This week I was sent a link to a site which allowed me to watch footage of the felling of pylons in Dorset. This is a project known as Visual Impact Provision and reports admit that there is no motive for spending £116 million, other than to improve views in an area of Outstanding Natural …
Author Archives: thewriteway709
Talking to your Characters
Blog October 2022 (2) Following on from my earlier discovery that a board of characters could be a useful reference point, I turned again to the remnants of my magazines and leaflets for inspiration when I needed a scenario in which estranged parents would be brought together to rethink their relationship. There it was, right …
Knowing your Characters (Part 1)
Inspired by the idea of the interior decorator’s best friend, the Mood Board, I began to beg, borrow and steal magazines and leaflets from my family and friends. Well, actually, I didn’t steal them because you never know when you might need that friend or family member so better to not risk offence. I didn’t …
Changing Times
One of the words that has changed dramatically, even since my parents’ generation, is ‘high’. They would have referred to a high mountain or described a kite as flying high. Now we have abbreviations such as hi-tech, hi-vis, hi-fi and wi-fi. Where is it all going in such a rush? We were the last generation …
Filby Broad
Filby Broad Twenty five years ago I walked this way, With children laughing On another summer day We lived close to here And knew it well, The sound of lapping water, What tales it could tell Just a minute’s walk From woodland to Broads, Through dappled light We walked the boards You, my daughter, Always …
Benacre Bird Hide
As I climbed the steps to this new bird-hide, I felt the smoothness of the rail beneath my hand. Then, pushing open the door, I breathed in the smell of newly cut timber. Two forward facing windows looked over the expanse of lake, with the stillness of pine trees stretching into the distance, and gently …
The importance of research
This month’s meeting of the Whittlesey Wordsmiths will be looking at the growing trend in novels, to explore in detail the occupations of the main characters. As well as the usual detectives, and girls who inherit properties from unknown relatives, I have come across a tree surgeon and a designer of stained glass windows. A …
Inspiration for Characters
The sources that inspire characters are as varied as the characters themselves. A lot will depend on the setting you have chosen and the period. A demure young virgin might fit better into a Victorian drama, than into a racy modern rom-com but there is a need for caution in all eras. We have all …
Looking for Inspiration
At the May meeting of the Whittlesey Wordsmiths, we started to look at how we would choose a location to provide a setting for our stories/novels. The main considerations were: Suitable for the story Do you need a particular building, such as a library or a shopping centre, or maybe a tower block? This would …
Let’s be SENSE-IBLE Part 5
As most stories are told in terms of what we see, these five articles have covered the other senses, so our final part is a look at the sixth sense which is still a bit of a mystery to us. Much has been written, and even more passed down the generations by word of mouth, …
Wendy Wordsmith 