Ah, my favourite place to write, it truly is.
I spent many years writing The Sillow Orb, sitting every evening in a room on my own, listening to Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter soundtracks and imagining myself to be a great writer. However, I’m fast becoming of the opinion that actually writing can be a little more social than that. While I haven’t yet progressed to joining a writing group or actually being able to give up work and rent a desk in a little office somewhere, I do enjoy sitting in my local Starbucks and watching life.
People are interesting and it’s a great place for picking up ideas for characters. My current book, a non-fantasy adult book, will require some realistic characters and I’m more than happy to drink the delicious vanilla lattes and do a little people watching. (Now, I’m not saying that the characters in The Sillow Orb aren’t realistic! I just find it far easier to give characters in a fantasy book characteristics, as you can play around with reality a little more. If a character isn’t from Earth, it makes sense that perhaps their idea of how you should live is different to yours or mine.)
So, I’m looking at people and trying not to make it obvious that I’m doing so. I don’t want to be branded a weirdo, after all. And I’m hoping no-one is looking over my shoulder and reading what I’m typing. It’s one thing to make observations about anonymous people, but I wouldn’t like anyone to think that their entire description and odd habits will turn up in a newspaper anytime soon. I certainly don’t want them frisking me for hidden cameras.
Let’s take a look around at who’s here and I’ll invent a little backstory for everyone…
1. A lone guy on a laptop. Blue jeans, black shirt and very dark hair, possibly Mediterranean. He’s leaning close to the screen, perhaps short-sighted but too proud to wear glasses? Or maybe he lost his contact lenses this morning and doesn’t have a back-up pair? The coffee he’s drinking is in a takeaway cup, which is a bit naughty because he’s sitting in and he’s been here since before I entered. His fingers are quite still and he’s reading intently, sometimes rubbing the black stubble on his face. Occasionally he nods. He doesn’t give the impression he’s working, but likewise he’s not looking at Facebook. He looks as though he’s answering emails, perhaps from his parents living in Greece. Back home, he was working in the family restaurant and he’s moved to the UK to open and run a similar restaurant here. His parents weren’t entirely happy about him moving over here and they keep hoping he’ll come home and settle down. But he’s loving living in London and knows this is the life he always wanted.
2. A couple with big coffee tastes. She’s white, speaks with an accent and has amazing curly brown hair, caught up in a seemingly-effortless style. She’s drinking something hot and speaking quickly, gesticulating with hands, leaning forward and looking at her companion intently. He’s black, sitting quietly and in a laid-back fashion, leaning against the wall beside him. He has a mug infront of him but is sipping from a frappuccino cup with a straw. He says little, sometimes looking at her, sometimes gazing around the room. They have been together about two years, ever since she came over from Spain, and met while studying at the same university. They realised they both enjoyed coffee and come here every week to enjoy a drink and have a chat. There is love there, but they have grown comfortable with each other and he is content to listen while she talks. He loves her for her intensity and passion, she loves him for his quiet stability.
3. An odd couple. He’s a little rough-around-the-edges; scruffy pale jeans, scuffed Converse shoes, an untucked shirt. He carries no bag and wears a jean jacket that’s seen better days. His red hair, however, is perfectly styled although his facial hair looks like he hasn’t shaved for a few days. “Designer stubble”, perhaps. She, however, is the kind of girl I would have been scared of at school. Her hair, long and clearly straightened, is a perfect mix of blonde and brown. Her patterned black-and-white leggings perfectly emphasise her slim legs and she carries her brown bag in the crook of her arm. She exudes a confidence I have never had. As they wait for their coffee (hot for him, frappuccino for her), they joke around, looking at each other but not touching. They are old friends, having studied drama in the same A-level class. Even though he went on to study drama at uni and she did languages, they remained the greatest of friends. People have always suspected they are lovers, but the two of them have never felt that way towards each other. Currently, they are both single, but the dynamics of their relationship will change as soon as one of them enters a serious relationship with someone else. They are both a little worried, which is preventing them from letting each other go in that way.
4. A lone woman, sitting down with only a drink and a phone. She looks a little anxious and fiddles with her mobile, as though she’s expecting someone. Her drink, a frappuccino with caramel-looking sauce but no cream on top, sits almost forlornly in front of her. She is Japanese, with a positive waterfall of beautiful black hair. Her shirt is a vibrant blue and she wears a chunky necklace of black and white stones. She has lived in this country for many years, having come over to study the piano at the Royal College of Music. For many years she has practised continuously, not being a child prodigy but having parents who took her small talent and produced it into something much bigger. She has friends here, other people from the College, but it is an intense life and she is close to getting her first solo performances at big venues in London. She is nervous and unsure of herself, but determined to make her parents proud.
Perhaps my next task will be to put all of these characters into a book… How might their lives intersect? Would they be friends or enemies? Is there potentially love there?
