On the Say of Seven Honest Women (Medieval Mondays #5d)

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

Duty calls

Marriage is tough; this is the case no matter what period in history one considers.

Medieval marriages, though, as discussed in my three previous posts on this topic, were all the more difficult for the numerous challenges that arose at every stage of their formation.

Yet another difficulty of medieval marriage was hard it was to go about ending one. This was neither easily nor readily done given that, according to Eileen Power, author of Women in the Middle Ages, “Divorce in the modern sense did not exist in the Middle Ages.” (p. 33).

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Once Upon a Time, Once More

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

And just like that, I’m nearly two-thirds of the way through the rewrite of my WIP.

I should rephrase that: I’m two-thirds through the second draft of my WIP, with an as-yet-undetermined number more to go after that.

And it’s not exactly “just like that” either, for I’ve been hard at work on this draft since January. This has involved, in addition to multiple rewrites of chapters one through three, a first crack at the additional 15 chapters I’ve completed to date some of which were in much better shape than others.

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How I’m Spending My Summer, 2016 Edition

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

I take great joy in planning my summers every year.

Even if I’m not expecting to do anything noteworthy or conventionally exciting, the thought of longer, warmer days and a bit of time off to do as I will to fill them is invaluable in helping me make it through the winter.

Admittedly, winter in Vancouver is mildest that Canada has to offer. I really have nothing to complain about by comparison.

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On Recognizing the Interim Rewards of Writing

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

My chapter revision tracking system, with special emphasis given to chapters 7, 15, 21, and 30 (formerly 31)

My chapter revision tracking system for draft 2, with special emphasis given to chapters 7, 15, 21, and 30 (formerly 31)

The ultimate reward of writing, obviously, is publishing a book and having it read to widespread appeal.

But long before reaching that point, should a writer reward the intermediate stages of his/her writing journey?

In the past, I’ve written not only about both the importance of goal-setting, but also of ensuring your goals have corresponding plans to power their fulfillment.

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Un/happily Married in the Middle Ages (Medieval Mondays #5c)

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

Medieval marriage, much like medieval society as a whole, was not an institution of equality between both partners.

For the medieval woman, marriage did dramatically increase her prestige compared to an unmarried girl, who had no real occupation or standing in her household and spent most of her time in the company of older female chaperones.

Medieval woman thus looked forward to marriage and the subsequent establishment of a home that was independent of those of their parents.

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Thoughts on Re-Rewriting My Novel’s First Chapter

Posted on June 6, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

Not the “re-re” I’m referring to, but like the Bajan beauty in her famous revenge video, I had to get tough on this chapter

Writing is rewriting.

So the popular, and unfortunately, all too true saying goes.

After working on the first draft my historical fiction trilogy for the better part of three years (with a long, six-year hiatus in between), I was ecstatic to finally get started on draft two of book #1 back in January of this year.

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A Nice Day (Eventually) for a White Wedding in the Middle Ages (Medieval Mondays #5b)

Posted on May 30, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

Medieval wedding ceremony (note the location and the bride’s dress)

In modern times, when a couple gets engaged to be married, they next begin planning the wedding celebration.

In the medieval times, long before the engagement, after overcoming the various challenges of finding a suitable partner discussed in last month’s post, the next step was to plan for death. In particular, that of the man.

That is to say, there would be negotiations regarding the endowments the would-be bride and groom would grant each other.

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Love and Marriage in the Middle Ages (Medieval Mondays #5a)

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

A medieval betrothal

Getting married in the medieval times was a complicated business.

On the one hand, it seemed straightforward enough – far less complicated than today:

Almost every man and woman could reasonably expect to someday wed.
The definition of marriage was not contested as it often is today: there was no same-sex marriage or common law marriage or the modern legal and political wrangling commonly associated with these.
Wedding ceremonies themselves were quite simple, wholly untouched by today’s wedding industrial complex.
Divorce was illegal, so when two people married, it was (in almost all cases) literally unto death.

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Revising is Hard, But Not in the Way I Expected

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

I’ve now been actively revising my WIP for about three-and-a-half months.

I have to admit, I haven’t progressed nearly as far as I’d anticipated, to date having reworked only seven chapters out of a total 31. And that’s not counting the fact I have to go over chapters 1-3 all over again.

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The Things We Do for Love (of Writing)

Posted on March 14, 2016 by Janna G. Noelle

I’ve had a cough for the last three months.

Coughing isn’t a customary occurrence for me. Neither is having any sort of illness linger for so long.

Part of the problem is that the cough, if one can be said to be such, is largely asymptomatic. Which is to say a cough is all I have: no sneezing and sniffling of a cold, no aches and pains and lethargy of the flu.

Even the doctor says there’s nothing pathologically wrong with me.

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