Pride and Prejudice: Writing Advice From Jane Austen & Me (+ Your Writing is Unique, Use It!)

 Book Love | Writing

Hello lovely reader! 

Happy first day of April! Today there is spring in the air and Camp NaNoWriMo has just begun!

In this Book Love post, I will be talking about one of my favorite books + some writing tips from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen! 

Pride and Prejudice is a romance following the hate to love relationship of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. The book is what the title is about. Both the characters have Pride and believe fully what they believe in. Prejudices are made by both of the main characters when they first meet and lead to their hate conflict. It makes sense why this novel was almost called “First Impressions” because the entire story is a direct effect of the first impressions made by Elizabeth and likewise Mr. Darcy. 

There is so much to this story I love! The hate-to-love romance (done right!), judgments made in first impressions, realizing the prejudices are wrong and humbling yourself, the humor (Austen has lots of humor in her books though you may need to read it a second time to realize it), the sister bond between Elizabeth and her sister Jane, the sweet teddy bear side of Darcy, the strong female character who can admit getting things wrong, the list goes on. 

But for the topic of this post, I am going to be diving into writing help = the advice we can gain from Pride and Prejudice about writing style. 

Let’s do this! 

Unique 

You are a unique individual. You have your own way of seeing and understanding the world. There is only one you and likewise only one you to write the story. This goes with everything. There is only one you so only one you who can share the way you do. 

Only one you who can write the story from your perspective.

Only one you who can dance like you.

Only one you who can sing the way you do.

Only one you who can create like you.

Only one you who has your story. 

You are unique. Your writing is unique. Use it! 

For this post let’s see some of how Jane Austen writes. This is not something you have to follow in your own writing but is a way to see a style of writing that can help you see there is no one way to write and encourage you to write your way. 

The style of Austen 

1. Third Person Omniscient   

Jane writes Pride and Prejudice in third-person omniscient. This means Pride and Prejudice is written from an outsider’s perspective (third-person narrator) and sees all the characters' situations, feelings, and thoughts at all times (omniscient). 

Today this writing style is nearly nonexistent in modern writing. Novels are now usually written in first-person (the main character speaking) or second-person (outsider narrator but can only see into one (or two) characters). 

The advantage of writing in this way is you get to see inside many characters. Throughout Pride and Prejudice, Jane keeps one main point of view (POV), Elizabeth Bennett, who Jane spends the most time with. It is important while writing in this style to have a focus point (character or two). 

Then she has small POVs scattered through the book as well.  These include Mr. Darcy, Mrs. Bennett, Mr. Bennett, Jane Bennett, and more. The smaller POVs give a deeper understanding of her book.

Even if you don't write from a third-person omniscient narrator, it is still good to have a key amount of characters. What this means is to not overcrowd your story with too many POVs. When there are too many POVs you can lose your readers and make it confusing. You don't want that to happen. You don’t want your readers to feel lost and not even know who is speaking or the one thinking. Make it clear and you will not lose your readers in understanding who the story is about and who is talking. 

This is a style somewhat forgotten but not bad or invaluable. This is Jane’s narrator style. 

2. Conversations 

Jane Austen uses lots of conversations in her work. Whole chapters are devoted to one single conversation between two characters. The conversations reveal characters and the story, the themes hidden inside. Conversations are so important but in today's literature, conversations like this aren’t used. Having a whole chapter devoted to a single conversation is huge. 

This was a unique writing style to Austen that is almost lost in writing today. When was the last time you read a book with a whole chapter devoted to one conversation? 

Even if you don't have a whole chapter devoted to a conversation, conversations between characters are still very important. They do reveal the characters, how they act, and think, and can be a good way to infuse themes into your story. 

Quick Bullet Point 

What other key writing help points does Austen have in Pride and Prejudice?

Family Focus. Pride and Prejudice focuses on the lives of one center family, the Bennetts. It follows the family’s relationships, social standing, personal problems, and life. The story is set in a time when the family was very important and marriage especially was important for young women. It was their security, support, social standing, and worth in the time. So the novel focuses on the family’s life in having five daughters in need of a good ‘match’.

Strong Female Character. Elizabeth Bennett, the main character in Pride and Prejudice, is a strong female character you love. She has flaws and gets things wrong but is still lovable and one you want to root for. When she gets things wrong she can be humble and make it write. She has feelings and is flawed as humans are, that is why we love her. She is human. 

Good Male Character. Mr. Darcy listens to Elizabeth. His pride gets hurt but in the end, he does the right thing—even if it hurts him. He has feelings and emotions but he also listens and gives Elizabeth space when she asks for it. He has flaws and says things wrong but his love and sweet side with his sister show a soft Darcy we care about and root for. 

Does Not Get Distracted. Jane doesn’t get distracted in her story by unnecessary details but stays focused on her main center plot and story. This is important and good to remember. Stay focused on your main story (try not to get too sidetracked)! 

Theme. Keep your theme at the center of your story. Your story is important and has a point. What are you teaching your readers? What do you hope they will take from your story? That’s the theme! 

A Small Cast Of Characters. You don’t have to have a huge cast of characters to make a good story. Sometimes it can be better to start with a small cast. That way your readers can feel for and understand the characters surrounding the main character instead of trying to piece together every new character who doesn't even matter to the character and story. 

The Most Important Thing 

Pride and Prejudice is character-focused. Why is this most important? Because stories need to matter to us. How do they matter to us? How they matter is by connecting to the story. To connect to the story you need characters because characters are who you connect to. How do you connect to characters? By them being human, meaning they have dreams, flaws, misbeliefs, and they grow. The characters go on an internal journey that changes them. 

We connect to this. We connect to dreams, we connect to having flaws or things we wish would change. We are creatures of change whether we like it or not. We react to change and what it feels like, good or bad. We connect to the characters, feel what they feel, and root for them. 

This is why characters are the most important thing to your story besides your story. 

If You liked this post be sure to check out: 

• Belief: Who God Says I Am  (how to know and have confidence in yourself in a world full of doubt)  

• 3 Reasons You Need To Read The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

• Intro Writing 

• Intro Book Love 

Question Time! 

I want to hear from you! Have you read Pride and Prejudice? What is your favorite character from this book? What was your favorite piece of writing advice from this post? What stood out to you? I would love to chat! 

Tune in NEXT WEEK for a post on Getting Into The Creative Space and how it helps to make YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE because your dreams matter! 

+ Are you participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this April? Comment down below and tell me your Writing Project for camp! If you don’t know what Camp NaNoWriMo April is, it is a writing challenge in the month of April encouraging writers to write anything they want in the month of April! If you want more information be sure to comment down below! I always answer your comments so feel free to ask and leave a comment. If you are joining in on camp, I wish you luck and success with your writing project!

Happy Reading, 

Moriyah 💛