Losing The Plot ...

... just a bit ...

What with all the excitement of Disraeli Avenue, Garden Spells, This England and the Della Galton course, I haven't said anything about Accidentally On Purpose for ages.

So time for another couple of prompts:-

What is Gareth really like?

Gareth is inadequate. He knows that he’s only clinging on to his job by the skin of his teeth. He was only promoted to store manager because no one else wanted the job. He loves Bookstar because it manages his staff for him, meaning he doesn’t have to.

He uses his size to intimidate people although he’s actually quite embarrassed about it. He knows he doesn’t have many management skills at his disposal so he relies on sarcasm, subterfuge and general sneakiness.

He is scared of Trish because she’s been there so long and he realises she would probably make a better manager than him. He’s scared of Hilary because he thinks she’s a loose cannon and he’s never quite sure when she might go off.

Gareth worked out a long time ago that Rachel doesn’t really want to be there, has no real interest in working in a bookshop, and doesn’t respect him. However, he also knows that she needs the money and he uses that to turn the knife whenever he can. Basically, he’s a bully. It’s probably not his fault that he’s ended up like this, but he doesn’t have too many redeeming features so it’s hard to feel sorry for him.


Why are the stories that Rachel tells herself in her head so real?

This is the key to the whole novel. And I don’t know how to get there yet. Some parts of the story will be told in flashback. But to keep Rachel at the centre of the story – she will be the narrator as she tells other characters’ stories in her head. This will also help to deal with the things that would normally be outside the scope of the first person viewpoint.

Rachel wants to be a writer – or she thinks she does. Actually, in the course of the novel she won’t get around to it – except possibly on the last page. More importantly she is a reader. Things she has read are very real to her and fight for space in her head with real life. Throughout the novel she is as likely to have a conversation with Agatha Christie or Hercule Poirot as she is to have a chat with Trish.

Does that make any kind of sense to anyone but me?

And finally ...

... a few words from the brothers Gibb.

'You're the only living thing that keeps me alive, and tomorrow, if I lose your love ... you know I can't survive.

Every room would be a lonely place if you were gone, and I won't even have your shoulder to cry on.'