Well, I didn’t make it up to my Faber class last night 😦 A combination between snow, freezing temperatures and my tutor being called away to Wales on a family emergency. We were offered the opp to sit in with the other class, but I decided not to go.

But hey, it wasn’t all bad…there was cake!

So instead, today’s post is some character work. I’ve been working on the new version of the WIP, Still and because I’m trying to edit the first 5000 words for submission for my critique I’ve decided not to write any more until the editing is done. So I’ve been working on the characters instead, which is one of my favourite parts of writing to be honest.

Here is Laura’s (Still has 2 main characters, mother and daughter) story with dates so I can keep track 😉

Laura was born in May 1954 in Blackheath, South East London to parents William & Rose Morgan. William was a Black Cab driver and Rose ran a small café/tea shop in the village. The family lived above the café in a flat.

Laura was a loner as a teenager with no real friends and worked in the café when she left school at 15. She liked listening to music but wasn’t fashion conscious. A plump girl (she had a healthy appetite) with perfect pale skin, her eyes are the colour of a copper coin, her hair, muddy brown. She was shy, quiet, and spent her evenings reading. Bullied at school she bites her nails and has a tendency to allow people to walk all over her.

At 16 (1970) she met Ronnie Quinn, her first boyfriend and became pregnant. But Ronnie became involved in drugs and they split up. Laura’s parents were supportive and she decided to keep her baby. After her daughter Ruby was born (1972) she married Daniel Hopwood, a friend of Ronnie’s and they moved into a rented flat.

Initially, things were great, and Laura discovered herself pregnant again. Unfortunately, Daniel had become increasingly verbally abusive and during a fight he pushed Laura down the stairs, which resulted in a miscarriage and Laura unable to have more children.

Life with Daniel was emotionally exhausting and after her father’s death (1974) Laura sank further and further into herself, neglecting her daughter Ruby who spent a lot of time with her grandmother. Daniel manipulated her quiet gentle nature and lack of self-esteem to the point where she felt that there was nothing in life that she was good or successful at. She lost all will to even get out of bed.

As an adult, Laura still bites her fingernails, chain smokes and has developed deep wrinkles around her eyes. Her hair remains shoulder length with a fringe (she cuts it herself) and she rarely eats. Preferring to live on tea. She loves animals but Daniel won’t hear of having a pet. She feeds the stray cat who hangs around the garages without her husband knowing.

At the age of 32 (1986), with a teenage daughter to cope with, no money of her own, no job, not even her own bank account and constant threats of violence from her husband she had a break down and became hospitalised. She recovered but her daughter Ruby had gone to live with her mother.

When her mother died (1990) Laura summoned the courage (with Ruby’s help) to leave Daniel and move into a small flat with Ruby. Unfortunately Daniel persuaded her that he loved her, needed her, and that he would change. She goes back to him but Ruby refuses to live under the same roof as her stepfather and after a huge argument the mother and daughter fall out (1994).

Laura left Daniel again after she discovered he was having an affair and tried to rebuild her life with the encouragement and support of a friend (neighbour) she’d made. She tried searching for Ruby several times.

Diagnosed with breast cancer (1997) and the prognosis looking grim she asks her friend to help her find Ruby so that she can try to sort things out. The friend manages to track Ruby down and Laura sends her a letter, along with a notebook she has been writing in, recording events of her life since before Ruby was born.

Ruby receives the package while Laura is having chemotherapy, the double mastectomy having been a success and the two women are reconciled.

Awwwww, that all seems really sad doesn’t it lol, ive really put her through it 😉 But….that’s not the end of Laura’s story….if you want to find out exactly what happens you’ll have to buy the book lol 😉

Next week…Ruby’s story 😉