Writerly Inspiration and Corsetry

It occurs to me now that it’s easier to edit a novel when you’re not all that crazy about it in the first place. I mean, if I really loved the characters and the story, I’d be much more hesitant to take an axe to them. As it is, however, something about my most recent NaNo effort leaves me just a touch dissatisfied.  Then it came to me last night just how I could make it better.

The problem is that I sort of lost interest in my main character, Enora.  Things seemed to be dragging a bit for her and I’m not sure it isn’t entirely her fault. She has a certain wet-blanketness to her that I really must exorcise.  On the other hand, Renton is pretty awesome, as is Libby.  But since I want this to be more than just a love story, I can’t focus exclusively on those two.  I mean, the redemption of an entire world is pretty important, so I can’t just abandon Enora.  And I like her story.  She just needs a bit of a personality makeover.

So my thought is to devote each chapter (or a section of each chapter) to a different character, thereby developing four distinct main characters: Enora, Andrew, Libby, and Renton.  Not only should this make for more interesting reading as we see the motivations and desires of each in turn, but we can console ourselves with our superiority in knowing before the others just what each one is hiding.  As readers, we will also be able to make connections and draw conclusions about the characters that are perhaps not revealed as clearly.

Anyway, that was the thought that drove me out of bed to find a pen and paper to write it down before it went out of my head for good. And made Alan think I was sick and rushing to the toilet. Hehehe!

We’re just about halfway through January now, which means there are less than 4 months until Lisette’s wedding.  Which means it’s time to get my dress altered.  Which means I should probably go over to Saxon-Kent Lingerie and find some really decent underpinnings.  I have a corset that I got from Frederick’s of Hollywood that would have been perfect except that I tried it on with the dress and found that the back is ever so slightly too high.  It’s actually just the trim that sticks out, which makes it especially aggravating, because otherwise it’s close to perfect.  The one argument against it (besides the exposed trim) is the nature of corsets in general, what with the flattening out and pushing up.  Modern dresses aren’t cut for corsets, so I’m hesitant to alter the one I have by taking off the trim, even though I could easily sew it back on.  I’m just not sure it’s worth the effort. But, like I said, I should probably go over to Saxon-Kent and see what’s available.  I have a waist cincher thing, but it’s really very uncomfortable and I entirely regret the money I spent on it.

It’s funny, because it’s not that much different from an underbust corset, but it’s just different enough to make it unbearable.  See, it has light boning, just like a corset, but instead of being constructed of tough, inflexible material, it’s made of nylon and lycra. A corset draws it’s strength from the pressure of the body.  If you were to hold one in your hands, you’d find that it’s quite flexible and the boning is easily bent.  But this waist cincher’s elasticity, far from making it more comfortable, creates pinching and pressure points that are destined to cause pain.  I’ve found similar results from purely elastic body slimmers as well, though to a lesser degree.  Perhaps my goal for the day shall be to drive up to Orange to check out the selection. And if nothing offers, I’ll pull the trim off the one I have.  Ideally I need Alan to help me lace it so that it flows properly and distributes even pressure, but wearing it for a little while each day will get me used to it and help the fabric conform to my unique curves.

Honestly, I can see why so many women clung to their corsets after they went out of fashion.  I’ll grant you that bras have come a long way since their inception, but they’re still far from consistently comfortable.  And I have yet to find a really good strapless. So maybe corsets really are the way to go. I mean, there has to be a reason that they spent so much time in our female fashion arsenal.

~Liz