of North and South (the BBC series with Richard Armitage). Now, don’t get me wrong–I was a fan of Richard Armitage well before this. He was, after all, the ONLY reason to watch the new Robin Hood series. (Why Marian would ever choose Robin over the luscious Guy in that series, I’ll never know). But I’d never really sat down to watch North and South, even though my fellow Lulus have been raving about it for ages. I guess it was the whole grittier feel that turned me off–I like my historicals pretty, just like Pride & Prejudice, Northhanger Abby, and Wives & Daughters. North and South can never be described as pretty, because there was nothing pretty about cotton milling back in those days. Even Richard Armitage isn’t pretty when you first meet him–he’s beating a man up and its an ugly scene. But man, does his character grow on you. The heroine good too, but its Richard that steals every scene he’s in (Although I do like the guy who plays the lead union guy–he’s a good character). But the best scene in the whole movie is the end scene, where the two of them meet on the train station. It’s one of the most beautiful scenes I’ve ever seen and just ties the whole thing up wonderfully. If you haven’t seen North and South (and you like historical romances with a bit of an edge) then definitely try and get your hands on it. I don’t think you’ll regret it.
Writing wise, I’ve crept up to 119 pages done. Progress has been a bit slower these past couple of days, but I’m still writing more than five pages a day, so that’s okay. And the plot is still being tweaked, although the changes are all minor so far. It’s just that as I’m writing the scenes, I’m realising that certain things won’t work. Or, as in the case of one scene, I realised I’d totally forgotten what had already been written, and therefore I couldn’t actually write that scene as planned, or it would have made no sense at all. Like the scene I’m currently in the middle of–I have her hunting a zombie that I’d actually killed in the first chapter. Like, duh. 
Luckily that was easy to get around. Hopefully today I’ll roll over the 30,000 word mark, and be well on my way through to a third of the book done. If I can keep up this pace, I might finally reach a self-imposed deadline and finish this book by the end of Feb.
Riley 7 progress meter
January 16th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Mmmm, Richard Armitage. Totally agree with you, Keri. He’s amazing in North and South and Robin Hood. Marian is just dumb. The little weedy Robin has nothing on Guy of Gisborne.
Happy writing!
January 17th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Yeah to seeing it get done by Feb if you can.
No haven’t seen movie but will try to now.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
You know there’s a reader/blogger who’s been on a crusade to get everyone to watch this? She’s convinced they’ll love it. You should check out her blog and leave her a comment to let her know, she’d love it!
http://kristiej.blogspot.com/
January 17th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
When oh when will I learn to copy before I hit post?? I had this really long reply and now tragically it’s gone *sigh* I shall try and recreate it as best as I remember but that short term memory loss thing gets me every time!
As Angie said, a couple of other bloggers and I have had this crusade going for a while now trying to get romance readers/lovers to watch North and South. And being the ever vigilant person I am, I found you – a fellow Crusader!!
I so agree with you about Richard Armitage/John Thornton. When you first see him on the stairs before he starts beating up Stevens, he’s striking but I didn’t think that handsome. But by the end of the first DVD, when he goes to see Margaret, he’s looking very handsome. And then we see his heartbreak during the scene where he says ‘look back, look back at me. Then by the final scene, he’s devastatingly attractive!!! Words aren’t enough.
And I so agree with you on the ending. It truly IS the most beautiful ending I’ve ever seen. The music, the scenery, the lighting – are all incredible backdrops to a Very Special Ending – one that turns me into a puddle of mush every time I see it. And I can’t tell you how many that is now.
January 18th, 2008 at 6:43 am
Keri, it was lovely wasn’t it?
I found my way over here cuz of Kristie (it’s fun watching others get caught up in the crusade) and I’m having a contest to win Richard, er, a copy of “North & South” at my blog. He’s definitely someone you’d want to spend the evening with
January 18th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
Pride and Prejudice is one of the few novels that have imprinted themselves in my mind and will never stop haunting me. I am obsessed with that particular book and the 2005 movie with Keira Knightley gave me shivers. I watched it 10 times the week before I deleted it from my PC. That never happens.
As for the novel. Great progress. Things go slow sometimes and there is not much one can do to speed things up. I want to learn how to not sleep and do all the writing, while everybody else sleep.
January 18th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Hello Carolyn, Maria & Stacy!
Angela: I read Kristie’s blog all the time, so I was more than aware of her love. And it’s a love shared by my crit buddies, who have been quite verbose about North & South and all things John Thorton for some time now. I’ve just been resistant–but I’m so glad I came to my senses and watched it!
Kristie, I love that scene where he’s telling her to look back. The way his eyes show his disappointment … it’s heartbreaking. Ah, but that final scene. You won’t believe how many times I’ve watched it already
Harry, I love the Keira Knightly version of P&P–I think better than the bbc version with Colin firth. But then, I’m a huge fan of Matthew Macfadyen (loved him in Spooks)