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Saturday 16 March 2013

What would Jane Eyre have tweeted?



A few weeks ago, I re-read Jane Eyre as research for The Painting which is partly set during the same period. Even though this classic was published in 1847, Charlotte Brontë's beautiful description and skilled storytelling drew me in and I finished it quickly.

Inspired by the novel, I wrote a piece to submit to Mslexia's 'A Week of Tweets'. As it wasn't accepted, I'm posting it here. I used the most significant week in the novel and it was a good exercise. When I read the piece a few weeks later, the huge events seemed trivial which made me wonder if I got it wrong.

The tweets written by those I follow are mainly positive and I go on Twitter to be uplifted. I'm the kind of person who doesn't make telephone calls when miserable and I tend to go on Twitter when in a good mood. As in real life, I think that many of us smile on the outside when using social media.

It's unlikely that Jane Eyre would have been so laid-back, but when writing this piece, my goal was to translate the events into tweets, rather than make the tweets authentic.

I might try this exercise when developing characters because it made me view Jane Eyre in a different way.

Monday

Been travelling by coach since yesterday to visit an old friend. Hoping he hasn't moved to France. Should arrive tomorrow.

Tuesday

My friend's house is a ruin. Looks as though it burnt down. Hope friend didn't burn down with it. Going to ask at the local inn.

Wednesday

The innkeeper said my friend survives. Sadly he lost his sight and an arm because he rescued his servants when the house was on fire.

Thursday

Got a chaise to my friend's house last night. He's in a terrible state, but pleased by my visit. I offered to be his lifelong companion.

Friday

Took friend for a walk in the fields and described the scenery. Then I told him where I've been for the past year. He proposed.

Saturday

The wedding is on Monday! We tried to get married once before but were stopped by a rather significant impediment.

Sunday

Excited about the wedding tomorrow. Will post photos on my blog: www.missjaneeyre.com


Jane Eyre is free on Kindle at the moment.

24 comments:

  1. Hi Anita, this is good fun. Think I'll give it a go. Maybe Lady Catherine trying to find out whether Elizabeth Bennet has snared Darcy. Anne

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    1. Hi Anne, thanks for your comment. What a great idea!

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  2. Obviously, 'Reader, I married him.' :)

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    1. Of course! Thanks for visiting. Hope all going well with your writing.x

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  3. What a great idea Anita. I'll have to give this some thought and have a go - lots of fun, and I loved your Jane Eyre tweets.

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    1. Thanks very much Shauna! It is good fun and challenging fitting the words into 140 characters. I used Twitter to draft them, then cut and pasted into Word.

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  4. That's a novel idfea, Anita! Jane Eyre has always been one of my favourite books and I usually read it again every few years. Have so much else to read these days that I've neglected it for too long!

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    1. Thanks Rosemary. It's great being able to download Jane Eyre for free onto Kindle. I have the paperback too, but it's handy having a copy to carry around.

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  5. This is such a fun idea, Anita. I'm definitely going to try this! Well done :-) xx

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  6. I really liked this - a lot of fun. I think we should all give it a go. :0)

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  7. I love this - what a great way to keep the classics alive and current. This would be a great/ fun exercise for kids studying literature to do.

    It makes it relevant, great job!!

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  8. What a fun idea, love your Jane Eyre tweets, will have to give that a go :)

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    1. Thanks Louise! Just discovered your lovely-looking new blog-have followed and look forward to finding out more about Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase (such a great title).

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  9. What a great idea, Anita - loved reading this! I will definitely add it to my list of ways to explore a character.

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  10. Thank you Clare-that sounds like a handy list. I must consolidate and file notes from writing classes one of these days-would be a useful reference.

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  11. That was so interesting Anita.It's been years and years since I read the book but I think I'll download it now.

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    1. Thank you Anne! Isn't it great to be able to download Jane Eyre for free?! Hope you enjoy it. I hadn't read Jane Eyre since I was at school, so I felt as though I was reading it for the first time.

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  12. What a clever post and I love those Tweets.

    I think this is probably also a fun/clever way to start off working on a synopsis. Maybe not, but I might give it a try.

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    1. Thanks very much Georgina! That sounds like an interesting idea-may give it a go myself.

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  13. What a fun and creative way to tweet. I'll have to put on my thinking cap and think of ways to make my tweets more entertaining. It's nice to meet you.

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    1. Hi Kathi, thank you and thanks for your comment and for following my blog!

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