How to write a novel | Character development
Last week in my how to write a novel series, I looked at the emotions of my characters. This week I want to develop a new character. You might remember that Nick and Lily have formed a love-hate relationship and are on the road in a camper van; having stopped off at Nick’s house where they spent the night together. I shall be going back to that and developing that part of the story. Now they are on their way to meet Victoria, Lily’s friend from university.
How to write a novel | Emotions
If you read last week’s post then you will know that my protagonist, Nick has met Lily and they are forming a love-hate relationship. They decided to stop at Nick’s home in Birmingham on the way to see Lily’s university friend, Vicky. People are interested in people, what they do and how they feel. Writing a novel is about people’s emotions. This one is meant to be humorous, but doesn’t need to be a laugh a minute. The drive along the motorway would give a lot of opportunities for humorous dialogue.
How to write a novel | Colloquialisms
For weeks now I’ve been developing my story about Nick, who has lost his parents in a car accident in California. He decided to sell up and go on a road trip around the English Countryside. I’m getting a little inspiration from the photographs that I took on Sunday. This is as close to the English Countryside that I get!
How to write a novel | Comedy
If you’re following my story of Nick and Lily, you’ll know Nick is on a road trip in a camper van and meets Lily in a quaint English village. Nick has no choice, but to help Lily when she becomes stranded after her hire car breaks down. So for much of my story, Nick and Lily share a relatively cramped camper van. They are two very different personalities. Nick is quiet and unassuming; Lily is loud and assertive. The love-hate relationship between them provides some opportunities for humour, particularly in the dialogue. This is how a story develops and it’s a good idea to make notes, especially of any funny lines you can think of. (more…)
Wednesbury remembered…
I remember fishing that canal with my dad years ago. There was a pool near by too, I remember it getting dark and I saw a train passing by; things were different in those days. Wednesbury had it’s own council and it was run by the town clerk. There was no chief executive on 140,000 a year in those days. The money was in pounds, shillings and pence. My dad earned about 15 pounds and the rent was 30 shillings. Imagine if your rent was only 10% of your income today; that was cheap housing. It was also modern, practical housing; the council built lots of houses. Yes, houses; not high rise flats. (more…)