As an author who’s spent a lot of time conversing with imaginary friends (also known as story characters), I occasionally speak to real human beings about my writing. I’ve often been asked how I get the ideas for my stories. Is it a lightning bolt of inspiration? A secret recipe? Or do I have secret psychopathic tendencies that are crying to be let out? Truth be told, as mundane as it sounds, it all starts with place, and perhaps a strong cup of tea.
In my tales, locations like the Tudor school building in The Dead Beneath Us or the sordid Obsidian Rooms nightclub in Heel of Achilles aren’t just scenic wallpaper. They are pulled from real places I know well that have fired my imagination, hurt me, challenged me, and moved me. Those darkest places are never far away.
For me, writing is mostly about place and character. I set my stories in the area where I live. Each location has a heartbeat of its own and a connection with the soul like no other. Place, character, and plot are the most important aspects of any story. Take a character to a place that moulds and challenges them, then you will create a plot that touches the hearts of your readers.
What are Places that Move You?
Think about those places you love to visit. Perhaps it’s an isolated hilltop, a bench beside a canal, or even a busy shopping centre. Why do they move you? What is it about them that captures your imagination?
One of my favourite places is an ancient yew tree forest called Kingley Vale in West Sussex. That will be no surprise to those who have read my DI Angelis series. I prefer quiet, solitary places. Places where I can think, create, pray, and dream.
The Importance of Place in Writing
When you think about your favourite novels, can you picture the place where they are set? Author Elly Griffiths creates a sense of place brilliantly in her first Ruth Galloway novel, The Crossing Places, when she describes a Norfolk salt marsh. And, of course, the descriptions of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth set my imagination on fire when I was young. Creating a strong sense of place is crucial to drawing in and immersing your readers in the world you have imagined.
The Dead Beneath Us has a vague link to Elly Griffiths (real name Domenica de Rosa). I was on a crime writing course at West Dean College, a few miles north of Chichester in West Sussex. Domenica and fellow crime writer Lesley Thomson were running the course. We were asked to describe a place for a murder mystery. I thought of the college building (an old country house) and a private school where I used to work, a converted Tudor manor. I used the descriptions of these combined places for the school in the fictitious village of Cotisham. All the names and characters are also a product of my imagination, in case you were wondering.
Changed Characters
In my world, characters are shaped by their environment. So it’s important I create a believable sense of place and a believable history of where they came from. DCI Beniamin Dinescu grew up in an oppressive Romanian orphanage, where he had to struggle to survive. DI David Angelis starts as a career-driven police officer in Brighton, but after his experience of death, walks with his enigmatic friend among the ancient yew trees. DS Emily Summers is left angry and insecure by the competitive world of a busy Major Crimes office in Surrey, later to be challenged by the stolid, fatherly figure of Dinescu.
A Sneak Peek
For the next Chichester Crime Mysteries novel, a key scene occurs in the Fishbourne reedbeds and meadows. It’s a location near my home, and I often take my dog down there for quiet times of reflection. For me, winter gives the place a haunted, ancient atmosphere. You can almost see the tall ships docking in Dell Quay nearby or imagine the Romans unloading their goods at the head of the creek.
So, it’s that place that has inspired me to write my next story. Other local authors you may know have also been inspired by this place, for instance, Kate Mosse in her novel, The Taxidermist’s Daughter.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. Places that move me, are the main source of my inspiration for my stories, and I try to convey that sense of place in my writing. But what about some of the characters I write about? They come about from people I’ve known, observations of human behaviour, people I’ve arrested, and some of my own darker nightmares. The less said about those the better. The strong, brave female characters in my novels are mostly inspired by my wife and my daughters.