I love Persuasion as well – as a matter of fact I have a story in Meryton Press’ Holiday Anthology, Then Comes Winter, that is a modern Persuasion. I would love to write a regency version one day, but my Regency knowledge isn’t quite up to snuff yet. Thanks for commenting!
Looking forward to reading it! Also love the cover, so simple yet meaningful. Congrats on the new release!
Thanks Colleen. I LOVE this cover. My cover artist, Zorylee, opted for something simple and bold. She’s very talented!
Love how you still write long hand. I still prefer my paper calendar vs. my outlook calendar and prefer to read a paperback via ebook. I appreciate technology, but still prefer the old method.
Looking forward to reading your book! Thanks for the giveaway!
It’s sometimes not as convenient, I’ve lost track of appointments and phone numbers because of my reluctance to go digital. I think it’s important to have a happy medium, especially now! I hope you enjoy the book, good luck in the giveaway!
I’m wondering how often you went back looking through the notebooks for inspiration? And how many of them did there end up being over all those years? The book is on my wish list and I look forward to reading it. Thank you!
Hi Lynn! I look through them pretty often, no matter what I’m working on. My problem is that I don’t keep a separate notebook for every project I’m working on, so everything is jumbled together, which makes going back to try to find a particular detail something of a challenge. I hope you enjoy the book, thanks for commenting!
Wow, can’t wait to read it! Seems pretty intriguing 🙂
I hope you like it, Luisa!
This story sounds so fascinating! Plus, there is something special about books set in WWII time period. Despite all the suffering, people were so strong!
Your handwriting is beautiful, Beau! 🙂
Thank you, Maria!
Sounds interesting. I still do a lot of writing by hand, but I’ve never owned a computer (I use the Internet at the library). I have an electronic typewriter in the garage.
I learned to type on one of those electric typewriters! I sometimes get nostalgic for them, but I like being able to edit as I go too 🙂
It’s fascinating to me to read about various different authors’ writing processes. Although it seems that most writers draft straight on to a computer nowadays, I’ve come across quite a few who always do at least the first draft by hand. I don’t have the talent to write fiction but do much better when writing work related pieces. I HAVE to do it straight on to the computer as my handwriting is just awful and even I have trouble reading it back at times. Thanks for sharing the process and your photos with us all Beau. Your book sounds fascinating and will definitely be going on my Wish List.
Thanks Anji! I hope you enjoy the book!