Virtual Tour around the main settings for my latest novel ~ real and imaginary

MISSING Past and Present is unlike my previous novels because two of the main settings are imaginary. Why go to all that trouble?

• It challenges the imagination of the writer and the reader
• It will not offend a reader ~ in my murder mystery, set on my doorstep at the time in a village down in Bedfordshire, some folks loved it that way but others were a bit disturbed by it ~ well, it was murder after all!

Strangely enough this did not deter my ability to see the scenes as vividly as ever in my mind’s eye, maybe more so. I suppose writing fantasy is like that.

Tour 1 in the imaginary Town of Drumford

Here’s my sketch of the main town of Drumford in my novel, or at least the centre, where a lot of the action took place. It was the birth place of Dot, my protagonist, and the focus of a life of memories.

The main scenes were set in The Ark, a centre for the homeless, but there were also scenes in the community police station in the old bank building, in the cafe, in both churches and in the Women’s Refuge.

Belmont Park featured both in the past and the present; as a park to enjoy in today’s world it was a place of reflection, even secret assignations. The ruins of the old manor house, still visible among the gardens, brought to life its past for Millie, my trainee nun, nearly two hundred years before.

Light Bulb Moment of inspiration ~ Just a Sentence ~ then a Story Plan

HAVE A NOTEBOOK AT ALL TIMES

Do you have a notebook, or a plethora of notebooks to hand when inspiration for writing strikes?

Sound advice!

All it took was just a sentence popping unbidden into my mind:

‘While picking blackberries in the hedgerows one day, I found a dice.’

CHOOSE AN UNUSUAL PROTAGONIST

I had already decided to write about a homeless person but wanted to choose an unlikely character, This one sentence was the perfect lead to my protagonist, Dot. Picking blackberries is second nature to her and thus she would be a ‘jam making women’s institute sort of lady’, the sort who you might pass unnoticed in the street. If a lady like that who hadn’t done anyone any harm, well almost, became homeless, straightaway I felt that the reader would feel empathy towards Dot when her husband went missing.

BACK STORY

Then I began to think of her back story. Holding the dice which I had found one day it struck me to be a fantastic tool for Dot’s memories while she was trying to recover from the breakdown of all she had known. (Her memories were not personal ones to me by the way, except maybe one, but I’m not going to admit which one.)

 

 

SUBTITLE

No one deserves to have their life destroyed, but what sums up the overriding question in Dot’s mind as she tries to make sense of it all.  Life is never fair but

Is Life Just a Roll of a Dice?’

My subtitle came to life.

MISSING Past and Present on Amazon

SETTING

The scene of picking blackberries could be an idyllic one, but in Dot’s case it was a means for survival, to glean from the countryside. What was it like to survive when homeless.

MAIN THEMES

This led to the main themes in my novel, as explored in previous blogs, leading to further tension and miscommunication.

Homelessness, soup kitchens and food banks

Mixed race relationships

Multi faith marriage

Gender inequality

Prejudice, racism and acceptance

SUMMING UP

Thus, finding a dice in the hedgerows gave me a sentence.

Out of the sentence came the protagonist, back story and major setting.

This allowed me to develop my plan, including themes pertinent to my story.

What originally inspired you to write your latest novel?

If you would like to be a guest writer on this blog why don’t you take the Dice Challenge and get in touch with me diana@dianamaryjackson.co.uk

Challenge ~ Throw a Dice for Memories of a character in a book

DICE MEMORIES CHALLENGE!

IS LIFE JUST A ROLL OF A DICE?

When Dot in ‘MISSING Past and Present’ threw a dice, she remembered scenes in her life as if they were pages in her own book. Her back story.

AUTHORS ~ Think of a character in your book, or one of your novels that you are proud of.

READERS ~ Think of a character in a novel you really enjoyed recently.

If a throw of a SIX represents the best day or ‘happening’ in your chosen character’s life and a ONE the worst, can you write down memories from ONE TO SIX.

The challenge is to choose moments in their lives which intrigue a reader into wanting to know more, without giving the whole plot away.

I’m going to begin. Just to give you an idea I am going to chose Jamal. ~an important character in my novel but not the protagonist.

A short character description ~ Jamal is a Syrian refugee who has been living in the UK for over two years. He is intelligent, thoughtful and is a hard worker.

ONE ~  Jamal remembers the moment he lost both his parents in the war back home.

TWO ~ His feelings when arriving in England were bewildering. The only person he had to cling to, who gave him any thoughts of normality was his older brother Ahmed.

THREE ~ Working at his friend Brian’s Dad’s business.

FOUR ~ Learning to speak English at Mrs G’s (Dot’s) kitchen table

FIVE ~ Jamal found Dot.

SIX ~ Jamal fell in love.

If you are an AUTHOR and have a blog then post:

• your character’s six memories
• a short description of the character
• the name of your novel
• a book cover.

If you are a READER then send them to me and I’ll post them on my blog.

You can do this through my contact page,

email diana@dianamaryjackson.co.uk or tell me @Riduna on Twitter

or on my Facebook Page

I will re-post the ones I like best….

It would be great to have a Blog Hop of DICE MEMORIES!

Let me know if you’d like to join and I’ll arrange it.