The Milestones Write Tag

Hopefully this inspires me to get back to my book! The original post is here.

RULES

• Provide a short description of your WIP/story!

Above, a respected mental health clinic runs smoothly. 

Below, a young girl is locked in an underground wing with a dying woman.

Afraid that someone will discover the truth, Jennifer plays her role carefully. One wrong move, and the life she has so carefully built will crumble around her. Faithfully, she pretends there are voices she cannot hear; people she cannot see.

Focused on the past, Claire struggles to cling to reality. Maintaining her grip through careful routines, she withdraws further and further. As her situation worsens, she becomes trapped in her own mind, immersed in endless cycles.

Their grasp on reality weakening, both women seek help. This leads them to a hospital, and to Cora, imprisoned with a woman who is not her mother.

Gradually, they realise that “special” patients don’t always get to go home.

Wow, that really got me thinking about how little I have thought of a synopsis/description for this book! Let’s start the questions…

1. Can your Main Character (MC) remember their first day of school? Who was with them?

Jennifer probably can remember it, but she doesn’t like to. She was four, the previous night was a bad one. Her mum brought her along, but was angry with her for not wanting her dad to come.

2. Which one of your characters would be the first to buy a house or property?

Claire was paying her half of a mortgage at twenty.

3. Does someone in your WIP own a pet?

Yes! Claire has a family dog named Oscar. Jennifer doesn’t currently have any pets (although, in the future, a special person might bring a rabbit into the family) but her mum has a nasty cat named Mrs Dalloway.

4. What was your MC’s first job and how did they feel about it?

Jennifer worked in a theatre box office. She liked being in the theatre, but was having a difficult time, didn’t really make friends, and felt it was too close to and too far from what she wanted to do.

Claire didn’t work until she had children. She worked from home as a columnist, focusing on parenting, running an advice column each week. However, she wasn’t confident pursuing this under her own name, so the columns come alternatively from “Emma”, “Sue” and “Carol-Anne”.

5. Does your MC or another character want kids?

Kids are a difficult conversation for Jennifer.

Claire wanted the majority of her children, but potentially not for the right reasons.

6. Name a song that reminds one of your characters of heartbreak in their life!

I think they’d both struggle with Dancing Queen.

7. Has one of your characters lost someone close to them? How did they deal with it?

Jennifer lost her best friend at the age of twenty. She has not been able to deal with this at all, and occasionally acts as if Mitzi is still alive.

Claire lost her sister at the same age. She sometimes likes to recall happy memories, but struggles to talk about Jessica to other people.

8. What is an achievement your MC is proud of?

Claire considers her oldest daughter, Amy, to be her biggest achievement.

Jennifer is proudest of getting into teaching, and watching her students learn and thrive.

Bonus: I’m not sure how to do an aesthetic, so I thought I’d mention a little about Cora! None of these questions really apply to her. She’s eighteen, likes reading and picking apart words, gets to go outside once a month, and is attended to by a nurse with one eye.