tips for period Austenfic
I didn't sign up for 
month_of_meta , but I did want to do something, preferably several somethings, as they occurred to me. A lot of this is probably familiar to my f-list (I originally did it on Tumblr), but I think it's worth repeating a few dozen times :)
disclaimer: it doesn’t mean your fic is terrible badwrong if you don’t do these things or that nobody likes it or that your fic is even not good or that I am a perfect Georgian-period Austen fanwriter who has followed this to the letter from seventeen onwards, it’s just stuff that makes me (and most of my friends, but don’t worry, I’m not a BNF), more likely to read. Also, I tried to list things that are helpful for fic based on any of the novels, but the examples are from P&P since that’s like 95% of the fandom.
(1) Spell names correctly.
e.g., Elizabeth’s family’s nickname for her is Lizzy, not Lizzie. Her surname is Bennet, not Bennett. Catherine is always spelled with a C and usually two E’s, and Anne always ends with an E (cue the Anne Shirley seal of approval!).
(2) Use names (and titles) correctly.
It’s a little more subtle, but still pretty noticeable when it’s wrong. I once read an article that unintentionally stated that Elizabeth wanted Darcy to marry his mother, thanks to a confusion of the characters’ titles. Most characters are addressed in a couple of different ways, depending on who it is and who’s speaking.
e.g., Elizabeth is called Lizzy by her family and Elizabeth in the narration. She’s Miss Bennet if Jane’s not there and Miss Elizabeth Bennet if she is. When Caroline Bingley uses her friends’ nickname for her (Eliza) she’s being super rude. (Likewise, Darcy refers to Wickham as “Mr Wickham” because he’s being polite. Wickham refers to Darcy as “Darcy” because he’s a douche.)
(3) Don’t try too hard to “sound” Georgian/Regency.
Don’t drown the fic in formality and archaic-isms. The former will make it difficult to vary the voices of the characters (canon runs a wide gamut from Lydia’s slang and over-familiarity to the stilted and ostentatiously formal Collins). The latter are often used incorrectly anyway, and generally unnecessary.
e.g., Guess how many times Austen used “wherefore” instead of “why”? None.
(4) Just avoid the glaring anachronisms.
It’s one thing to use “hello” or “fiancé” (technically incorrect, but not jarringly so). It’s quite another to use “okay” and “passive-aggressive.”
If you’re not sure or really want to be accurate, you can search the text of Austen’s six novels and assorted minor works here (Sir Walter uses “hey” - lol, the more you know). There’s also this for a more general resource without the ridiculous price of the OED.
(5) Don’t talk about religion too much
Yeah, there were super preachy evangelists around at the time. Austen didn’t like them, found their books kind of annoying, and they’re only vaguely referenced in her books to be soundly mocked. Her protagonists are overwhelmingly (if not 100%) Anglicans whose religious expression generally extends to attending services, reserving “God” for really strong emotions, and side-eyeing people who break religious taboos.
(6) A man and a woman hanging out alone is not the end of the world
It’s a really common scenario in fic - some busybody sees two people (usually Darcy and Elizabeth) alone together. NOW THEY MUST MARRY, FOR HER REPUTATION IS RUINED. Except men and women are alone plenty of times in Austen and nobody cares.
(7) Fanny is the only middle-class heroine, and then only kinda
The middle class was still emerging, but roughly speaking, landowners and their near patrilineal relations and people in genteel professions (barristers/clergymen/military officers) and their near patrilineal relations were upper class, and the anxiety over trade was about being tainted with middle class cooties.
e.g., Mr Bennet is a comfortably-off squire. He married a middle-class woman whose dowry won’t generate much of an income when he dies. This is what’s behind Elizabeth and Lady Catherine’s argument about class (essentially: “Darcy and I are both upper class so there’s no real gap” “EXCEPT HALF YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR NEW IN-LAWS” “well if Darcy doesn’t care neither should you”)
(8) adaptations =/= books
It is totally okay to write fic for the adaptations! And it’s okay to use information from the books to do that. But they’re not the same, and the, uh, finer details of characterization often get changed in adaptations. So if you’re writing from the book, you should probably go with the book personalities and descriptions and events.
e.g., Elizabeth refuses to dwell on things she can’t do anything about, Darcy smiles more than anyone but Elizabeth herself, Jane is stubborn, Bingley isn’t stupid, Mrs Bennet is extravagant, Mr Bennet hasn’t cared for her since early in their marriage, Georgiana comes off as proud to her neighbours, Charlotte Lucas doesn’t much like men. Darcy tried to convince Lydia to return to her family unmarried, Elizabeth doesn’t realize she’s in love until well after she leaves Pemberley, Jane and Elizabeth have spent lots of time staying with the Gardiners in London, Caroline never mentions Wickham’s name at Pemberley, Mary is a technically proficient pianist, etc
(9) lots of stuff isn’t nailed down by canon
Okay, the list above goes on a bit, but there are plenty of things where the book just doesn’t say. The evolving body of fanon tries to fill in the blanks, of course, but personally, it’s a welcome change when fics stray from convention. If the book doesn’t say, feel free to do whatever you like. If you want Elizabeth to have blonde hair and Darcy’s eyes to be green, canon isn’t stopping you.
We don’t know the first names of a TON of characters (both of Elizabeth’s parents, Darcy’s father, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mrs Gardiner - hers just begins with M - Mr Hurst, etc), we don’t know anything about anyone’s colouring except that Elizabeth has dark eyes and tans, we don’t know what the Fitzwilliam earldom is, we don’t know when Darcy or Elizabeth fell in love or what Lady Catherine said to him or what Jane and Bingley said to each other ever.
(10) have fun!
I’m not just saying this because the rest of the list is basically a list of complaints (though, well…). Most of this stuff isn’t hard to look up if you’re not sure, and Austen fandom is large and diffused across a bunch of different platforms and tends, whatever its other faults, to the friendly. Most of us are happy to answer questions and just have discussions.
Most of us would also rather read fics with the occasional inaccuracy that are clearly gung-ho about the characters and relationships than dutifully correct ones that feel like a chore. (Though of course it’s possible to be both gung-ho and correct.)
Write what moves you. Just, y’know, try to remember that Lizzy has a Y in it.
month_of_meta , but I did want to do something, preferably several somethings, as they occurred to me. A lot of this is probably familiar to my f-list (I originally did it on Tumblr), but I think it's worth repeating a few dozen times :)
disclaimer: it doesn’t mean your fic is terrible badwrong if you don’t do these things or that nobody likes it or that your fic is even not good or that I am a perfect Georgian-period Austen fanwriter who has followed this to the letter from seventeen onwards, it’s just stuff that makes me (and most of my friends, but don’t worry, I’m not a BNF), more likely to read. Also, I tried to list things that are helpful for fic based on any of the novels, but the examples are from P&P since that’s like 95% of the fandom.
(1) Spell names correctly.
e.g., Elizabeth’s family’s nickname for her is Lizzy, not Lizzie. Her surname is Bennet, not Bennett. Catherine is always spelled with a C and usually two E’s, and Anne always ends with an E (cue the Anne Shirley seal of approval!).
(2) Use names (and titles) correctly.
It’s a little more subtle, but still pretty noticeable when it’s wrong. I once read an article that unintentionally stated that Elizabeth wanted Darcy to marry his mother, thanks to a confusion of the characters’ titles. Most characters are addressed in a couple of different ways, depending on who it is and who’s speaking.
e.g., Elizabeth is called Lizzy by her family and Elizabeth in the narration. She’s Miss Bennet if Jane’s not there and Miss Elizabeth Bennet if she is. When Caroline Bingley uses her friends’ nickname for her (Eliza) she’s being super rude. (Likewise, Darcy refers to Wickham as “Mr Wickham” because he’s being polite. Wickham refers to Darcy as “Darcy” because he’s a douche.)
(3) Don’t try too hard to “sound” Georgian/Regency.
Don’t drown the fic in formality and archaic-isms. The former will make it difficult to vary the voices of the characters (canon runs a wide gamut from Lydia’s slang and over-familiarity to the stilted and ostentatiously formal Collins). The latter are often used incorrectly anyway, and generally unnecessary.
e.g., Guess how many times Austen used “wherefore” instead of “why”? None.
(4) Just avoid the glaring anachronisms.
It’s one thing to use “hello” or “fiancé” (technically incorrect, but not jarringly so). It’s quite another to use “okay” and “passive-aggressive.”
If you’re not sure or really want to be accurate, you can search the text of Austen’s six novels and assorted minor works here (Sir Walter uses “hey” - lol, the more you know). There’s also this for a more general resource without the ridiculous price of the OED.
(5) Don’t talk about religion too much
Yeah, there were super preachy evangelists around at the time. Austen didn’t like them, found their books kind of annoying, and they’re only vaguely referenced in her books to be soundly mocked. Her protagonists are overwhelmingly (if not 100%) Anglicans whose religious expression generally extends to attending services, reserving “God” for really strong emotions, and side-eyeing people who break religious taboos.
(6) A man and a woman hanging out alone is not the end of the world
It’s a really common scenario in fic - some busybody sees two people (usually Darcy and Elizabeth) alone together. NOW THEY MUST MARRY, FOR HER REPUTATION IS RUINED. Except men and women are alone plenty of times in Austen and nobody cares.
(7) Fanny is the only middle-class heroine, and then only kinda
The middle class was still emerging, but roughly speaking, landowners and their near patrilineal relations and people in genteel professions (barristers/clergymen/military officers) and their near patrilineal relations were upper class, and the anxiety over trade was about being tainted with middle class cooties.
e.g., Mr Bennet is a comfortably-off squire. He married a middle-class woman whose dowry won’t generate much of an income when he dies. This is what’s behind Elizabeth and Lady Catherine’s argument about class (essentially: “Darcy and I are both upper class so there’s no real gap” “EXCEPT HALF YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR NEW IN-LAWS” “well if Darcy doesn’t care neither should you”)
(8) adaptations =/= books
It is totally okay to write fic for the adaptations! And it’s okay to use information from the books to do that. But they’re not the same, and the, uh, finer details of characterization often get changed in adaptations. So if you’re writing from the book, you should probably go with the book personalities and descriptions and events.
e.g., Elizabeth refuses to dwell on things she can’t do anything about, Darcy smiles more than anyone but Elizabeth herself, Jane is stubborn, Bingley isn’t stupid, Mrs Bennet is extravagant, Mr Bennet hasn’t cared for her since early in their marriage, Georgiana comes off as proud to her neighbours, Charlotte Lucas doesn’t much like men. Darcy tried to convince Lydia to return to her family unmarried, Elizabeth doesn’t realize she’s in love until well after she leaves Pemberley, Jane and Elizabeth have spent lots of time staying with the Gardiners in London, Caroline never mentions Wickham’s name at Pemberley, Mary is a technically proficient pianist, etc
(9) lots of stuff isn’t nailed down by canon
Okay, the list above goes on a bit, but there are plenty of things where the book just doesn’t say. The evolving body of fanon tries to fill in the blanks, of course, but personally, it’s a welcome change when fics stray from convention. If the book doesn’t say, feel free to do whatever you like. If you want Elizabeth to have blonde hair and Darcy’s eyes to be green, canon isn’t stopping you.
We don’t know the first names of a TON of characters (both of Elizabeth’s parents, Darcy’s father, Colonel Fitzwilliam, Mrs Gardiner - hers just begins with M - Mr Hurst, etc), we don’t know anything about anyone’s colouring except that Elizabeth has dark eyes and tans, we don’t know what the Fitzwilliam earldom is, we don’t know when Darcy or Elizabeth fell in love or what Lady Catherine said to him or what Jane and Bingley said to each other ever.
(10) have fun!
I’m not just saying this because the rest of the list is basically a list of complaints (though, well…). Most of this stuff isn’t hard to look up if you’re not sure, and Austen fandom is large and diffused across a bunch of different platforms and tends, whatever its other faults, to the friendly. Most of us are happy to answer questions and just have discussions.
Most of us would also rather read fics with the occasional inaccuracy that are clearly gung-ho about the characters and relationships than dutifully correct ones that feel like a chore. (Though of course it’s possible to be both gung-ho and correct.)
Write what moves you. Just, y’know, try to remember that Lizzy has a Y in it.