Where did Arrow come from?

Okay, so no one has actually asked me that question, but it seemed like a good starting point for a blog post. Don’t worry, there are no spoilers here, just a bit of background.

The very original seeds for The Taellaneth are many years old.  I started writing the first book when I was in a highly stressful job, really fed up with life, and using writing as an escape. I had an idea for a character who was very constrained by her circumstances, and wanted to escape. Yes, there are very obvious parallels between fiction and reality there.

I also had an idea for an opening scene, one of those scenes that plays in your head like a film, with my main character side-lined, watching the action. The scene poured out of me and I got to the point where I needed to name my main character.

Now, some writers can shove in a random name, or leave a blank space, and keep going, knowing that they can come back and change the name at a later point. That’s the beauty of writing for your own enjoyment; everything can be changed in the edit.  But blank spaces in my writing make me twitchy – I need to know what goes in there, even if it’s just a note, like [there’s a big fight].

So there was a blank space at my main character’s name. I had a fairly well formed mental picture of her already, and knew she wasn’t human, so the easy option of a human name wasn’t available. Then the name Arrow popped into my head. Excellent, I thought, that’ll do for now, and I can change it later if I need to.

Except, that name seemed to fit so it never did get changed, even though the original opening scene isn’t there anymore, and a lot of other details in the book got changed.

Arrow has grown with me, from the original passive, constrained character to the outwardly compliant, inwardly rebellious character we meet in Concealed. She’s far braver than I will ever be, although we’re probably equally stubborn. She’s also someone I’d want at my back if I was ever in trouble.

I hope you enjoy meeting her as much as I’ve enjoyed spending time with her.