16. Key Words
The
first book I had published was a guide to pregnancy
and childbirth called Becoming a Mother. In it I told the stories
of about 40 pregnancies involving a couple of dozen women.
Although the book contains all the relevant science – and has
been updated and reissued as medical opinion has changed and advanced
– it is above all a guide to the emotional journey.
I'm still really grateful to the women I interviewed for the book. It
is their honesty and their perceptions which have made it a success.
The stories in Becoming a Mother are told under pseudonyms
– both parents and children. Paradoxically, as I was writing I
took trouble to make sure that each woman would
be easily recognised by those closest to her.
I didn't do this deliberately but accidentally. It came naturally out of the attention I paid to the women's patterns of speech, their verbal mannerisms and distinctive choice of vocabulary.
I try to keep this 'trigger' process in mind when writing fiction. In my notes for characters in Labyrinth, I have jotted down words and expressions that provide a convenient handle for each member of my cast. Sometimes, when I'm not sure how to proceed, these notes give me my best clue.
