Are they human or are they ...? by Fran Brady
For novel writers, characters are very important, and so too are settings. In two of my four novels, I was very conscious, while writing, that the place itself was as much a character as the protagonist. One is set in St Andrews in Scotland, home of golf and of the third oldest university in Britain, steeped in history and horror stories (e.g. Reformation martyrs burnt at the stake at the entrance to Quad. The other is set in the Hebrides and revolves around a lighthouse family. The bleak but beautiful landscape, the wild and wilful sea: both are fully paid-up members of the dramatic personae. Weather too can be so central to the tale as to assume character status. Heavy skies, scudding clouds and sheeting rain can have as much effect on the action and atmosphere as a human character. Or stifling heat, gentle, warm breezes ... If they happen once, they are just details; but, if they are frequent and integral, they...