Gill Lee
Forum Replies Created
-
Replies
-
Hi Katie,
I love books that are about lots of different things, and hard to pin down to an easy reading.
So one of the things I would get from yours is that if you’re in pain, be careful of what seems an easy sanctuary. But then we tend to read into books, themes we’re currently tangling with in real life…
Thanks Anja,
lots to mull on. I’ll throw everything into a pot and let it simmer for at least a day before writing the final chapter one way – and then another!
Hi Katie,
You are kind! Books are hard to find. There’s Eva Dolan’s ‘This is How it ends’ but she’s kind of on the side of the spy cop…Faithful Place by Tana French has the first love lost hing – but it’s old, and besides, she’d such a big name. Denise Mina’s Garnethill has the citizen detective investigating but again long time ago and big name. So if you had any ideas for those, very welcome. Sherwood is the closest I can come to ‘feel’ though it had the humour and characters in spades that I’d love to have but haven’t…
Like it, Debi. Thank you!
Love the idea that she finally understands her mother lived and loved as best she could. Yes, I think that is the key to forgiving our mothers! They did they best they could for us, and most times better than the hand they themselves were dealt. Interesting isn’t it, because the expectations of fathers seem so much less. Or maybe that is changing…. Love the idea of ‘coming of age’ for older women – think your pitch is there, somewhere!
Virtual g and ts await….Don’t let anyone say I’m cheap….
For Katie who loves pitches (feel I’ve already used my golden ticket up with Debi….)
1980s London. When activist boyfriend Mike goes missing, pregnant Laura must find him. But Mike seems to have lied about everything, except his love for Laura. To discover the truth, Laura must confront a corrupt police force, her own dark childhood, and her greatest fears about Mike.
(Lumpy and boring).
I’ve already entered the pitch competition with the following so not looking to enter again. Just to get a better, less verbose pitch
With the vibes of TVs Shewood and set in Thatcher’s London, a young activist takes on police corruption and her childhood abuser to discover the truth about her missing lover, the father of her child.
Woah Katie….You love pitches…? Please. I will pay you in virtual g and ts to have a look over on mine….
So glad you’re a medical professional, Lucia and therefore not on the side of murder and mayhem!
Love the idea of letting go. So with you on that one – all the things you want to change but find you have to accept instead.
‘I Claudius’ on TV at the moment – looking very dated but used an explicitly older character to tell the story – with all the insights of where events would lead to. Great Expectations, Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein and Jekyll and Hide all occur to me (have noticed the device through teaching them). But I agree with Katie that there are lots of benefits to not being explicit in the device, though with those novels I probably haven’t even noticed!
Just don’t do what I did if you can avoid it – spend a year writing it one way, another doing close edits, and then change your mind!
Thanks, Julie,
Also worried about trying to cram too much in.
Good one, Debi!
I’d like feedback on the resolution of the story please and the structure. Story just faded away before. Is this better / credible / what pitfalls are there?
Harry comes to warn Laura off her investigation into Mike’s death. She finally confronts him with his abuse of her, using the word ‘rape’ which she has never voiced before. She manipulates Harry to gain proof he killed Mike but can never achieve justice through the legal system. Harry will destroy her and her daughter’s if she tries. Laura gives Harry’s address to Eric, a fellow activist with a long-held grudge against Harry. Kat is worried about Eric. The two women set off in pursuit, but Eric has already set fire to Laura’s childhood home, with Harry inside. The file Mike stole at the beginning (now a prologue) burns with him.
Either
- Kat and Laura simply watch.
- Kat want to ring the fire brigade but Laura stops her
The story is one of revenge by a much-wronged woman.
Themes: the importance of truth, and of facing the truth in order to create change. How to find justice when the police can’t be trusted. Love and betrayal.
Mike – an ambivalent character. He loves Laura to the best of his ability but is an inveterate liar who puts his own wants first. His own story has lots of twists and turns as he discovers Harry’s true nature.
His story is about 30-40% of the manuscript, and is in ‘chunks’ of chapters.
Hi Gillian,
It’s quite a shift isn’t it, from writing where you’re trying to keep yourself out of a piece of writing, to writing where you have to put imaginary selves in. Recognise it well! Practice, practice, practice and you’re such a sharp reader so you’ll get there!
