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| Queensgate Shopping Centre, Peterborough |
I made the decision to visit the location where I have set a few scenes for my next book. Although the majority of the scenes take place in a fictional place, this place is set a few miles outside Peterborough. Of course I did some research on the internet, but you can't beat visiting the place yourself. So, I booked three nights away to check out various locations.
Why Peterborough? Well, I've never been there, but it had been on my list for a while. It wasn't my first choice, but then I realised I'd already set a story in my original choice (unpublished as yet), so I didn't want to repeat it. Peterborough wasn't that far from my original choice, as the crow flies.
Being in Peterborough has helped me sort those few scenes that take place in the centre of Peterborough. I soon realised one scene wouldn't work in its present form. The location was wrong. A few other scenes would also need tweaking. It was good to know what other buildings were nearby and the various entrances/exits of shopping centres. This visit was a good chance to fix the place in my mind and see my characters there. I took photos of the locations and I can still picture the places in my head.
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| Exit onto Green Square (Queensgate) |
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| Rivergate Shopping Centre leading to Asda (to the left) |
I enjoyed Peterborough and visited a number of other places in the city. These might also come in handy should I ever write a sequel! The trip has allowed me now to set one scene in a place (thought not visited...I do have a map) I can now describe, thanks to the Tourist Information Centre.
I've yet to make the amendments to the manuscript. However, before I left for Peterborough, I had completed the first BIG edit, sorting out the plot (I hope) and making other edits that needed to be made. The manuscript is also longer by approximately 15,000 words. The next phase is to read through the whole document and see if still gels together while adding the amendments from my location visit. After that I think I shall run off the pages and do another read through to see if I need to make any other changes.
This particular work has been something like five years in the making. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever get it finished. I've written an 80,000 word draft novel in less time. However, I really believe in this, so however long it takes doesn't matter.
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| Queensgate |
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| Rivergate |
And just so you don't think I spent all my time photographing shopping centres, here are a few other photos I took. I think I may well have a return visit sometime, because I had a good time and found a couple of great cafes!
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| Thorpe Meadow |
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| Guildhall (detail) |
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| Stained glass window, Peterborough Cathedral |
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| Central Library and theatre |
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