Marcellus’ House

One of the best suggestions I received about Substance of Shadows from author friends is that I should make the novel a little more omniscient. Yeah, that's popular right now.

But you know, the novel wants to be omniscient. There would be an omniscient narrator who could pull things together easily, although the identity of the omniscient narrator would be a bit of a surprise. Still, shooting for that old fashioned Victorian feel. Need to pull away from the modern prose a bit.

Another thing I needed to do was get my houses right. My blocking was getting pretty obnoxious. Rooms were blending in weird ways. I went out to find template houses to pattern my three homes on. These houses will contain most of the action of five books, so they themselves are characters to some extent.

What houses am I using as my templates? Glad you asked. I'll be happy to tell you in this series of entries!

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Mirrored from Writer Tamago.

Galt House

The next house I had to find was Galt House. Galt House is the ancestral home of our main protagonist. They're a complicated bunch, slightly on the ruthless side, and they really, really want the Klarion scroll.

The house that I've patterned Galt House on is Abbotsford. Abbotsford is in the south of Scotland, and was built by Sir Walter Scott. There are some amazing features that I think will add much to the book. The library is a feature that I will leave in tact. Most of the formal entertaining area is in one part of the house, and the private chambers, which are currently being turned into suites for rental during tourist season, can easily be shaped into one wing of the house. More rooms for family members can be imagined above the first floor. The grounds are also spectacular.

Now I just have to airlift the entire house to Hathersage.

Abbotsford is closed for restoration and remodeling until 2013, when it will reopen with improved facilities.

Next up, Mistraldol. The most complicated house I need.

Mirrored from Writer Tamago.