A continuation of writing by dice; Servants and tradesmen and naming extraneous characters.

I was asked about extending the personality traits from the table for main characters to those who are more 'throwaway' characters, so here they are.

And underneath, a quick table for first names by social class. 

Servants personality traits

Can also be used for labourers and innkeepers

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	loyal	top-lofty	dirty	skilful	vulgar	plain
2	venal	sporting	efficient	inept	pugnacious	attractive
3	snivelling	flirtatious	clever	curious	quiet	reader
4	resentful	helpful	dim	incurious	inoffensive	religious
5	radical	unhelpful	pleasant	nosy	shy	gambler
6	conservative	fastidious	Surly	sly	bold	nervous

Honesty level

Note; someone with the trait ‘loyal’ would be less likely to betray whoever they are loyal to, whatever their level of honesty

2. thief
3. pathological liar
4. tells lies to escape trouble
5. would keep incorrect change if too much and would take vail to undertake even underhand measures

6. would only take a vail to do something not likely to harm anyone
7. as honest as most people, would not cheat a tradesman but would buy smuggled goods
8. As 7
9. personally truthful and honest but would not betray a fellow servant who was less scrupulous.
10. personally honest, and truthful except in the matter of being tactful. 
11.  honest and sanctimonious about it and likely to rat up others
12. as honest as the day is long and incorruptible, and likely to tell on anyone who tries corrupting him or her

Tradesmen

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Greedy	cheerful	miserable	religious	reader	radical
2	nipcheese	surly	skilful	resentful	quiet	conservative
3	honest	pugnacious	inept	satisfied	stroppy	xenophobic
4	generous	ingratiating	pleasant	oleaginous	educated	Open minded
5	kindly	Well-spoken	friendly	Self-satisfied	ignorant	egalitarian
6	unkind	vulgar	unfriendly	Self-made	prejudiced	Flawed

Much is in reading a combination; someone both radical and religious is likely to be a non-conformist, a Methodist or Quaker, both keen reformists and very much religions of the middle class.

Flawed:  see main table for suggestions

Honesty

1. will engage in sharp practises like adulteration of goods, tax avoidance, and selling short weight
2. would cheat the government and would not tell a customer that he had overpaid
3. would probably refund overpayment unless the customer has been rude
4. honest enough but will use nepotism
5. honest
6. blindingly honest and likely to rat up anyone who is not.

Names by social class

Fun as it is to find a name which fits a character like a glove, sometimes a name is needed for a character who is neither important enough to be well defined, or who is waiting to be defined, in which case the name might change.  And not every character deserves to have their shortcomings on display with a name like Meleager Scrimp,  Bessy Filch [a bessy is an instrument for picking locks], Basil Overtop or Scholastica Readmore

This is by no stretch of the imagination a universal list.  I have included in each table the 10 most popular names across social boundaries, as  80% of people named would have been named from those names.  The lower class versions will have children named by pet versions of those names as well, since the better educated would know that, say, Molly was a pet form of Mary, and might call a child by a pet name, but would christen them by the root of it.

Aristocracy/gentry/educated

Male

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Lionel	Walter	Guy	Miles	Frederick	Stephen
2	Lucius	Julius	Gregory	Virgil	Peregrine	Theodore
3	William	John	Thomas	James	George	Joseph
4	Richard	Henry	Robert	Charles	Peter	Francis
5	Christopher	Ralph	Nicholas	Anthony	Luke	Martin
6	Nathaniel	Arthur	Philip	Laurence	Roger	Jeremy

Female

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Barbara	Marjorie	Bridget	Grace	Deborah	Cecilia
2	Phyllida	Cassandra	Chloe	Alice	Letitia	Priscilla
3	Mary	Ann[e]	Elizabeth	Sarah	Jane	Hannah
4	Susan	Elinor	Marjorie	Charlotte	Harriet	Helen
5	Sophy	Lucy	Isabel[la]	Emma	Catherine	Amelia
6	Frances	Lydia	Caroline	Phoebe	Esther	Amy

 Surnames: Names the Norman lords used were Baskerville, Darcy, Mandeville, Montgomery, Percy, Neville, Punchard, Talbot.    Place names from an atlas are always in order, including corruptions of French placenames like Bagpuss [Bacquepuiss].

Middle Class, pretentious

[names seen to be higher class which they might well be]

Male

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Alexander	Hector	Frederick	Augustus	Horatio	Lionel
2	Nathan	Theophilus	Scipio	Hadrian	Maximilien	Ulysses
3	William	John	Thomas	James	George	Joseph
4	Richard	Henry	Robert	Charles	Michael	Julius
5	Cassius	Earle	Percy*	Neville*	Montgomery*	Darcy*
6	Talbot*	Gabriel	Jasper	Jonathon	David	Roger

*some of the more prestigious surnames introduced by the Normans.

Female

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Priscilla	Fanny	Frances	Cecilia	Jacintha	Camilla
2	Araminta	Leonora	Augusta	Wilhelmina	Charlotte	Caroline
3	Mary	Ann[e]	Elizabeth	Sarah	Jane	Hannah
4	Susan	Martha	Margaret	Charlotte	Harriet	Amelia
5	Henrietta	Cressida	Audrey	Annabella	Marianne	Euphemia
6	Emma	Celia	Sylvia	Everina	Philadelphia	Anastasia

Middle Class, ordinary

Male

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Samuel	Daniel	Josiah	Amos	Joshua	Adam
2	Nathaniel	Nathan	Jacob	Benjamin	Edward	Isaac
3	William	John	Thomas	James	George	Joseph
4	Richard	Henry	Robert	Charles	David	Stephen
5	Aaron	Moses	Luke	Mark	Matthew	Christopher
6	Simon	Timothy	Gedeliah	Philip	Hugh	Abraham

Female

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Fanny	Fancy	Frances	Alice	Amy	Emma
2	Rachel	Judith	Dinah	Agnes	Elinor	Ellen
3	Mary	Ann[e]	Elizabeth	Sarah	Jane	Hannah
4	Susan	Martha	Margaret	Charlotte	Harriet	Lucy
5	Isabel	Dorothy	Jenny	Ruth	Rebecca	Jemima
6	Joan	Bridget	Dinah	Joanna	Nancy	Sophy

 Surnames:  artisan surnames like Fletcher,  Gildersleeves, Orbater, Coltard, Angove

or place names [use an atlas], or names from old given names like Baldwin, Anketel, Elmer, Hancock, Jenkins.

Lower Class

Male

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Jacob	Adam	Joshua	Andrew	Matthew	Matty
2	Edward	Edmund	Ned	Daniel	Benjamin	Abel
3	William	John	Thomas	James	George	Joseph
4	Richard	Henry	Robert	Charles	Jack	Harry
5	Samuel	Amos	Jedediah	Josiah	Billy	Benny
6	Dick	Jake	Tom	Joe	Johnny	Jimmy

Female

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Betty	Eliza	Nancy	Sukey	Sally	Kitty
2	Molly	Polly	Peggy	Agnes	Mary-ann	Betsy
3	Mary	Ann[e]	Elizabeth	Sarah	Jane	Hannah
4	Susan	Martha	Margaret	Charlotte	Harriet	Catherine
5	Beth	Minney	Kate	Etta	Fanny	Frances
6	Rebecca	Alice	Ellen	Hesther	Dorothy	Joan

 Surnames: likely to be more common occupation names like Smith,  or names from given names like Jones, Johnson, Williamson, Rodgers, Hancock, or place names from an atlas. 

On Surnames generally see also my post on the development of surnames HERE

 

Regency Names [male] used by officers at the peninsula, outside of the top 50 names

These names come from Challis’ roll of those officers found at the Peninsula, and I have organised them by those found most often.  I have not counted those already on the table of the top 50 names I posted HERE

 I have not counted Irish, Scots or Welsh names which I shall address separately  Here in order of frequency:

Arthur

Frederick, Augustus

Valentine, Lewis

Theophilus

 Humphrey, Felix

 Edwin, Theodore

 Ebenezer, Caesar, Cuthbert, Jeremiah, Bartholomew, Alfred, Marcus, Mat[t]jias, Pierce

Theobald, Orlando, Maurice, Clement, St. John, Cornelius, Basil,Wyndham, Peregrine, Abel, Oliver, Bernard, Lovell

Christian, Ro[w]land, Gerald, Adolohus, Gilbert, Godfrey, Marlborough, Giles, Leonard, Julius, Ernest, Albert, Cosmo, Horace, Horatio, Hercules, Guy, Archibald, Cassius, Galbraith, Ambrose, Loftus, Lucius

And a selection of the rest:

 

Lionel, Gustavus, Dudley, Jervis, Paul, Nigel, Gregory, Warren, Miles, Willoughby, Dennis, Lemuel.

 

Writing by dice.

 I did this as a guest blog some time ago and thought I'd reblog it here.

I came upon the idea of using dice in writing when I was Gamesmaster in a selection of role playing games [the pen and paper kind, not the computerised sort, because I’m really that old] and I made some tables for random events and personality traits because the player characters very rarely stuck to the plot as laid out in either published adventures or those I had written, and wanted to go off and talk to people who were mentioned in passing for local colour.  So, rather than be wrong footed, I developed the ability to quickly roll a few personality traits to see how these random people would react to being spoken to by a bunch of [usually] scuzzy looking strangers with big weapons and bigger attitudes.

I confess there may be a bit of an art in adding the traits together and building a whole personality and –if need be – back story to them, but if you talk to yourself in the role of this person, often enough it just builds itself.  Especially, oddly enough, if any of the traits seem contradictory.

Eg, X is weedy, a sportsman and determined.  Plainly he was a younger son, born rather weedy and grew up, probably bullied by a big, sportsman of a father and older brothers and bullies at school.  He decided to train secretly so that he could fight back against the worst bully, who relied on body mass and intimidation, and was defeated by the determined wiry strength of our hero.  Does X hide his sportsmanship behind dressing like a dandy because wiry strength or no he is never going to look good in a Corinthian’s many caped coat?  Or does he dress quietly and without attempt to ape any fashion?  Is he either ridiculed in the first case, or overlooked in the second? Does the despised dandy have the chance to knock down the villain who is mauling the heroine?  

I also include tables of incidents, mishaps and events, and though it is entirely possible to write a whole story using this method [see my story HERE] I generally use the method for sub-plots when I feel a need to add a distraction, if one is needed.  

I normally work from a table 10x10 with a pair of 10 sided dice; however, I have things like that at home because of all the RPGs I’ve been involved with over the years, so I’ve reworked this into two tables of 36 characterisics, one for men and one for women because most people have at least one ordinary die knocking around somewhere.  You can roll one twice for x and for y, or two different coloured ones together.  If you have 10 sided dice, then by all means expand this… or swap out traits you don’t like for others. I’ve constructed this using an informal analysis of the people in Heyer… it is the sort of people who might be met in the upper classes; servants and tradesmen should really have a table to themselves. 

Male

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Weedy	Sportsman	Dandy	determined	short	boring
2	Foppish	Rakeish	stylish	capable	generous	careless
3	gambler	Good natured	erudite	military	miserly	witty
4	Horse mad	misanthrope	stupid	sarcastic	Tone deaf	poet
5	commanding	Graceful	opinionated	tall	Pugnacious	musical
6	charismatic	Softly spoken	shrewd	hospitable	dishonourable	pacific

Female

	1	2	3	4	5	6
1	Bluestocking	stylish	Good natured	graceful	chatterbox	boring
2	Well-read	dim	spirited	clumsy	deceitful	talented
3	Opinionated	Clever	Good figure	generous	truthful	witty
4	Horse mad	shrewd	Poor figure	miserly	whines	poet
5	gambler	tall	Tone deaf	spiteful	ambitious	musical
6	accomplished	spoilt	Fine needlewoman	pleasant	determined	quiet

Use a 6-sided dice to determine something more about a character: can roll once on each column [age may have been determined beforehand of course].

1	Old	Has child[ren]	impoverished	ugly	Flaw*
2	Middle aged	widowed	Ruined by debt	plain	Noble family
3	Past youth	unwed	competence	unremarkable	Awful family
4	Young	betrothed	Comfortably off	Well enough	Family of the Manse
5	youth	Married happily	Wealthy	attractive	Military family
6	child	Married unhappily	Very wealthy	gorgeous	Absorbing hobby

* eg slight deformity, birth mark, unpleasant voice, too tall, too short, too thin, too fat, stutter, wall-eyed, red hair etc

I also use a dice-driven decision path when writing mysteries. I usually use it for the odd short story to fill in, if I’ve had several stories write themselves and I need one or two to fill in.  However, I’ve developed a decision path for odd irritating incidents to carry a regency story forward.  This can create tension inside a story, add a chapter or two and may even change the direction of the plot.  The main rule is, if something feels wrong, discard it.  Nothing is hard and fast; this is just a starting point for a side plot or two!  I confess I tend to just be inspired by plot bunnies by random facts about the period, but this is handy too for backstories about why a secondary character may be in disgrace or acting as they do.

Incident and mishap table

This set of tables shows an initial incident, then  details [if required] about that incident, and then who was responsible, if anyone. 

1        a secret is betrayed

2        a rumour is started

3        a compromising situation arises

4        a mysterious letter arrives

5        belongings are lost/stolen/damaged

6        a costume disaster occurs!

Secret betrayed

1    family secret regarding a black sheep

2    family secret regarding legitimacy or otherwise

3    the character has a scandal in their past

4    the character or family member has written a book

5    something the character has said and now wishes unsaid

6    it’s someone else’s secret and that person thinks the character is the only person to know it

Rumour started

1    The character is a flirt/rake

2    the character is the author of some scurrilous publication OR has spread scurrilous tales

3    the character is much richer OR much poorer than he/she really is

4    the character has a love child OR is a love child OR has behaved scandalously

5    the character is mad or has madness in the family

6    the character is not who he/she says he/she is

Compromising situation

1    the character loses way and goes to the wrong bedroom

2    the character is directed [by accident OR maliciously] to the wrong bedroom

3    the character is locked in somewhere with member of the opposite sex [by accident OR maliciously]

4    the character gets into the wrong carriage

5    the character is lured somewhere by letter or other means

6    the character is abducted or drugged to arrange a compromising situation

Mysterious letter arrives

1    from someone out of the character’s past wishing to rekindle friendship/love

2    from someone out of the character’s past begging aid, financial or practical

3    from a family member who needs something

4    the letter is a blackmailing letter threatening to reveal something

5    the letter brings unwelcome news of financial problems/ruin for the family

6    the letter brings news of an unexpected legacy which may or may not be an encumbrance

Belongings lost/stolen/damaged

1    the all-important finishing touch for meeting the love of the character’s life has gone missing.  It may have been removed maliciously, misplaced or tidied away

2    clothes have been cut up and ripped.  Could be deliberate or it might be some animal…

3    small valuable items are going missing and appear to be stolen.  They probably are.

4    small items of no particular value are going missing.  Could be anyone for a number of motives from kleptomania to annoyance value.

5    Something gets ripped on the way out, and it’s too late to mend it

6    Letters have gone missing.  Have they been stolen, misplaced, or slid into a secret drawer by mistake?  If the last, what else is in there?

Costume disaster

1    something is spilled down a costume; if it’s white, it’s bound to be red wine

2    a costume catches on a projection and tears, and it’s somewhere public

3    a lady’s décolletage is insufficiently well engineered and her bosom makes a public appearance. 

4    a gentleman’s trouser flap isn’t buttoned properly and threatens to descend

5    the character is responsible for catching a part of the apparel of a member of the opposite sex in a pin or fob, or through tripping, and rips it

6    the character manages to spill something down another person

Who, if anyone, is responsible for the Incident?

For this, use 3 dice, and add them, giving a range from 3-18.  Most frequent occurrence will be 10-11, and as many incidents are going to be caused by enemies, I have assigned them to the most likely spots. If you prefer a more random chance, place those responsible where more than one choice is given into 2 more categories to make 18 not 16, and list the people in 3 groups of 6: rolling 1-2 for the first group, 3-4 for the second group, and 5-6 for the third group, and then one die for the group determined. 

3    stranger or mischief maker

4    animal agency or child

5    social inferior

6    neighbour

7    distant family member

8    sibling or close family member

9    family enemy/rival

10 jealous lover/ex lover/wannabe lover

11 rival

12 servant, for personal reasons or paid by another

13 former friend

14 friend

15 social superior

16  underling in position of trust

17 someone from the past

18  someone trusted like a parent/guardian/governess

NOTE if someone who should be ‘on the character’s side’ does something that seems mean, potentially either the character has offended this person and a rebuke got out of hand, or a situation may have been engineered with good intentions, and may, or may not, go according to plan.  Eg, Lady Peacock locks Miss Scarlet in the conservatory with Colonel Mustard because they have quarrelled and she knows they are made for each other.  This may lead to worse quarrels or let them make up their differences.  If Lady Peacock locked her daughter  Miss Scarlet in the conservatory with Colonel Mustard because she wants to engineer a good match with the wealthy and titled colonel, an entirely different scenario ensues…

However, just in case inspiration fails, here is a table of motives: use 2 dice and add them, giving a range of 2-12.  7 is the most frequent.  Once again this may be broken into two tables of 6 with an additional motive if need be.

Motives

2    knowledge

3    hatred

4    family reasons

5    revenge

6    for gain [material or social or to attract someone]

7    jealousy

8    sudden anger

9    fear of something the character might do or know

10  fear of what someone else might do

11  bribed or threatened

12  good motives to help character.

Random incidents that may be witnessed by characters

Random things can happen to kickstart a struggling plot.  Here I’ve put together 36 incidents which can happen, by rolling one die to get the number of the table, and a second to get the incident on that table.  Really there should be one table for the country and one for the town; where an event is specific to the town I have tried to put a country alternative.  Discerning readers may notice some incidents borrowed with my tongue in my cheek from Heyer or from my own stories.  This is simplified from my much more extensive tables where I roll first what sort of person is encountered based on the area… These can be used to add a bit of local colour, or to start a subplot.

Table 1

1 climbing boy descends into character’s chamber

2 street urchin knocked down by coach/labourer’s child knocked down by cart

3 a beggar asks for money.  On 4-5 he is crippled and may be an ex soldier/sailor. On 6 he is a false cripple

4 there’s a very young prostitute crying, who has been beaten up

5  a thief tries to pick the character’s pocket; 1-4 it’s a child

6 a street entertainer is trying to get people to bet on thimble rigging or similar

Table 2

1 there’s a parade of performing beasts and acrobats from Astley’s Amphitheatre

2 two rival theatre companies/performances have people out crying the attractions of their entertainments; a punch-up ensues

3 a tradesman is beating a dog/donkey/pony pulling a cart which has become lodged in a rut or on a stone

4 a man accuses another of cheating at cards or dice

5 A troop of soldiers march by.  1-4 they look very smart in their scarlet coats 5 they look scruffy but proud because they are fresh from the wars 6 the appearance is spoiled by one who marches like a ploughboy/is dirty/is drunk

6 sailors in a press gang are looking for ‘recruits’

Table 3

1 two carriages or carts have collided and a dispute ensues

2 somebody barges rudely past the characters and may knock them over

3 A Whig and a Tory have taken a dispute in a pub onto the street and a crowd has gathered to see the fun

4 a street preacher is telling anyone who will listen about eternal damnation

5 a rabble rouser is urging the masses to throw off the yoke of the damned aristocrats; he’s about to be arrested, if the masses don’t protect him.  This could mean a riot.

6 there’s a new consignment of some special muslin in an emporium and women are ready to tear out eyes and hair to get to it first

Table 4

1 a gentleman takes out a snuff box which should NEVER be seen in mixed company and several ladies faint at its improper shape.

2 a wealthy woman wants it all and she wants it NOW and is telling everyone so loudly.

3 a wealthy man has hurt someone with his curricle 1 he is taking care of the unfortunate injured person personally, 2-3 he has offered money to them, 4-5 he’s trying to buy off witnesses, 6 he’s blustering that it was none of his fault

4 there is to be a talk by a member of the Royal Society trying to raise money for something like an expedition to Egypt to dig tombs, to fly a hot air balloon across the channel studying weather patterns, or to study the volcanoes in Italy and Sicily.

5 Some wealthy ladies are giving the cut direct to another lady. [roll on the mishap table for why, perhaps…]

6 He seems like a bona fides nabob but is he really an imposter?

Table 5

1 is that really Daniel Mendoza in person?

2 the female is an opera singer; you may meet her anywhere [indeed you just have] but there are plenty of rumours attached to her, and her liaisons…

4 He’s plainly a gentleman, but he’s drunker than a lord. 1-2 he’s amiably fatuous, 3-4 he’s aggressive, 5-6 he’s about to pass out.

5 The girl is plainly a lady but she has no maid or footman with her and is attracting unwanted attention

6 a very intimate letter turns up between the pages of a book from the lending library. Was it left there by accident, and will someone want it back, or was it a means of passing clandestine letters and the character picked the book before the recipient could manage to get it?  Is there a plan of an elopement?

Table 6

1 a gentleman is thrown from his horse and is injured

2 a horse bolts, frightened by a military band/ sounds of shots from shooting game

3 There’s a big society wedding at St George’s Hanover Square.  1 bride and groom look deliriously happy 2-4 bride and groom look as satisfied as might be expected with an arranged marriage 5-6 bride and groom are mismatched, probably young girl sold to old rich man [but might be personable young charmer marrying a rich old widow]

4 There’s almost a riot outside a cartoon shop as some leading figure is lampooned

5 there’s a balloon ascent at Vauxhall!

6 The new debutante is a mystery woman.  Is she all she claims to be? 

Writing two books at once can be a nervous business...

They say that a man who tries to catch two rabbits will lose them both, but of course he has to watch both absolutely simultaneously.
I had started on book four of the Charity School series, Marianne's Misanthrope, because I thought it was going to be book 3.  Then I became aware that with the timeline I'd mapped out, Abigail's Adventure would be over before Marianne got her man, even though it started later.
So, a dilemma.
I was enjoying writing Marianne, which I've couched as an epistolary novel, after the manner of 'Daddy Long-Legs' and its sequel, 'Dear Enemy' by Jean Webster both of which I enjoyed; save that I decreased the number of letters and increased the amount of 'live action' through the book as I felt that there was a forced and false feeling in having the main letter-writer writing to the object of their love and telling him about the tender moment they shared.  I mean, you'd think he would have noticed for himself without prompting.
However, enjoying it as I was, I found I needed to cover the events of 'Abigail's Adventure' so I went back and wrote that, having opened and gotten to chapter 3 of it earlier.  And I'm glad to say I managed to complete it well inside a month.
And the proof arrived a day after my mother died, and how cross that may have made her, I can't guess because she always was my biggest fan and top proof reader.
However, it's live on Amazon as a physical book or Kindle HERE.

Orphan Abigail is surprised to be claimed as a relative of Mr and Mrs Heltham, a well-to-do couple from Bath. The Helthams invite Abigail to leave school and join them for the Little Season in Bath. In Bath Abigail meets Richard, the Helthams’ son who acts more like a young child than his 19 years.

Uncle Frank and Aunt Caro press gifts and treats upon Abigail who finds their generosity oppressive. Although a bluestocking Abigail is able to help poor Richard when he is unable to cope with the trails of life, giving the boy love and affection.

It is not until Abigail meets Richard’s cousin Renn, Baron Chisterley, that Abigail becomes aware of the insidious plot that stands between her and happiness.

Canal-building, the obsequies for a dead princess, and a nervewracking climb out of a window also feature in the book. 

I used the following pictures for the cover:

 First of all, a window, which had to be painstakingly emptied of all view through it to put my own there.

 Then a view to be used, which was the wrong season, so it had to be made into late Autumn

 the figure I liked most for Abigail was the foreground figure here, who had to be separated from the others

Then a figure for Renn, who had to be made blond. 

The whole needed to be brightened up and made warmer.