Dickensblog

'This coddling nonsense'

Over at Jane Austen's Wastebasket (great name!), Amy Colleen takes a humorous look at how the London business community might have seen Scrooge's redemption.

Touched by an angel

Could Dickens have had some angelic pushback on his Carol? James Cary's witty article in the Church Times speculates on the possibility!

By the Fire

A very strange thing happened to me the other morning: I woke up with an idea for a poem. That hasn't happened in years. But I rather liked this idea, so I went ahead and wrote the poem, and here it is (below the cut). It's based on A Tale of Two Cities, and the speaker is Mr. Lorry.

Fanfic challenge: Something new

Time for a new fanfic challenge! Your assignment: Write a story based on a Dickens novel that you like but have never written from before. (Characters that you wrote about in the group fanfic don't count; you can have written a scene with, say, Estella for that one, and still write a Great Expectations story.) It can be as short or as long as you like. I'm going to do an Our Mutual Friend story (just as soon as I finish a David Copperfield one I'm working on!).

By the way, this reminds me: I never gave the name of the novel I quoted from in the crossover challenge! It's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë.

Write like Dickens!

If you've been around these parts any length of time, you know we're fortunate enough to have some wonderful writers here. One of them, Nina, has posted an explanation of how she imitates Dickens's style. Visit the new blog that she's co-moderating, and you too can learn to imitate The Inimitable!

The Dickensblog 19th-century crossover fanfic challenge

I think it's time for a new fanfic challenge around here. (That's code for "I'm suddenly and unaccountably bored with every book I'm reading and I want some good new Dickensian short stories to read.")

Here's the deal: I will give you a paragraph from a novel by another 19th-century author. You may recognize the passage, or you may not; it doesn't really matter, though I'll go ahead and let you know where it's from when everyone's done with their stories (if no one's guessed it by then).

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Use it as your opening paragraph, and then build a Dickensian fanfic on it. It can, of course, be based on any Dickens book you desire.

Ready? Here's your paragraph:

"Unconscious of my presence, he began to pace the room in a state of fearful agitation, violently wringing his hands and uttering low groans or incoherent ejaculations. I made a movement to let him know that he was not alone; but he was too preoccupied to notice it. Perhaps, while his back was towards me, I might cross the room and slip away unobserved. I rose to make the attempt, but then he perceived me. He started and stood still a moment; then wiped his streaming forehead, and advancing towards me, with a kind of unnatural composure, said in a deep, almost sepulchural tone --"

It's raining men!

Birdienl is running a "Mr. Period Drama" competition over at her LiveJournal. Every day, one of her list of ten actors will be voted "off the island," until there's only one left. Four of these actors have appeared in Dickens adaptations: Richard Harrington (Bleak House), Matthew Macfadyen (Little Dorrit), Ioan Gruffudd (Great Expectations), and Hugh Dancy (David Copperfield).

Now, this is a beauty (or should I say handsomeness?) contest, so your votes are supposed to be based on appearance, not on how much you liked the characters they played. I know it's hard, but that's the rule, so do your best!

Pledge Drive: Offer #6

You might call this an expansion of Offer #1. I will write drabbles (100 words) or double drabbles (200 words) based on the Dickens novel of your choice -- except Martin Chuzzlewit, because I haven't read it yet. You may specify one or more characters that you want in it, and the mood you want (dramatic, humorous, romantic, etc.). Or, if you prefer, you can leave the details up to me. Drabbles: $2 apiece, double drabbles: $3 apiece. Comment at this post if you want to take advantage of this offer, and please specify whether you'd prefer to pay by PayPal or check. Stories will be posted on Fanfiction.net, and a link will be placed in the comment section here.

Samples of my work are available here.

Pledge Drive: Offer #1

Welcome to the Dickensblog Pledge Drive, where we're raising money to help conserve three of Dickens's manuscripts (and trying to be a little less annoying than PBS pledge drives)! Go here to read all about how this will work.

And here's offer #1:

I will write drabbles (100 words) or double drabbles (200 words) based on Great Expectations. You may specify one or more characters that you want in it, and the mood you want (dramatic, humorous, romantic, etc.). Or, if you prefer, you can leave the details up to me. Drabbles: $2 apiece, double drabbles: $3 apiece. Comment at this post if you want to take advantage of this offer, and please specify whether you'd prefer to pay by PayPal or check. Stories will be posted on Fanfiction.net, and a link will be placed in the comment section here.

The Dickensblog Halloweenfic challenge

I got this idea from the discussion we had recently about supernatural elements in the short stories vs. the novels. Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Take a passage from any Dickens novel and rewrite it with a ghost in it.

I realize some of you are getting ready for NaNoWriMo, or Nina's FicSwap 2010, or both, and this probably isn't the best time for a fanfic challenge. But I decided to put it up anyway, and you can save it to do later if you'd like!