Writing by the seat of my pants

The seed for 'Dark Peak' was a nebulous idea that I would like to set a novel in the Derbyshire Peak, where I grew up.  Originally, I thought I would write something set in the past - the sixties, maybe, when policewomen were still struggling to force progress in a male dominated profession.

That notion was lurking at the back of my mind when I went to a Crime Writing weekend at West Dean College, Sussex, hosted by two crime writers:  Elly Griffiths & Lesley Thomson.  I met some great people and had a wonderful weekend writing.  During one exercise Ellie Grey sprang out of my head and onto the page and suddenly I knew I had the seed I needed to get the story started.

Ellie Grey came out complicated.  For one thing, she refused to be a policewoman from the sixties.  She was here and now.  For another, it turned out she had had to leave the police, following a terrible encounter with a drug addict and an iron bar.  This didn't feel like something I made up - Ellie was already like that.  One of the many mysteries of writing.  Characters refuse to be told to do what the writer thinks they should do.  They definitely have minds of their own!

So, Ellie and I started our adventure on Monday 26 October, when I wrote the words 'Dark Peak' and opened a new file on my laptop.  Then, Chapter One.

Most days I write 1,000 words, although life keeps getting in the way.  Today I've reached Chapter Ten, 12,700 words in and counting.

Ellie has developed a family: sister, father, absent mother.  She has also found a body on the moors.  But I think I always knew that was going to happen.  The question is - where does she go from here?