Was Mr. Darcy a Bad Boy?

Here we are 200 years later still swooning over a character who exhibited what seems to me to be a bad boy persona.  When it comes to Pride and Prejudice, I hear many Team Darcy more than Team Mr. Bingley.  I actually have to look up his name to remember him.  The latter was loveable from his first entrance.  So, why so much love has been given to  Mr. Darcy more than the gentlemanly Mr. Bingley who stole Elizabeth's sister's heart?

What is Mr. Darcy's true appeal?  Even Elizabeth didn't have nice words about him before she even approached him.  My only way to understand the pull toward Mr. Darcy is that he is a bad boy in the sense that he was harsh with his words, judgmental of others, ruthless in his status in society and didn't care how he treated women he didn't deem worthy of his attention.  

This is the type of man women are drawn to, so in conclusion I think looking at Mr. Darcy as a bad boy who changed because of his love for Elizabeth is the only answer.  We all secretly have that dream that we can change a bad boy into a Mr. Bingley.

Isn't that what great stories are about?  Having very abrasive characters who change toward the end because of some form of love in hopes that every harsh individual has hopes of change and therefore bring about a world of peace full of dancing and laughter?  A little grand thinking I might say.  

Whatever the case, Mr. Darcy has always been portrayed as the very cold mysterious, good-looking dresser in every adaption.  What would misses Austen's tale have been with a Mr. Nice Guy as the main character?  There would be no tale.  There would not be that pull of two different polarities that creates chemistry between the beginning Mr. Darcy and the bashful Mr. Darcy in front of Elizabeth in the last few pages.

Mr. Darcy Bad Boy Reputation  in Black Society

In my update of the story told in the black community, I had a different approach to the bad boy syndrome.  I felt that many movies have portrayed black men in this harsh cold way already and there are not enough positive responsible  views of black men that do exist in the media or cinema.  

So, I decided that certain points needed altering. Elizabeth's black character Giselle would switch roles as the one who was unwilling to change her harshness but slowly dissolves as every time she approaches Mr. Washington expecting the same old war she has with black men that he always surprises her and therefore, it is Giselle who must change in order for the story to continue.  

I don't know if I had already mentioned this in earlier posts, but I have already written the first chapter of the sequel and it flows very well.  I did so because the ending, as I have mentioned before, is going to be different than the original Pride and Prejudice because I would be able to fulfill the same ending in the next book.

Plus, unlike some movie versions that have either Elizabeth getting married with her sister or already married at the end, I felt that the time period before all the sisters' marriages would be a great plot to revisit using the same template of the original, Instead of looking for husbands, the drama would focus on the girls dealing with the extra drama within a committed relationship that may or may not lead to marriage even with a proposal.  

Well, that's enough gab for today...Please leave some suggestions for posts or questions, I am in dire need of some ideas.

See you next Saturday.

Love,

Denise Rochelle

Entertainment: Where Are the High-Standard Women?

Sounds like an insult, but coming from a woman it might sound like a challenge or a wake up call.  Yes, women still wear dresses and are cordial when need be, but it has become acceptable for even people in high positions to speak laid back, broken English in real life.  Where's the class?

We can instantly debate that the state of women today wanting so much equality even in the way we dress is more evident when we compare ourselves to the women of the 1800s.

No better way to delve into that world than through the books of Jane Austen and her womenfolk in relation to writing about that time. With the advent of reality television, the screaming, loud most vocal woman gets all of the attention.

You know who I'm talking about.  The woman who is wildly dressed, has no manners, is singled out by the rest of the cast of characters as the 'B' title she wears like the Scarlet Letter.  Women don't have to wear dresses to be considered the Yin type of woman, but the whole equality thing since the 70s has degraded our woman-likeness to some degree.

This trend of the female 'strong' woman who can handle everything under the sun like a man has dominated our culture so much, the 'B' word is showing up in books and movies as the average woman now.  Something we should aim to be and dress like to obtain the man or the job at the end of the story.  As a writer, I can place my complaint in the complaint box with any female leads that I write.

Where did the Yin-type woman in the media go?

Pretty Woman took half the movie to transition the smart-talking harlot into a fantabulous lady, but still, that was 20 years ago!  This movie was derived from an even older movie -My Fair Lady - about a street culturally reckless woman trained to match the savvy talk of the rich and famous in England.

Is it old fashion to want to be praised for being womanlike again - to want to stop seeing the 'B' get praised for her wild mouth and ways?

Do we all want to be walking around in a thousands years with our knuckles to the ground saying at least we are equal?

There is nothing like a woman on earth.  God mad the mountains, the stars, the creation based on His idea FIRST of a man and woman.  Mountains look like breasts!  The woman should celebrate her body with clothing that flows around every corner in recognition that we were not meant to be equal in every way.

Why is the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" such a classic?

I believe because first Holly Golightly had built the facade of a sophisticated woman who had a heart and secondly, she wore classy clothes that can be envied to this day.  No one can out do Audrey Hepburn as that character who still can take people's hearts.  People who knew her off screen said she was not acting, she was a true lady in style and in speak.

Is it wrong to celebrate equality and yet still possibly celebrate every curve and classy ways only a woman on earth can possess?
I'm not too fond of the clothing line Michelle Obama wears, a little too plain, but she is the example of a modern POWERFUL person owning her womanhood.  She gives an example that she can be strong to her nation, ladylike and support her husband and be a mother at the same time.  She won the golden ticket at the end of the movie with class.

Pride and Prejudice is the ultimate book of Yin women except Elizabeth.  All of the adaptions, except the 1970s television version which I think made Elizabeth a little too soft, portray Elizabeth as strong and leveled headed.

She was the type that didn't care if she had messy hair or whether mud was on the end of her elegant dress.  To her, all of the necessary things to be a woman in that day she wore as requirement, and let her rough personality overshine.  Yet, she had the eyes of many Alpha-type men in love with her.  Who is more Alpha than Mr. Darcy?!

Why?

By observing the spirit of the character, I can see that Elizabeth's tough exterior and speak coupled with sincerity made her a beautiful woman.

Remember how Mr. Darcy went from 'she's plain' to defending her to his friends after she left the mansion with her messy hair and the girls were making fun of her?  He said he thought her plain before, but was wrong, she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.

I think integrity is missing in not only women in the movies who are stealing boyfriends, making fun of people behind the back, but also in life as we try to keep up with our male counterparts in the race for life.

A woman is truly the bedrock of the family.

What true man is going to make all of the decisions in the house without consulting his wife first.  A successful man can make all the plans and decisions he wants, but I bet Michelle will give the final word when it comes to the personal affairs of the Obama household.

Have you heard of the story where Michelle and Barrack went to a restaurant and she found out that she used to date the owner?

Barrack said that she could have been the wife of a restaurant owner and she said, no, she would have been the wife of the President that used to own a restaurant.

This is so poignant.

Women run the country through the way they raise their children and their husbands!  We not only carry all of humanity for 9 months, we raise them as well.  I don't have to see the Leave It To Beaver mother-type washing clothes, cooking and taking care of the house all day, but I want to see women who actually stand for something again.

Get rid of these wimpy characters, drama, sleep with many people no center or guidance just step over anyone say anything just to get what you want kind of girl.  Maybe once women in films, books and movies find their center, then the media can start entertaining us with quality movies once again.

Oh, well, I suppose the rant is over.  Now, let's go watch an 80's romantic comedy or better yet, the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice.  See you next Saturday...have a great weekend, everybody!

Denise Rochelle M.

200th Anniversary P&P: Jane Austen and Women Roles

Good morning and happy weekend to you!  I just recently found out that this year marks exactly 200 year since the first publication of Pride and Prejudice.

I read some facts about Jane and her story that she is said to have treated just like her child.  I thought that was awesome.  As I pen a rewrite of the tale from the black perspective, I see the story as precious and my first baby as well.  I also, know that I am not alone in writing on my good days.  Especially when I completely lose my broken English and write words I haven't heard in modern society only to look them up and find it is a perfect fit. 

I also found out that Jane Austen sold the book for only a few hundred euros. :(  She would loved to read her book aloud in her house and had a great following while she was alive.  At least she was able to see the book be accepted, where some women like Emily Bronte died before seeing her tale "Wuthering Heights" become the success it is still in this day.  In fact, though it was a failure due to the harsh criticism of how mean her characters were, Emily was accepted by modern time.  She was born before her time.

Jane, I hope you are able to get some satisfaction through My Black Pride and the sequel.  Yes, that's right.  I already wrote the first chapter of the sequel and a subsequent outline just to see if this would work and I believe it does. More on that at a later date.

After 200 years, I wondered how would Jane have penned her tale if women's liberation happened in her time.

Yesterday, the "View" women spoke about the role of men and women in a marriage.  Elizabeth Hasselhoff's husband sat crunched between the women on the stage as the guest for the day.  She said that she admits she is not one of those women who go off about how they do not need a man, and she pointed to him and exclaimed she needed her man. 

Then Whoopi Goldberg, the forever bachelorette and outspoken woman said, "I like a man, I don't need a man'. 

If I remember correctly, Whoopi received more claps than Elizabeth if she even received any at all.  Then they spoke about men switching role and needing to help around the house with the traditional roles and with the children. 

Elizabeth's husband said that he knew he changed more diapers than his father and said that if he is responsible for cooking that it would be less than desirable.  Another host said that, "So, what if a man doesn't do it right, women need to be responsible for men's laziness?".  Overall, women want to split responsibility of the household duties with their husbands.

This is a far cry from the women in Jane Austen's era, and far from anything she wrote about in Pride & Prejudice. Except there were no children and everyone had handmaidens to take care of the traditional roles of cleaning and care of the house.  Hence, many people's number one complaint, if there is any, is that Pride is mostly about women talking a lot and walking around in rooms. 

I have seen people say this a lot.  Elizabeth, her mother and sisters never even had to worry about going to work.  I do not remember what the father's business was, but we don't remember mention of him going to his factory or employees or work-related speak.  This is what makes Jane Austen and many other 1800's novelist so desirable, they showed us and continue to give us a ghost's eye view of what it felt like to be at the top of society in that time.  The ideal. 

So,when I updated P&P with My Black Pride, I am making it more realistic, where actually my Elizabeth character must find work and does odd jobs just to accumulate money until she gets a job.  I placed in there that she has the traditional role of cleaning the house once everyone else is gone and the mother cooks for the whole house joyfully.  The father is the Mayor, so traditional roles are in play even in their relationships of husband and wives.

Have we really evolved so much from the Jane era when it comes to love?

I believe not so.  Despite the role reversals in several areas of married life within 200 years, love still takes place the same way...boy meets girl, boy and girl have affections whether one is first or second in initiating it and boy and girl fall in love forever. 

Jane 200 years ago knew the basics about love even if we never heard about any of her affairs.  True love is unchanging.  She knew about the true love that will always be cherished and felt throughout the ages, and conveyed it very well in the way Mr. Darcy fell for Elizabeth.  It is the same reason we still know who the novelist of Pride and Prejudice is exactly 200 years later.  Love is timeless and is liked and accepted by everyone. 

If we authors take this quality and add heart to every story, maybe we can hope that 200 years from now, someone will be writing about their story and cherishing it as much.  We dream.

Thank you everyone for reading and until next Saturday, smooches!

Enjoy the weekend,
Denise Morris 

5 Ways Some Women Torture Men

Welcome to another weekend everybody.  Okay, the top 5 things a woman does, and we are all guilty sometimes even if it is unintentional, that tortures a man.  I think all of these can be tied to pride and selfishness and all of these are exhibited in the original Pride & Prejudice a very clever book.

1.  Thinking We Are Always Rght. . .Peasants

 

Everyone has done this before.  But what that one woman or wife that does this:

Sees everything they do as supreme law, sees others faults and being loud about it, forcing people to change their bad habits quickly, always trying to fix the problems and nuances...this is normal for a relationship, but when the guy or children and people in your lives can't return the favor by telling a woman her faults and mistakes, then it's not only insanity, it's narcissism. I have seen it and only a very good man can keep compromising to keep the peace in the family.

2. Knowing What He Likes and Withholding

Besides the obvious subject, there are things and kinds of affections when a woman is mad or wants to even the score for how a man made her feel that she will take away from a guy.  It is like putting him in a time out. 

Well, this puts the woman in a time out as well.  Not going out when he wants, ignoring him, holding back your niceness and going completely cold until he gets the point he did something wrong.  Pride is an evil sandwich best left uneaten, Ladies.  I'm finding out men do this, too, but I never seen any books written about it.  There are times in a relationship you are the mother figure and discipline may apply, but what eventually does a young boy do with his mother/son relationship? He leaves her for a roundabout woman.

3. Hanging Out With the Boys

Some girls are just natural around guys.  I always had male friends even during a relationship.  I never knew how much it bothered guys until one boyfriend told me my guy friend who we both worked with wanted to be with me.  I was so clueless, I thought no way. I seriously thought I was safe being around him because I was far from his type of girl. So, I continued to hang out.  Well, he was right, my guy friend started getting jealous of my boyfriend sort of saying how he disliked "pretty boys" and I was like, "You would be a pretty boy, too you don't play toward that" and his reaction toward that compliment made me see that my guy was right. 

The thing about it is, I seriously had my focus on my boyfriend no matter how much I hung out alone with my friend.  If I was to turn the tables around I see I was unfair.  He actually handled the situation by telling me and not accusing anyone and I backed off hanging out as much.

4. Emotional Over Everything He Says

Reading fictional stories and imagining grand worlds and ideas is okay if you are a writer in your spare time, but not when it is about your guy telling you he is going to get milk and your mind sees him meeting up with his ex at the grocery store.  Then when he comes back all happy to share the milk for the cereal, you are screaming at him for cheating on him. 

Eventually he will make this woman cry through the course of the day because of what he DIDN'T say more than what he said.  It makes coming home like living in a real life Minesweeper game jumping in the small amounts of safe space to keep the bomb from igniting from an unstable brain.  Uncontollabe emotions are scary to guys.  Find a way to find balance or be alone.

5. Going Commando on a Brother

Hilary Clinton is the woman who came the closest to being in the White House.  It won't be long before a woman is Commander in Chief of America.  "I pity the fool, who is under her," says Mr. T.  I think everyone knows a woman who wears the pants in the family or sees the man in the grocery store pushing the cart and holding the babies as the woman tells him their schedule for the week and scolds him for his attitude for not appreciating the talk.  Oh, and he didn't grab the peas fast enough.  Somehow, the wife playing the mother 24 hours works for some men, but look at the man and he looks miserable like a captive ape.

You might wonder why I brought up this topic.  Two reasons, I live with a narcissist who is very close blood relation and secondly, if you are familiar with the original Pride and Prejudice it is full of narcissists.  The biggest one is Elizabeth's mother.  JaneAusten wrote P&P as a comedy and the effects are so spot on, people still demand her book 200 years later!!  Exactly 200 years in fact as I just found out her book's 200 year anniversary is next week.

Elizabeth's, Lizzy's, Neurotic Mother

 When I look at reviews all over the Internet, I see that not one person likes the mother figure, and some say she is the most annoying character in all the tens of Pride adaptions.  One thing she is good for is comedy.  Her hysterics to have all of the attention all of the time, to have her way, crying for attention needing to drink or take her pills is funny on paper, excruciating in real life.  Like a five year old whose supply runs on her childrens' energy.

Rewriting this character as a black woman with a strong man as a Mayor, I had to step off a little from the stupidity of the original mother because she would have to understand how to be a Mayor's wife and control her emotions, not just some countrywoman who only goes out to small functions or gossips about the neighbors, she would have to function in society. 

Still no matter what, LOL, the spirit of this character was just 'me, me, me'.  I deal with it everyday.  The person that talks only about two things, themselves or they talk ABOUT someone in a negative light.  Yes, great environment. 

I went full blast on the mother character and how it affected the father.  This is torture for a man.  I understand and I vow and promise that when I get married, my husband will be able to say what he feels negative about me in a respectable manner and I will reason with him. 

What I found ladies is that no matter how painful feedback is, at least 1% of it is truth.  Somewhere in what a person says about you that needs to change you can see that it is true.  This was how I started my transition from being a slight narcissist myself.  A narcissist can have a whole book written just on them, no pun intended,but one factor is they center their whole life on their point of view and in this way, they are always right because as their actions change, they justify everything and everybody is wrong.

If we just take one step of humility back away from the Pride and the Prejudice that men are always wrong and see somewhere how we could be contributing to certain minor behaviors, you will see the men of your dreams be brought forth.  I only write and advise about what I experience.

This is what my Giselle character had to learn.  This is the major difference in my version is that instead of Mr. Darcy, my Mr. Washington, coming to the character and getting rid of his pride to ask her again to be together, my character must do this and not just once, but multiple times go to Mr. Washington and find different ways to apologize for her behavior and win him back. 

I believe that if Jane Austen had been seasoned in relationships or a little older when she wrote this, she might have shown that Elizabeth, My Giselle character, needed to show her humility toward Mr. Darcy as well and that he was not the only one wrong when she refused his hand.  I mean, she was screaming at him.

How Was My Writing Week?

I started Black Pride in October after a dream, please see my 'about' page for details. Ever since, I just started rewriting following the plot of the original Pride and Prejudice. Then I went and added scenes to fill in the gaps in my characters' universe. That has been filling up my rewriting process until a week ago. I finally found the voice of my characters. Now this week's writing was going back and actually LIVING my character's experience as I saw them in my head instead of just plot points.

For instance, instead of just starting the scene with the important conversation and very little introduction, now that I know the voice of those characters, small little things that seem unnecessary but you see in all movies I started to add to my scenes.

Things for instance to lead into the conversation a mundane act as the mother going to the front door and opening it to the newspaper wearing her bathrobe and seeing the neighbors and being embarrassed, is small and I never added such details mainly because I was only writing on the surface for 30 years.

I hope that by filling in this last level of gaps such as these I will be ready by the beginning of February to begin working on just relaxing with what's missing int he story and just reread Black Pride as a fresh reader and fine tuning.

Unfortunately, I feel there is so much gaps which is a necessary glue to make this universe pop out from all other books.

Jane Austen had such rich characters, each different and funny in their personalities and I was honored to have those same characters translate just as well and funnier in the black community. I will not be satisfied until I think these characters have their quirks and crazy ways placed out on paper just as much as they are running around in my head. Right now, they are flat on the page and flying rampantly in my mind.

It was fun, as always thanks for the reads.  Smooches!

Enjoy the weekend,
Denise Rochelle

Dark Skin Woman Only Approached by Other Races

Well, I have to say, I truly believe after I posted that question asking black men their complaints of the black woman and causing such an uproar, that Facebook page began opening up to more questions such as this, in a more respectful manner. 

This week a dark skin black woman asked everyone what was going on, why were the men in her own races over looking her?

Well, they answered sensibly and respectfully.  Well...the majority of them.  To sum it up, some thought maybe it was her fault that she was sending out some vibe that made men go away from her.  In this case, the poster responded back to everyone's answers even though she could have stayed anonymous.  To 200 responses she finally said that she would work on her vibe and start to approach black men instead of waiting for them.

Now that's out of the way, one man said he had to confess that he only liked red-boned women.  For those of you not familiar with this kind of talk, we black folks have what is called racism against our own race which some pointed out on the post that no other race exhibits. 

A few of the answers attributed this racism to the "field" and the "house" negro syndrome during slavery time.  Another said that there could be other issues but realized the fact that "don't discount the fact that her skin tone isn't one of them.  Black-on-black prejudice is real." Aman. 

Another said that it goes the other way; that some light skin sisters get rejected because men prefer dark skin women.  Another girl said of a prejudice she gets that "Other races would always tell me how beautiful I was. Black men would usually add "for a dark skin girl" after saying it, as if dark skin is associated with ugly." 

Then you had the ones said "You might not be attractive".  Ha, ha, ha, that's messed up.  Another said that she didn't think that men discriminated when it came to skin tone. Umm...I'll leave that alone.
Then that one comment that 'yet another post belittling  black people.  Umm, I'm sorry, but sensitivity to a problem when it comes up and people are discussing it never solves the issue...talking about it does. 

What about the field of psychiatry, how in the world would it even be a business if no one talked about their problems?  Most of the time, there is no solution given, but the fact that the person in need of counseling could get out their concerns was a healing process unto itself.

Whatever the case may be, I have to admit that growing up myself majorly living in the white society where I was the only black 99% of the time.  I feared getting any sunlight or thought of my skin becoming dark that I used sunblock with the SPF of 70 and above.  It worked to keep me lightskin.  Now, I have released from this that I go in the opposite direction and actually get tans and focus on loving the skin that was given to me. 

I do have to say that when I was light skinned and when I would become a dark, dark color, I definitely saw a difference.  At one time I used to fundraise for my church and the days that I had become very, very dark I noticed a huge difference, a considerable difference in the people's first reaction.  Went from trust to fear when I approached them compare to my 'lighter' days. 

Not my imagination and take it however, but I'm old enough and experienced all races and communities to know that her question is valid.  This post was on Sunday so I thought I would incorporate this into the story.  I thought the wild friend twice divorced could have this problem maybe. 

Why this topic?  Because my Elizabeth character only is attracted to white men and diss the brothers.

I haven't been writing much because I have been mostly subconsciously reworking the story in my mind to see the bigger picture to see that spirit world my characters are living in that is real to them and make it real to me.

I do have to say that as I back off of the physical writing, writers will relate to this, my subconscious and my regular thinking is working hard.  So, when you read the 9-page epilogue on the dashboard above, you can say bye, bye to the dry rhetoric as now I found Giselle's writing voice for it to spruce it up and adding to the story of her history of why she is not married. 

This is the main reason I have not been able to write, I know Giselle, I am Giselle, but putting it on paper (slices throat).  If I or any other creative person on earth could somehow transfer what is churning into our minds and place it into the world unhinged, you would see less crazy, drug-dependent, crazy, did I say crazy artists out there!

I am still not ready to post the seven pages where we get to see Mr. Washington, I will wait 'till the page gets more views, and they are coming so I appreciate you viewing these updates every week, it's inspiring me to keep going.

I like to give a shout out to the TwitterFam visiting here, you all keep me going and I promise the book will be worth it and you can say you were there as the book found its voice.  Let's make history.  Everyone else if you want to follow me on twitter I am at, twitter.com/iamdenisemorris.

Have a lovely weekend and week and see you here again next Saturday! 

Love and Harmony People,
Denise Rochelle M.

Update: Black Men, What is Your #1 Complaint of Black Women?

Welcome back!  Well, a couple of posts ago I mentioned that I would be hearing from a forum after I asked a question.  It took two weeks, so I posted the question twice. 

The first post was stating my purpose for asking the question "Black men what is your biggest complaint against black women." and then I thought recently it wouldn't post, so I reposted a shorter question asking both black men and women what were their grievances about the other side.

Of course, you know why I asked because I deal with the issues and problems of black men and women in the dating pool in My Black Pride.





I thought I would post some of the comments here, but let's just say, Wow, I as poster was even attacked for asking such a question.  It was a very heated debate.  Men were so happy for the opportunity for an open ear and loved that a female was asking the question.  Then there were other people of other races chiming in that they felt left out, then you had the ones that were over accommodating for the negative question by saying how wonderful black men and women were, they had no complaints and they didn't want to add to the negativity. 

Even one poster after several men and women on either posts listed their grievances and even shot off onto one another because of their answers point blank said, "Now this is why all the other races don't like ya'll.  You always putting each other down."

Well, the grievances were long and valid.  One was directed at me, posters are anonymous by default, to why don't I offer a solution.

And there we go.  I feel finally there is the point!  Exactly.  My time is not wasted on this story venture after all.  Another person had said that the grievances were no different between the races, but unfortunately this is not true.  Unlike all of the other races, black Americans have a deep scar when it comes to the interaction of the black male and the black female that is to this moment being swept under the rug.  There are of course problems similar in other communities, but when certain problems arise that are ingrained into that community cloaked over those people, there must be a beginning source to that problem.

Other communities, there is not a common tie to men/women issues as much as the black issues.  We have one common tie that began it all.  DON'T get mad at me for making excuses, because these aren't excuses.  Take a deep look, the black community never overcame slavery, were taught by their slave ancestors and some are still raising and living MENTALLY like their slave grand, grand etc. how can you be any different if the chain is not broken?

I have been released from that chain and through Black Pride I feel it's a great forum to open up that wound, pierce through it and cleanse it.  Like a mission of sorts.

Who can deny that black men were encouraged just over a century ago to be strong only, bare children even outside of wedlock, and leave those children. Many did not raise their families and were sold to other ranches like cattle to bare more children with multiple women.  On the other hand, the black woman was to be strong on her own and take care of every single child in the household including her own and cater to a man that was her 'boss' called the master. 

I had written a post back on that forum with a little anger that people were mad I asked the question stirring up trouble and posed this answer, but I think that question has been dropped.  Too much heat.

Bad for the forum, good for My Black Pride and Prejudice book. I  actually have to go back to the original post and see the answers and incorporate them.

This week's writing was mainly filling in holes in my story and fleshing out the story of Giselle having to change positions from the original Pride and Prejudice where Mr. Darcy came to her twice not including the letter scene explaining his defenses, and changed it to Giselle having to approach Mr. Washington with all of her pride gone and open the door for him to come to her once more.  So there are a few additional scenes I added for this occasion.

Well, the topic of black men and women disrespect for one another was so evident on the posts I have to search for it and see the bigger picture.  It was actually two people on either post that stated I needed to give a solution.  Isn't that like a sign from God? 

What solution do I offer in Black Pride?  The same as the original book gave, get rid of pride and fear and respect one another.  Except both characters in my version have to go through life changing moments to change their bad habits and let go to come together the second time around as one couple.

That's all for this week.  I don't like to 'stir up no trouble', ha, ha but sometimes, to make change, someone has to go into the kitchen and mix it up a little bit.  And I am the perfect person for stirring up the pot!  See you next Saturday!

Love and Unity,
Denise Rochelle M.

Maybe many writers can attest to this, but when your environment does not yield for a quiet and sound mind, it is easy to write, but not to the best of your ability.  Be it that it was the holidays, I was steadfast in reaching my goal of reading and rewriting a few chapters from the beginning of Pride&Prejudice.  At least I was able to get the Epilogue completely rewritten.

Actually, I can't blame my noisy 20 hours a day environment and my restless heart.  Actually, this is the tough part of the adventure.  Reimagining all of the elements from your characters, their world, their situations, problems, and the whole point your book wants to make. 

That is where I am now.  This is actual work and a handful.  There are sooo many issues in which to deal with in Black Pride.

I have the woman's side of male hate, the men's side of black women prejudice, the uppity rich society's view of less abled blacks, the family issues of each sister and parent just too many angles in which to deal and juggle around in my mind. 

The epilogue needs ALOT of work if you have already read the first three.  They tell us screenwriters that if you don't grab them in the first 5 pages, you lose them.  Then others say grab them in the first page or lose them.  For a customer, if you don't grab them in the first paragraph, you're done. 
So, for the effort, I will be posting possibly 9 pages of the epilogue for your review. 

These pages represent all of Elizabeth's, or updated as Giselle, battles she will encounter and her history of men.

If you have read the current epilogue, in the rewrite I have cut out a lot of talk and added more of a set up - a reason for her invisible eye against black men and especially the kind like Mr. Darcy, or my character Mr. Washington.

Screenwriters use Setups as a foreshadowing of what the character must overcome and makes the payoff more richer when we see the character accomplish exactly what they want, or opposite of what they thought they wanted from the beginning.  In this case, Mr. Washington was the last person on earth she consider as a perfect match, but we know how that ends up.

That's it.  I'm a little disappointed and appreciate the blog views, because it keeps me on my toes about my bi-weekly goals.  Looks like by the end of February I'll have a clean enough copy to self-publish for interested reader's critiques, which is a month later than I thought. 

Thanks for reading and see you Saturday with the full updated epilogue.

Love and Ice Cream,
Denise Rochelle M.

Pride and Prejudice Update: Ending Change

Wow, the holidays was less about gifts and 90% about the people in my life all across the world.  I actually might be growing up.  I was able to do a little writing.  I believe the literature is a living entity once it is placed on paper or in object outside of our minds, and there is so much I would like to have accomplished with my comedy rewrite by now, but ...  I was able to add and tweak only two scenes since Saturday.

My routine is I think of the story visually as scenes and feel which ones need it the most that day.  This time, I thought that the ending to Pride and Prejudice, yes, the lovely scene after Mr. Darcy's aunt comes and chews the heck out of Elizabeth and then Mr. Darcy comes to apologize to her.  That one.  The other scene is not in the original book, but is my Elizabeth character Giselle's epilogue which I posted, and is only the first layer and will go through two layers before the final release.

Let's first start with the ending.  I found strongly, that the way P and P ends for Jane Austen is beautiful and I ended it that way ... but the spirit of my book and the fact that my Giselle character is a strong black woman with strong prejudice against black men and strong pride to let love in, the story screamed to change it.  I won't reveal more, but the flow of this version, I guarantee that there will be some gripes with the change, but it is ingrained into my character's world.

That's another thing I found out recently that hundreds of screenwriting books and few classes and my screenwriting group never could drill in my head.

Every story creates a living reality, a spirit world of its own that as you read that story, you become part of that world.  If the writer is able to tap into their character's spirit and world it becomes a classic, because their world lives infinitely.  Jane Austen was able to do this.  Luckily, her character's spirit are easy to grasp like no characters ever before.

Secondly, I saw that my epilogue needs to set up a lot of changes that you P and P lovers will encounter.  First of all my character has a past, but she has let go of her baggage.  Secondly, she has dated before, where Elizabeth never dated or had a boyfriend.  I added references to how she became strong and too prideful to show her feelings toward men or let her heart be open so when Mr. Washington does all these things by being exactly opposite of her prejudices, it has more meaning.

So, I still have a lot more tweaks to do by Saturday concerning these same aspects.  I will let the comedy flow through from now one wherever as I don't see where else to put it for now.  So, as a writer, I am very satisfied where my story is right now. VERY.

Plus, I no longer feel guilty about my story not allowing me near it until my heart is straight.  Now, after a week off, I have a fresher understand of Giselle and her world when I started to read the story pieces after staying away from it.  Writers should be at peace with not always working for THAT particular project every single day.  Rest the eyes, stay silent and it will come, and like love you will have a higher appreciation for it once you resume.  I have rested a total of three weeks on Black Pride whereas other stories I worked on for years everyday trying to hammer out the problems.  I have never been this far along and unworried about my story world before after only two months of it coming to me.

Watch out world, another Pride and Prejudice redux is coming.

I love you sincerely across the globe,

Have sanctity in your words,

Love,
Denise Rochelle M.

Update: Can't Force A Good Thing

Merry Messiah celebration and Merry Christmas, everyone!  As I said, I didn't write.  It was a natural week off to let the story rest and settle and come to me.  You can't force a good thing.  I do realize that by surviving this tough year, I need to be tough with my character Elizabeth character, Giselle.  If you have studied screenwriting, you know they tell you to throw your character up a tree and be mean to them and throw rocks at them when they try to get down.  Well, I never was mean to my characters, hence boring story.  As a writer, sorry to say, but you are God to your story world and its universe.  I wouldn't accept this. 

I always let my story tell itself and not DIRECT or guide their journey which, hell, I have to admit leads to no focus or direction.  It just becomes an elaborate journal that I wish others would like.  That is selfishness and I realize this 35 years later of writing, that I need to give my character a rough time and to make come out of it a better person in such a way that the audience can go, oh, they survived this, maybe I can too.  Because essentially, my character is me who has gone through something that an audience or reader is going through and it shows that they can conquer this problem as well.

 

There are many issues in Black Pride, but the main one if you look at my about page, is the issue that Giselle deals with her black prejudice and it holds her back from the ONE.  The forum has not gotten to my question asking men to voice their opinion on their grievances with black men.  I'm waiting on this website because they are very truthful and honest.  

 

So, now I will write this week focusing on the comedy when it comes to me and figuring out how to make Giselle's life harder than just people and men problems.

 

Until then, smooches, enjoy the family and see you Wednesday!

 

Love and Hope,
Denise Rochelle M.

Update: Black Women, We Need to Chill

Happy, Happy Wednesday or in the industry Hump Day. 

For clarification, I am a reformed man hater and found this type of black woman, including my mother, made me think this way at one time. Then I look and see how they chewed up their men and try to give me advice and thought ... you are WRONG. 

How is it I would have tens of cool men friends yet when it came to my past dating I viewed them as evil?  When actually, I never had been treated wrongly, EVER, by a black man.  I've been wooed just like in the movies with flowers, sweet words and I was the one screaming at them.  Black women just kept telling me black men were nothing, they lie, cheat etc.  Yes, maybe to THEM, but by being friends first this never happened or it ended before it got to that point.  And the one guy who did cheat I asked him and he told me straight yes, but he was still in high school and I was a cougar at 23!  Ha, ha.

Sisters, this is wrong.  You bring on what comes to you, change the mindset.  I would love to represent this more in my book and any black men complaints.  After living with my mother and see how she can bring even my docile fun attitude to the brinks of hell, my thinking changed.  Men aren't evil, we bring it out of them, Sisters.  I think men are beautiful creatures like children and their attitude is just a mirror of your own.  Anyway, I will be focusing more on this in the novel and think it needs to be addressed and end in black society.

How was my writing this week?  One word.  Exactly.  That is all that I was able to write for my story this week since Saturday.  One aspect of creativity I found out, it is a living entity once you apply it to a substantial plane like paper or material.  It does NOT want to be touched if your Spirit or Mind is not giving it its 100 percent attention as I was not giving Pride and Prejudice this last few days. 

But, I have finally had a conversation with a person off line that I could have good give and take about this idea and they can't wait to read it because they think this is a great idea.  Can you believe in over a month this is the first feedback I get? 

Where does my energy come from to pursue this venture?  She loves P&P and thinks having it told from the high black society side hasn't been done and will be awesome.  I needed that encouragemental shot!  Anyway.  I am waiting for all the responses from one forum where I asked the men all of their complaints of black women because I think it is lacking in this story.  Besides, I think black men catch enough slack on the big screen, time they get represented and show the black  female side is actually deserving of their wrath sometimes. 

It looks like I will have my first real draft as planned by the end of December but want to take another month to clean up the details and final edit before I self-publish a few copies and send them out to readers for their feedback. 

I found this is the best way. I  did that for my "Last Cottonpicker" story, to which I moved back to the countryside to write.  The feedback on that story was it was a beautiful rich story, but it had no focus.  Now, recently with the heavens opening and giving divine inspiration, even that story has become more clear to me. 

Anyway, I will return Saturday, but it doesn't look like I will be writing so much, and I learned not to force it either.

Have a good one and thanks for checking back.

BLACK GENTLEMEN Do you have any grievances that you would like for me to put in the book of the number one annoying thing black women do that you must have added to the story?

Love and Peace,
Denise Morris