I find it so much easier to write from personal experience. My heroine lives in a village where I have lived and her parents live by a beautiful bay in Cornwall, where my family regularly stays. My fingers fall over themselves on the keys as I imagine walking around the places I've stayed or visited - so much easier than inventing a place. I do a lot of research too, but you can only write in your own words, what others have already written. It always seems very two- dimentional.
So, it is with that thought in mind that I'm off the London for two days on Wednesday to visit Hampstead Heath! One of my characters and her family have a day out on the Heath and climb to the top of Parliament Hill to look over the rooftops of the capital city. I'm very excited about taking a notebook and pen, and luxuriating in spending time doing what I love best. It helps to use the senses when writing. I want to smell the lakes and trees, feel the grass as I sit down to write and hear the children playing. I might even spoil myself and take a picnic!
I've entered another competition online. The prize is to have the work critiqued which I would find invaluable. Friends and family don't like to critisize so it's very difficult to get helpful feedback. I've enrolled on a creative writing course at The University of Nottingham, so that should be an eye-opener for me! Back to school! Quite nerve-racking....
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