I thought I’d share with you the architectural sketch I drew of Finn’s house and the granny flat apartment that Brooke lives in. This is from my current novel, Dead is a Temporary Thing. When you read the book you’ll be able to see exactly where the characters are as I describe what’s going on. I don’t put the sketches in my books; though it might not be a bad idea. I use them for my own reference.

When I write a book I can actually see the characters in my head, along with their surroundings. So if I’m writing a scene where they’re in a house, I can see the house. Possible little known fact about me, I was a draftsman for many years. This means I can create realistic homes to scale.

I sometimes will sketch out the location or home my characters live in. I need to make sure when they walk from room-to-room and I describe their surroundings there are no inconsistencies. Movies and television programs sometimes need to do a better job with this. I think in the film industry it’s called continuity. So if you start out in a silver 2001 Corvette, you can’t later change to a silver 2005 Corvette because there will be slight variations that any Corvette affectionato will pick up on. I mention the Corvette example because this is exactly what happened on the last Burn Notice I watched. They kept flipping between a silver corvette with side molding and one that didn’t have side molding.

That happens in novels more than it should in my opinion.

Read the following passage, then look at the sketch. You will see how it was important for me to say her back was to the television.

“I didn’t make Finn breakfast, he made mine. Then I curled up on the couch with my back to the television and watched him tapping away at his laptop on the kitchen table. He kept saying I could put in a movie, but I was too interested in just observing him. I think I fell asleep at one point because I dreamed he was kissing me and I knew darn well that had never happened.
His ten o’clock call, which he took from his home phone, and not his cell, was probably the most fascinating thing of the work day so far. He was very commanding and tough. He didn’t like excuses from people and asked hard questions that would have made me uncomfortable if I’d been as unprepared as some of his staff seemed to be. I expected the people who’d been in meetings with him before were almost always prepared. His irritation could be pretty palpable.
However, as soon as he hung up, he turned to face me and smiled that big smile of his that seemed to say all was right in the world.”