#ScribesAndMakers 2 Whatever?
The back door opened and his sister came in.
“Find any?” Tom asked, with a grin.
“What?” Francesca’s response was sharp.
“I don’t know. Whatever you were looking for.”
“I wasn’t looking for anything,” Fran said.
“Or waiting for,” Tom said, laying extra weight on the middle word.
“Mind your own business, little bro,” Fran said.
#ScribesAndMakers #novelx2 #Tom&Theresa
#WritersCoffeeClub 20
What rôle does death play in your work?
In the natural course of things, death is usually there or thereabouts
Now I look more closely, it seems death is always there or thereabouts
#novelx1: 1. traffic 'accident'
/ 2. suicide
#novelx2: 1. father [MC1]
/ 2. army service in Belfast
/ 3. both parents [MC2]
#novelx3: 1. wife
#novelx4: 1. suicide [ref x1 above]
/ 2. terrorist bomb
#novelx5: 1. Covid19
WordWeavers 23
Your MC is lost in a busy city…
Nice question
Novelx1: Broderick Arnot, lean against a wall looking lost until someone offered to help
Novelx2: Theresa, take refuge in a cafe and ask the barista
Tom would never consider himself lost
Novelx3: Andrew Bridge, hail a cab
Novelx4: Elyssia, ask the first person to walk by: “Where the hell am I?”
Novelx5: Jim, phone Gill (his wife) & ask where he’s supposed to be
#ScribesAndMakers 5Jul
Two true things about myself, one about my MC. Which is the MC?
Tom in Tom & Theresa, #novelx2
WordWeavers June 8:
If you have more than one story, what’s your best one & why?
A 12 yr old looking for otters in the south of England finds a dark-haired girl, unconscious, under a fallen tree, the morning after a storm. There is a wrecked sail boat on the beach. It is October 1988. The story follows them for the next ten years, Tom in East Sussex, Theresa in Northern Ireland
Why? 2nd of 5 novels, it spooled out page after page, longhand
WordWeavers 4th June
Describe the mood of the opening paragraph of your story using 3 adjectives
violent sudden unexpected
"One minute she is standing by her bunk in the forward cabin. balancing herself against the motion of the boat, the next she is upside down, the force of the impact enough to catapult her across her bunk and crash, head first, against the bulkhead..."
#WordWeavers Mar 28
What gives your characters a sense of self-worth or meaning in their life?
#novelx1
Broderick: working with a team; finding signs of (past) life in the soil
#novelx2
Theresa: sailing; helping people
#novelx3
Andrew: fighting climate change (even if it is a hopeless cause)
#novelx4
Elyssia: believing in a better world; the love of the man she loves
#novelx5
Jim: surviving day to day; keeping the Tidal Teashop open
ScribesAndMakers 29th March 2025.
What is your proudest or best moment with your creative endeavour this month?
I'm editing. So, it has been those times when I've come across a chapter that really sings. There have been a few of those this month (I can remember at least one 😜 !)
That gives me immense satisfaction
“I wonder how that poor girl is,” Mother says
They are in the kitchen, around the table, cereal boxes scattered in all directions
“She’s ok,” Tom says
Everyone looks at him
“What do you mean?” Francesca asks
“No. She is,” Tom insists
“What do you mean, Tom?” Dad asks
“I had a dream.”
“The one that woke me up?” Damien chips in
“Not that dream,” Tom says. “Another one.”
“Since when have your dreams told us anything?” Fran quips
“I’ll phone the hospital this morning,” Mum says
“Tom? I have to go on another call. Liz and Joe will give you a lift home.”
That was annoying. He had been looking forward to a ride in the Coastguard Landrover with Matt
“What’s the tractor for?” he asked
“To recover the yacht,” Matt said. "They'll take it to Newhaven."
Joe drove the police car right up to the front door and stopped
“In you go,” Liz said. "Go and get warm.”
“Why were the army there?”
“Shush!” Liz said, smiling. “Not for you to know. Go on. Hop it.”
Novel Exploration