Change in Direction?

If you are anything like me, whether you have completed one book, several, or only just started, you will have a myriad of ideas in your mind. I've spoken before about the methods I employ for writing, and often when I want to go to sleep at night, my characters start devising plans of their own. This happens so much it has fascinated me how sometimes a story seems to write itself, and certainly if you wander into writing a whole series, you come to know characters so well that you understand what will happen next.

Writing a six-book series became at times like climbing Everest , but in contrast, it had me fall in love with a historical period and many of the characters. Like some of the readers, I missed those characters once the series ended. I don't have any great ambitions to write endless novels, nor do I have too many ideas, but I certainly have four or five diverse routes I could have gone down.

One of the ideas was a fictional series that blended philosophy, science fact, science fiction, and faith. I thought it was a good concept, but I'm currently overwhelmed with creating audiobooks and so I can't write for a while. To summarise, my wife was very unwell for a period and underwent several treatments - but one day as we were sitting outside at our local café in the sun I noticed her dress and a straw hat, and I suddenly remarked that she looked like one of those village murder detectives. She excitedly responded, saying it would make a great book and suggested I write a story with her as the main character.

I knew exactly what she meant. The most loved character in my historical series, Silas, is autistic and doesn't necessarily get cues, visual or verbal signals, and is clumsy with his speech. Although Jo, my wife, has ADHD, her behaviours are quite similar, and it means we both laugh a lot of the time as she also loves her disposition.

So I did it, and I should mention that someone has asked whether a particular incident in the book is fictional. However, I assured them that every malapropism, mishap, and moment of confusion is indeed true. I really enjoyed trying something new, and it taught me a lot about myself and my writing. I couldn't imagine a unique English village without it being distinct from others, and if it was distinct, there needed to be a historical reason for it. I just cannot seem to spend all my time in the present. It tells me that whatever I do, there are elements, tropes, and ideas that are important to me, and they seem to come out whether I like it or not. For those of you who, for instance, like science fiction, I would say that history is the same. It is a captivating alternate world you can explore, where attitudes, behaviours, and significant issues of the day are either entirely different or quite similar to our current experiences. People remain the same; it's just the surrounding circumstances that change.

It was also interesting writing about a real person. We have a very good relationship, and it wasn't necessary to have a meeting every time I wrote a chapter. I waited until the end. It was heartwarming to hear a giggle every so often while Jo was reading it, but I was with her when she read the last few chapters, and she made it known very clearly that she found it a disturbing read to the point where she told me to write something else! This was totally unexpected and I reminded her that that's what all authors want! - particularly in murder mysteries, and so we negotiated that part of it. Interestingly, she didn't want to change anything about the personality of the character in the book.

I believe that for those of us who write fiction, some characters are inspired by people we've encountered or are familiar with. However, incorporating a real person directly into your novel is a unique and fulfilling experience, and it might be something you consider doing in the future. I'm definitely glad that I've explored something new, and it might be providence that I'm unable to write right now due to other commitments and working on perfecting e-books (which might never happen). However, I might try something different again when the opportunity arises.

Please share your thoughts if you've written books that vary greatly from each other.

The Granny JoJo Mysteries is now available on Amazon and the much coveted ASPA Bookstore!