I went down to Bristol last weekend looking for a location for my new novel The Teacher. The village I went to look at wasn’t quite right, or at least not how I’d imagined it. So I was a little disappointed. Then I realised I was approaching it in completely the wrong way. I was looking at it like a screenwriter or a director searching for locations and not a novelist. As I’m going to make it a fictional village in the shadow of Avonmouth bridge I can basically write it as I imagine. Obviously I’m still getting used to working as a novelist and there are new things to take on board. People who read the book and know the area will recognised the village it’s based on, but then hopefully invent a new place in their minds. I’m always worried about using real places that are small in case I cause offence but also because you then have to stick to the actual topography which can then get in the way of the story. So, still learning.
