*Sorry I've been so absent for like, two months, or whatever. I went on holidays, and then came back to find that my scanner was broken, so obviously I haven't been able to finish any work. Just a SHIT LOAD of sketching over here... Anyways, I thought I'd return by finally explaining to whoever's interested what my project, 1786, is all about.*


Firstly, 1786 is my 'roject' right now, but I want it to one day be an actual novel (however long that takes...) A film version would be great too

It would read as a fairly standard, first-person account of a series of events over a year. Its a sectional (fictional) memoir (sorta like The Other Boleyn Girl, which only covers the time of Anne coming to court for the first time, to her execution 15 years later.) But its also a historical social comedy (like Easy Virtue - I spose - except that was based on a play.) In other words, I don't intend to produce highly literary DROSS. 1786 is the title right now, and that could easily change, but its appropriate because the story takes place entirely within that year (duhh.)

I chose to set the story in 1786 of all years because it belonged to a time that was relatively free of drama (on a national scale, anyway) It was the calm before the storm, two years later there was the Regency Crisis where George III went mad and all the aristocrats started getting hot and flustered, and the next year The French Revolution officialy broke out... etc. I think if you put characters against a backdrop that's without outer-drama you get to spend more time exploring the characters. That's the thing about character-based story lines, they should focus mostly on the characters. If Jack and Rose had never boarded the Titanic, the film would be a character-based romance, not that EPIC ACTION HISTORY DRAMA monstrosity...
I also decided straight away that it would be set in England, not in France, as is more commonplace for 18th century historical fiction. Probably because the English nobility had simpler, easier-to-make-up names, and because the English became the kool kids of Europe at the end of the 18th century anyway. The English courtiers were not subjected to all the crazy traditions, rituals and restrictions of Versailles and Potsdam, they were aloud to live their own lifestyle in London, mostly independant from the King. My characters are Earls, Viscounts and Barons, etc, but there is little mention of any social obligation to specifically the KING's court. Again, this allows more room for characters.
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1786 is a social comedy, about socialites, and the horrible things they do to each other. The main character, Chris, first goes through a period of doubt about his life in high-society London. He belongs to a men's club, which is, oddly, named Gentlemen's House. He and his friends established the club house a few years earlier, but by 1786 the friendships have deteriorated and the boys are all fairly unhappy. The fact that Chris has to pretend to be happy for his social well-being drives him to melt-down and then out of London.
He returns two months later to find that a new face has filled his place at Gentlemen's House, the residant 'villain' of the story. He fights to regain his rightful place, which sets fire to frictions, and something of a social war ensues. That's where the fun begins.
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Right now, I have only a truck-load of story plans and notes, as well as an attempt at writing the thing. But I wasn't happy with how it was going, after only writing only about 80 pages, so I started over again. And here I am. So, unfortunately, I don't have anything solid to show for my project yet. But soon my pretties, soon!

Thanks for reading this very long journal entry, and I hope you were interested!
Love to you all,
Calvin