Posted on 23/02/2023 in Dorothy Says
Saturdays In Sydney
5-minute read
Hello you
How are you?
Back in 2005 to 2007, I lived in a central suburb in Sydney, Australia. Not sure if you know that?
If you took a walk or drive around Sydney on Saturday mornings, you’d find all manner of furniture and items left outside on the pavements of various properties. I saw so much stuff – dining chairs, dining sets and a bed frame. All in good-ish condition, all waiting for people to come along to rehome and relove them.
I loved this part of living there – just adored the idea that something you didn’t need any more was going to someone who did.
Right now, my husband and I are embarking on a DIY journey which involves a lot of chucking out before we get to the painting and repair work.
Our under-the-stairs cupboard has been a junk-shop like nightmare for a while and this weekend we decided to tackle it. Amongst all the bric-brac and memories, were two vacuum cleaners that worked fine but had been replaced by our new whizzy one.
Rather than take them to the electrical recycling point, I suggested we leave them outside our house with a note saying ‘Please Take, They Still Work Perfectly’, copying what I saw in Sydney.
They both went within a few hours which I was thrilled about because I love the idea that someone else is benefitting from our unwanted goods. We’re going to experiment with doing this again after our next big clear out.
Why am I telling you about this now? Because doing that reminded me of Saturdays in Sydney and I decided that it’s something I’m going to weave into one of my next stories. I may even make up a story based on it.
If you’re a writer, using something quirky or even mundane from your own life is one way to inject authenticity and depth into your characters. If you’re a reader, know that little bits of my life are sprinkled all over my books.
For example, my obsession with the 10th Doctor Who had Marshmallows For Breakfast’s Summer, Jaxon and Kendra living on Tenant Road; in That Day You Left (previously The Flavours of Love) my ‘discovering a wasp is in the shower with me’ moment played out with a poignant scene for Saffron, and my unending, 90s-sparked love for Saved By The Bell, plays an important role for the main characters in My Other Husband.
Fiction writers, you don’t have to go overboard with this – you’re not writing your life story after all – sprinkling in little traits and experiences is just a way to give the character a little extra ummpf.
Hope all is good with you.
Speak soon.
Dorothy x
PS Don’t forget: you can pre-order a signed copy of My Other Husband here and unsigned copies here and here to make sure it arrives in your life as soon as possible after it’s released.
