Persuasion was released on Netflix in my part of the world today. The Netflix film I anticipated but regrettably, mainstream publications have already discredited its success.
As the film release was earlier today, I was ready to sink my teeth deep into the screen adaptation after cramming through the book over the past few days and immensely enjoying myself.
Satisfied with the film adaptation of Emma, my expectations were too high for this release.
Of the many books authored by the esteemed Jane Austen, this is one of the few my eyes welled in tears over. Being the same age as the protagonist and not far off from the predicaments of her heart, I was shocked at the waterworks that rolled down my face.
As I read through the 275-page book and fell into the world of 1800s England, the familiar prose and world-building of Jane Austen felt like home. And only a few chapters in, I found myself clinging to the story of Anne Elliot and the plight of a woman whose youth has passed.
Sadly, something missing from the 2022 film adaptation.
The scenery and members of Anne’s parties in Uppercross, Lyme, and Bath filled my imagination throughout the week. Images in my head that the film seemed to miss entirely.
With all respect to the original piece, the book reminded me of my great respect for the light-hearted yet captivating writing of Jane Austen.
So here are a few creativity tips I have picked up from reading no less than five books by Jane Austen and some research on the author’s life.
1. The Story is Around You: Don’t Forget to Look Up.
Jane Austen, though of a period far removed from ours, saw the flaw in shallow society and wrote about it as if it was no one’s business.
Persuasion began with shade thrown at the vanity of social status and position. Not-so-subtle hints on the ill effects of self-conceit were sprinkled throughout the book left and right. It would be hard to miss.
Having lived in this era and observing the nonsense of the whole affair, the author did not need persuasion (see what I did there) to write such trifles in satire, doused in the darkest shade.
That was the world she moved in.
She learned to look at it and pick out what many may be missing and what she deemed wrong in the world around her.
Her characters, not of great nobility nor overtly low status, filled the pages of her books. The Britannica encyclopedia explained she wrote of ordinary people and put color to the world of the middle class.
Creativity is around us. You can find it in your socio-political setting and everyday lives of the people you interact with.
We may not take notice, but sparks of creativity are ahead. Sometimes, it is best to look up from our screens. Check out my post on screen time and your creativity here.
2. Save Up on People and Places-Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Persuasion was not a one-setting story, and so were all the other novels of Jane Austen.
A recurrent scene in Austen’s novels involves a party and their excursion to the country, or from the country to a city.
In Persuasion, Anne found herself in various estates—grand and humble—and in not more than three different towns.
Anne found herself in parties of growing acquaintances filled with joyous adventure. Discovery came both in the landscape and in the effort to know such acquaintances.
Austen added to the mix of new places and acquaintances the spark, flame, and loss of love.
As the characters are usually young women slowly cementing their place as wives to heirs to great estates or clergymen of set parishes, the prospect of love was on the agenda—for many.
Love blossomed and grew but also lost and maybe even died along the way.
Jane Austen was not one to shy away from the stark pains in the latter as much as she thoroughly described the thrill of the former.
Although not much detail is known of the loves she has gained and lost, there is no doubt that her writing pulls at your heartstrings as if she knew exactly what you are going through.
These books remind you to go out and learn from people and places outside your comfort zone. Creativity can come from the unknown, in places you least expect.
Maybe it is time to get away. Check out my post on getting away here.
3. Work With What You Know-Anecdotes and Familiar Plots are Not Boring
Having read all of Jane Austen’s famous novels (except for Emma), I had an idea of Persuasion’s plot when I was just a quarter through the book.
We all know Jane Austen starts her novels by giving off a brief yet long list of characters in the first few paragraphs. Aside from that, we all know there would be an imbalance in societal position, a reason for the issue between love interests.
Not to give anything else away, but avid readers would know how Austen designed the love of her main characters. This article by the staff of MasterClass talks about six common themes in Jane Austen’s writing.
Despite my guesses and foreknowledge, I was glued to each page and flipped through the book for closure. I was far from disappointed as my eyes skirted over the words Finish on the 275th page.
Even with my assumptions, my heart still tore to pieces and fluttered through the ceiling as conflict turned to resolution.
Jane Austen wrote in a familiar fashion. Though anticipated in some sense, her storytelling was effective. It worked.
All stories follow a set structure. Every story-writing class tells you that.
All writers have picked up their own ways of taking that set structure and making it their own as best they could.
In this case, Jane Austen regularly wrote of young people, love and marriage, and position in society. This was what she was most familiar with, and by no means was this boring.
Even with her fixed formulas, she played with satire, drama, and even hinting at gothic literature in her different books.
Following the blueprint did not have to mean redundancy in her case.
So if you are a writer, you do not have to worry about similar tropes—if it works for you and the reader. As long as you have the main structure established, you can always add flesh and bones in a manner no one may expect.
Creativity stems from what we all know. It grows from how we take general knowledge and design it into force of our own.
4. Life is Frustrating so is Creativity.
As the film adaptation of Persuasion faced much dismay, I was not looking forward to the frustration.
I endured more than an hour of confusion over a film about a book I learned to love in the last 48 hours.
Jane Austen knew how frustration would work for the best of her stories and characters.
As much as I hoped the best for the film adaptation, there are things in life that we may never have—no matter how much we wish for them.
Holding on to things out of our control adds fuel to frustration.
Austen knew how the frustrations of her personal life transcended into the reality of the characters she created. Readers likewise fall into the heat of frustration over the power of her written words.
Frustration drives us to move forward in life, the same thing for the characters in Austen’s story, and readers as they turn pages to find a resolution.
Life may not be as you hoped. Dreams may be on the cusps of release into the depths of oblivion.
Although you are far from the ideal to create the ideal, you can still create from the pains and broken pieces.
Jane Austen wrote despite her declining health. Her mind still created even as her body slowly gave out. Surely, her circumstances were not ideal. In the mess, her creativity seemed to still blossom.
The idea of my blog came from a place of hurt and frustration. The pain helped me think of ways to better myself and ways I could get out. In the process, I was able to create.
Problems sometimes force us to only look at what is right in front of us.
Our minds are tethered to the problems and stress it creates. It may be the best time to step back, take a breath, and encourage your mind to wander far from the problem for a few minutes.
You may come back with a clearer head and a creative solution to that brick wall you’ve been slamming into over the past hour.
Your creativity can stem from your problems. Don’t discredit them.
There is so much more about Jane Austen and her book Persuasion. I can go on and on if I must.
All that matters right now is that you pick up ways to ground yourself in your situation, open up to new people and places, embrace the frustrations they bear, and be steadfast in the process familiar to you.
My heart brims with gratitude for the characters and stories Jane Austen brought into my life. None of my words can compare to the lives I have spent between the pages of her books. Keep on reading!
Busyzi 