The Jane Austen Writers’ Club: Inspiration and Advice from the World’s Best-loved Novelist

by Rebecca Smith

Jane Austen is one of the most beloved writers in the English literary canon. Her novels changed the landscape of fiction forever, and her writing remains as fresh, entertaining and witty as the day her books were first published. Now, with this illuminating and entertaining new book, you can learn Jane Austen's methods, tips and tricks - and how to live well as a writer. Filled with useful exercises, beautiful illustrations and illuminating quotations from the great author's novels and letters, The Jane Austen Writers' Club explores the techniques of plotting and characterisation, through to dialogue and suspense. Whether you're a creative writing enthusiast looking to publish your first novel, a teacher searching for further inspiration for students, or an Austen fan looking for insight into her daily rituals, this is an essential companion, guaranteed to satisfy, inform and delight all. 'Winning and beguiling ...Smith shares Jane Austen's clarity and gentle irony' Independent

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Books About Books, Reference, Audiobook

352 pages, Hardcover

First published September 20, 2016

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smith certainly has the bona fides to write this guide to composing fiction: not only is she a novelist and creative writing professor who has been a writer-in-residence at Jane Austen’s House Museum, she’s also a descendant (“five-times-great-niece”) of Austen. She can’t decide between the academic “Austen” and the overfamiliar “Jane” so annoyingly goes for “Jane Austen” in most instances – I seem to remember this was also the case in Carol Shields’s otherwise amiable biography.

I would say don’t pick this up unless you are a) a HUGE Austen fan and b) an aspiring novelist, preferably with a manuscript or two already lying around. Smith uses Austen’s novels as models for everything: setting, characters, POV, dialogue, suspense, and how to incorporate journeys and food. She illustrates her every point with LONG passages from Austen’s work, including the juvenilia and letters, and also bases the frequent exercises on Austen’s techniques. So if you don’t think Austen should have the final word on everything, this is not a book for you.

In general I thought Smith oversimplifies Austen’s messages, e.g. “Fanny Price finds love and the place where she belongs. … Virtue will be rewarded.” “Don’t worry if your final answer [about a novel’s truth] sounds a bit like the motto from a fortune cookie,” she reassures. But can any great novel really be summed up in a platitude?

Anyway, I appreciated Smith’s treatment of Austen’s free indirect discourse, and these particular tips seem useful: “My advice to writers starting out is to forget about plot; concentrate on character, and everything else will follow” and “When you start out, write a short autobiography for each character. Autobiography is best because it will help you find and capture the character’s voice. Each one need only be a page long.”

[Nadia King · Rating 4 out of 5]

A charming book for writers, especially those who enjoy Jane Austen's novels. The book covers many how-tos of novel-writing and illustrates learning points with deconstructions of Jane Austen's novels. Written by Rebecca Smith, Jane Austen's five-times-great-niece, and with a flotsam of pickings from Jane Austen's life this is a must-read for those enamoured by the woman and writer.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the writing of Jane Austin
however I was so disappointed and bored with this novel that I actually quit reading.
I felt like I was reading a thesis on writing style of the subject. I was hoping there
would be delightful dialog reflecting the witty characteristics of Austin. Sorry but this
one lost my interest right away.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether or not you are a writer, this is a fascinating read. It shows, by reference to Jane Austen's work, how to write fiction. It includes lots of extracts from Austen's published novels as well as the juvenilia and unfinished novels and her letters. There are plenty of exercises for the reader to complete as well.

What I loved about this book is that it celebrates Austen's writing and shows how universal her stories are. The bare bones of the stories can be used at any era and in any genre. The ways in which Austen creates her characters and uses them to illustrate the themes of her novels is examined and the same techniques can be used when writing fiction today, two hundred years later.

This book will appeal to novice and experienced writers as well as those who love Jane Austen's work. It is a book that I can see I shall be constantly dipping into when I want inspiration for writing or want a Jane Austen fix.

[Anca Zaharia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rebecca Smith – The Jane Austen Writers‘ Club, cu inspiraţie şi sfaturi de la cea mai iubită romancieră din lume, după cum promite şi coperta. Excelent structurată, cu exerciţii şi teme, toate cu cerinţe extrem de precise. Dacă ar fi să fac o listă în funcţie de momentul la care ar trebui citite aceste cărţi, probabil că aceasta ar fi pe primul loc, urmată de cea a lui Stephen King şi de Elena Ferrante, cea din urmă pentru aprofundarea absolut necesară ce vine după ce înveţi de la Jane Austen cum să-ţi descrii un eventual personaj, dar şi cum să editezi ceva deja scris. Mi se pare unul dintre acele elemente care pot fi puse la baza unei abordări de „viitor scriitor”.

https://ancazaharia.ro/2020/06/reco-c...

[H.J. Moat · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a writer who is obsessed with Jane Austen, quite frankly I'm embarrassed I didn't discover this book sooner than I did (in a bookshop on a trip to Cambridge - I collect different editions of Pride & Prejudice so I'm always sniffing around the Austen sections). Even if you're not a writer or aspiring writer and what have you but just a huge fan of Jane, this is worth a read. It's a celebration and explanation of what makes her such a good novelist. I'd say Rebecca Smith (who is lucky enough to be both a distant relative of Jane Austen and the author-in-residence at her museum in Hampshire) takes a 3-prong approach here. Each section - each of which focuses on things like Jane's use of Free Indirect Discourse or how she uses food in her storytelling - has a bit suggesting why she does it and how it works, then an excerpt from one of her books or one of her letters that demonstrates this, and finally a writing exercise for you to do yourself to achieve this. These exercises assume you have a novel in progress, or at least the idea of one so they're not super suited to casual writers. They are, I imagine, very helpful for developing character and building the world within your book. I read this at the complete wrong time though - I'm on the 5th draft of the book I'm currently working on so I was too far down the rabbit hole for most of them, but I did get a couple of amazing tips that I plan on weaving in.
The reason I only gave it 3 stars is not because it was lacking in any way, but because I just don't think I can ever find a technical book like this as absorbing and un-put-downable as a good novel. Also can you ever give 5 stars to a book which makes you desperate to put it down and pick up a different one - by this I obviously mean that it made me want to get stuck into Emma, P&P, S&S etc...! Still, when I come to start on my 3rd book in 2018 I fully plan to read again and put all the writing exercises to good use and maybe I'll have to reevaluate my score.

[Sacha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed it - very well written, this book gives you helpful insight and exercises to try before writing your own novel, taking inspiration from those of Jane Austen.

I would really recommend this book for Janeites, but it might be useful to have read all her books beforehand as there are quite a lot of references to them

[GourmondeGirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jane Austin wrote several very profound books which have lasted the test of time, therefore it would make sense to write a book about her writing style. Unfortunately, personally I found Ms. Smiths writing bland, dry and more along the lines of a masters or doctoral thesis vs. inspirational and advise driven for the average person. I'm sure there are many who may enjoy this book immensely, but I for one felt this would be better used in an English writing program at a college or university than for the average budding writer.

[Ainee Beland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book some time ago, and I was going to write a long review on my author's webpage at another book site, but there's always disagreement on my part. I don't or will not be submitting reviews there further. No matter. I can't do enough since I am slow at all things. The world moves very fast, and I get stepped on too much. I wonder what Jane would say: Get over it.
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Regarding this book review---
The Jane Austen Writer’s Club explores the techniques of plotting, characterization, dialogue, setting, and suspense, and shares the advice—still relevant two centuries after her death—
Whether you are an inspiring novelist wanting to publish a first novel, a teacher searching for further inspiration for students, or an Austen needing insight into her daily rituals, this is an essential companion, guaranteed to satisfy, inform, and delight all.
`````````````````````````
What did I like about this read?

I like that this comprehensive book can help, not just writers of novels, and those working in other forms, because Jane Austen is liked particularly for her accuracy in her observations; as her plots are neat and satisfying, and her usage of language is fanatically enjoyed.

Importantly, one must read, as Jane was a voracious reader. And don’t forget to write about things that you understand; Jane understood her society, and so she stayed close to home and did not stray, and nor did her writing.

**Writing dialogue—Jane's usage of this was to develop her characters, to move the plot forward, and, of course, for comedy and irony. This is a difficult one to achieve, but getting to know your characters, their lives, and voices will get better as the plot develops.
**Always keep things: light, bright, and sparkling as in clarity; no vagueness. Jane would not approve of the word “vagueness” after clarity; such redundancy is deplorable.
**Secrets and suspense—secrets are the key to driving Jane Austen’s fiction and to driving the narratives forward. She lived in a society where life was lived very publicly, and yet thru feelings and emotions were often kept hidden.

When you are feeling discouraged, it reminds you that Jane Austen was serious about her writing and had been working hard at her craft for around twenty years. She had complete belief in what she was doing from a very young age. Know yourself and to thyself be true; such is the wisdom provided to new writers, those wanting to take the plume to go forth with it.

Be a perfectionist—an artist should not do anything slovenly…you may not be writing the greatest novel of all time, yet you must get your work so good that you cannot improve upon it before you expose it to the world. A most common mistake aspiring writers make is to send their work to potential agents before it is ready…not getting feedback from intelligent and careful readers.

This mistake, I know too well as a reviewer of other people’s work; mine has never been reviewed or gotten feedback, yet I have submitted it and have gotten published, and never sold one or two of my book projects, as I call them, since they have no genre. What is similar to me and Jane Austen is that I write only what I want to write; I write for me, and perhaps why no one will read it. When all is said and done, remember to have fun, or else why write?

[Eustacia Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t realise (or rather, had forgotten) that July was Jane Austen July when I picked up this book but look at what nice timing it was! The Jane Austen Writers’ Club was an impulse purchase made because the book promised to be about Austen and you know what? It seems to be more practical than I expected.

As someone who enjoys Austen’s works, I’m always interested in finding out more about how she writes. I do not, however, expect to be able to master the free indirect style she used or her characterisations just by learning about it. Because of that, I approached this book hoping for an analysis of how Austen wrote her stories rather than as a handbook of how to write.

Like the title indicates, The Jane Austen Writer’s Club is all about writing based on the works on Jane Austen. Smith looks at character, style, setting, journeys, and various elements that make up a novel through the lens of Austen’s works. If you’re a fan of Austen (and you should be if you picked up this book), you’ll appreciate that the book really does what it says, and does it with a lot of quotes from Austen. In fact, reading this made me want to go back and reread Austen’s novels!

Apart from analysing how Austen wrote, Smith also includes plenty of writing exercises in the chapters. Most of them require you to already know your story or at least your characters, so I would think these exercises are more suited for people who are in the process of revising or rewriting. If you’re a discovery writer who isn’t sure what is going to happen or are at the very early stages of plotting and writing, you may not find these exercises as helpful.

Overall, this was a delightful treat for fans of Austen who also enjoy writing. I don’t think it’s for everyone; Austen is a great writer but some people will prefer more general writing advice or just want to learn more about Austen and less about writing, but I think the target audience for this book will enjoy it.

This review was first posted at Eustea Reads

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book may have been better served as purely an insight into Jane Austen's writing as opposed to a writing guide for an aspiring author, it did give me a greater appreciation for her craft. It absolutely made me want to take up both Austen and Smith's advice of reading voraciously. It has been some time since I cracked open Persuasion.

(This is completely personal, but I did not like at all Smith declaring that Jane Austen would have likely died giving birth if she had married and was thankful she never did so. Smith makes a deal pointing out that Austen was quite sincere in wanting to receive a proposal from Thomas Lefroy and that she may have had other romances whose details are lost in the letters Cassandra destroyed. It would also be very normal and reasonable for Jane Austen's feelings on such matters to have changed throughout her life, but we do not know such things for certain. It was a very jarring and weird sentiment randomly inserted. While women in greater numbers than today did perish in this tragic way, and Austen would have known woman who died this way herself, this purely speculative and fear mongering. It was not a 50% chance of dying when giving birth. The human race would not have survived if it were that high. Game of Thrones is not accurate to history.)

[Paige Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I saw this book at work by chance one day and thought to myself, "I really don't need this. I have so many books and plenty of instructional writing books (because I studied creative writing in college)." But then I remembered how much I love Jane Austen, how much I aspire to write like her or just to /be/ a writer like her. And I realized that writers can always use help - I've never read an instructional book based on learning specifically from one author's library, and so I bought the book, read it, and have learned so much.

Rebecca Smith is not only a distant niece of Jane Austen's, but a writer herself - and I'm jealous because she teaches workshops at the Jane Austen House in Chawton. Her analysis of Austen's work is on par with what I like to do myself, and her exercises are immensely helpful. I do wish that there was a little less "here's what Jane is doing" and just a tiny bit more "here's what /you/ can do based on what Jane is doing" because I need that kind of straightforward instruction.

Honestly, though, if you're an aspiring writer - of anything, really - The Jane Austen Writer's Club is resourceful, enlightening, and so well-worth the read, especially if your a Janite like myself (and thousands, if not millions of people around the globe).

[Ettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are an Austen fan and a writer of any kind, I'd highly recommend. As an intermediate level writer, I felt like I knew most or the lessons, but for a beginner writer this is an excellent resource. I would have killed for these insights when I was starting out! Especially with the writing prompts sprinkled throughout. It was still an excellent read for me as it confirmed I was on the right track, and showed me a few places I could improve.

I wouldn't recommend this for non-writers. Despite the inclusion of a few of Jane's letters to her family, this book is mostly about breaking down her work in bit-sized, easy to digest sections. It addresses everything from plotting, characters, adding suspense, to food and animals, and ultimately how to bring together stories in the Austen method. It's heavily focused on craft, and unless you write it probably wouldn't be of much interest.

[Virg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really more of a fond look at Jane Austen's writing and personality than anything terribly useful as far as writing advice goes. Where it strays into advice it's not "here's how you can do it" but simply "here's how Jane did it". Each section includes lengthy passages from Austen's books (some are 6-7 page excerpts) which felt like overkill. (Incidentally, the author seems to set Mansfield Park above all other Austen novels and she's well aware she's in the minority.) She includes many writing exercises but I found most of them to be either too vague or too like an introductory writing class to be very valuable. (Example: In the section referencing Elizabeth Bennet's "fine eyes", we are encouraged to write a passage in which our character uses their eyes.)

Although I liked the peek at some of Austen's correspondence, all this really did was make me want to read her actual books again and learn what I may from that experience.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book! Before finishing it, I read several reviews that didn't recommend it highly as a how-to for creative writers, since it was so focused on Jane Austen's style only. I mean... isn't that kind of the point? I read it not as a self-help manual but rather as a study of my favorite author's work and why her writing is so well done. It was fascinating and fun (especially all the little hilarious tidbits from her lesser-known Juvenilia) and I actually did pick up some hints and ideas (especially about characterization) for my own writing along the way. I'm eager to try the sample exercises! The author's voice was amusing and smooth-flowing, too, and I'm interested to read some of her fiction now.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

What kind of nerd reads writing style guides for fun? This nerd. Apparently I am exactly that kind of nerd. No shame. This was a lovely romp through Ms. Austen's works, as well as offering some insight into how her wit and charm hid a great deal of serious writing technique. I liked the hints into Jane's personal life (and how that may have motivated and shaped some of her work) and the way author Rebecca Smith walked the reader through different basic elements and exercises to consider for personal-writing-self-improvement. I did find some things a bit disorganized or redundant, but not so much that the guide lost efficacy.

[Joan Austen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining guide to writing by a five times great niece of Jane Austen who has also been writer-in-residence at the Jane Austen House Museum, and so is well qualified to write about her methods, characterization and plotting. There were some useful tips such as writing an autobiographical sketch on each character, but I found the extensive quoting of large swaths of JA's novels (sometimes for pages and pages), to be irksome, and in truth I skimmed most of it only ever having read P&P and Emma. There were lots of exercises suitable to a classroom setting. In truth, a book only for true Janeites, who know the novels inside out.

[Sonia Bellhouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aspiring writers who love Jane Austen's work and are familiar with most of it, will recognise the extensive extracts used in this guide. Each chapter covers a different topic and explores a distinct aspect of her writing, such as planning, setting, dialogue, and character. There is exercise throughout the book designed to explore the topics further.

[Thais Monteiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Analisar a escrita da Jane Austen é a melhor parte deste livro, apesar dos trechos destacados tomarem grande parte das páginas. Valeu a pena por eu ser tão apaixonada pelas obras citadas. Por si só, os conselhos sobre escrita que o livro contém são comuns aos demais livros sobre o assunto, mas ainda assim eu achei os exercícios bem úteis.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about the process of writing. I enjoyed getting to know Jane Austen and her works a little better as I learned some perspective to keep with me in my own writing process. I would recommend this book to any genre of writers, there is some great wisdom coming from this famous novelist.

[Ottavia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. It's a perfect guide for aspiring writers (like me), and lovers of Jane Austen's novels. It really helps a lot and farther it makes discover new things about the World's Best-loved Novelist. I recommend it to everybody.

[Julie Manthey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book which uses passages from Jane Austen's work to help inspire writers to hone their skills and imagine they were in a writing class taught by Jane Austen herself. Overall a charming read for writers who are looking for some writing inspiration and are Jane fans.

[Stella Budrikis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is mostly the same practical advice you can get from almost any book on fiction writing. What makes it worth reading are the long quotes from Jane Austen's own novels and letters, and the snippets of information about her life, her relationships and her writing habits. A pleasurable read.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A look at how Jane Austen wrote her books and advice on how to write your own books following her methods. I am obviously under no illusion that I am going to become another Austen but the advice is set out clearly and concisely and there are suggestions in the notes for other useful guides.

[Malika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful idea, excellent inspiration, super motivation, okay execution.

[Irishgal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little book

[Kathleen Nalley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful writing guide with examples to highlight best practice using examples and selections from many of Austen’s books.

[Suzanne Sotzing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. While quite instructional, it was an inspiring read for someone looking for inspiration and a way to fine tune their writing skills using Jane Austen's work.

[Willow Daymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

All potential authors must read!!!

[Carla Sarmento · Rating 4 out of 5]

Para quem gosta de Jane Austen, esse livro é quase obrigatório. E, independente de você querer ser um escritor ou não, vai ser útil para entender como Jane escrevia seus romances.