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 …
Category Archives: Novel
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 …
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, …
Let’s be SENSE – IBLE part 2
In the last post we looked at the role of HEARING when we are trying to capture the attention of our readers. This time we will explore the sense of SMELL –often said to be the most emotive of all the senses. The following is an excerpt from my biography, The Railway Carriage Child, which …
What do we mean by ‘Character Building’?
Blog June 2021 As my novel takes shape (slowly), I am still enjoying ‘meeting’ new characters. This is perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of writing. It feels like making a new friend who will accompany you on a journey. Of course, this may be a short journey with minor characters but some of …
Recommended Reading
As we head out of lockdown and start to plan summer outings I am sitting out these last (hopefully) weeks by reading the few remaining books that I stockpiled at the beginning of our enforced stay-at-home. This week I have finally managed to read the last of Eva Jordan’s trilogy. I had read the first …
At the end of a remarkable year and looking forward
As Christmas approaches, we look back on a strange year of lockdowns, social distancing and self-isolating. A year ago these were terms that had never entered the vocabulary of most of us. All of the above have touched our lives in one way or another. Our local creative writing group has had to adjust quickly …
Continue reading “At the end of a remarkable year and looking forward”
An added bonus?
Who says research is the boring bit? I have spent the last two days researching for my novel. Sometimes research can be a time-consuming chore but I think I have found the answer. Set your characters in an interesting location and then you have an excuse to visit. Now we are allowed to travel again, …
Wendy Wordsmith 