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One of my plans this year was to pick up one of my old hobbies – writing – and share my progress here. Of course, I’d not written a single word until doing this~
I’ve seen a lot of these “I tried ___________’s writing routine” and there are definitely some unhinged ones (I’m looking at you Murakami), but I need something very chill that I can have fun with on a day off. This is why I chose Jane Austen’s.
I will say, I’ve changed it up a bit and my dog Darcy did replace the family and friends aspect of Jane’s life.
I’m following the information compiled in the following articles/posts:
While I do talk about what I ate during the day, I don’t include pictures as food photography is definitely not my forte!
Sunday 28th May
I woke up, kind of early (maybe) at 8am and because I do not play the piano (nor am I musically talented in any way), I listened to some classical music. I used the same videos from the “Everything Okay?” YouTube channel for when I was writing, as the thought of doing that in silence never even crossed my mind 😂
Breakfast 9am
According to the sources, Regency/Austen’s breakfast consisted of pound cake, toast, tea and sometimes hot chocolate. For breakfast, I had two slice of bread with peanut butter on (ignore that it had not yet been invented…) and a cup of herbal tea. I then had a bit of angel cake, as I couldn’t find pound cake at my nearest supermarket. Having cake anywhere near toast and at 9am was an odd experience!
Writing
Jane Austen wrote in the family’s sitting room (more commonly called the living room now), so that’s where I seated myself for 2 and half hours. Austen wrote on small scraps of paper, which were easily hidden from staff and unexpected visitors. She also wrote with a quill and ink. Using scraps of paper was easy, however, I was not great at using the quill! I got ink on my hands and I had no idea how, which is pretty common for me even when I use biros.
I used to write a lot of the time on paper and now I find it so difficult! I found it so much harder for me to put thoughts onto paper as I can’t just backspace it all out. And I discovered quickly that I didn’t really know what to write, nor felt compelled to write… I’m not sure why, as I was excited to get down to writing and doing this routine.
I didn’t really like much of what I wrote (lol), but I enjoyed the little bit below. For context, William and Victoria are my main characters (for more information check out Introducing Highborn || Writing Challenge) and one of William’s nicknames for Victoria is Snow White.
William’s back is to Victoria as she enters the centre of the maze, his fingers lazily skimming the cool water of the fountain which fills much of the space. An beautifully sculpted angel looks down at him, adoration clear in her carved features.
“Young ladies shouldn’t wander into mazes alone at the dead of night.” His tone is playfully moralising.
“I don’t see any enchanted apples, so I think I’ll be alright.”
William turns and rises to his feet, his gaze soft.
Lunch 12pm
At lunchtime, I took Darcy for a walk and all the heroines in Austen’s works love walking! I read that small sandwiches, cake and fruit were common options for lunch. However, as I had had cake for breakfast and dinner was going to be a couple of hours before my usual time, I opted out of the heavier options and just had a load of strawberries ♥
Sewing
If unexpected guests would drop by to their household, Jane would join her sister and aunt in sewing. I used this as an excuse to do some of my Howl’s Moving Castle cross stitch as 1. I didn’t really want to write anymore and 2. it’s taking me forever, but I’m having fun with it!
Dinner 4:30pm
Regency dinners were made up of many courses, but I was not going to make just myself several courses… As I did this on a Sunday (so that having such an early meal made more sense in my head), I simply made myself a Sunday Dinner ♥ I then has a little slice of lemon cake for pudding. It was meant to be between 3-4pm, but I lost time and started cooking just before 4pm.
After Dinner Activities
After dinner came conversation, card games and tea… I played two games of solitaire using a deck of cards and lost both games, so swiftly gave up on that 😂 And due to it being only myself and my dog, who is not the greatest conversationalist, I moved forward the evening activities of reading what I’d written in the morning to Darcy and then a book.
I chose to start Mine Till Midnight by Lisa Kleypas, which is a historical romance and the first book in The Hathaway’s series. Amelia Hathaway is a self-proclaimed spinster at 26 years old and she has her hands full looking after her family after her brother unexpectedly inherits a viscountcy which changes their position in society. While looking for her brother, who seems intent on causing his own ruin, Amelia meets Cam Rohan, who she finds herself coming to depend upon. Romance ensues ♥
Overall, I didn’t do much writing, but I had a fun time and a very chill Sunday, which is the best kind of Sunday.
Thank you for reading!
I hope you’re having a lovely day and staying safe ♥
DramaRambles 🌸 