I was writing today about the Angels’ Trumpet flowers that I saw everywhere around Munnar and Periyar. Ginny my character was painting them and I thought I’d better check I’d got the name right. Turns out they’re highly toxic… so you never know what that might mean! I really like them so I’ve decided to order one to plant in my little garden. It will be my memorial plant for my friend Annette – seeing those pristine white trumpets will remind me of her crisp white shirts. And they have a lovely scent in the evening.

I was also writing about Hindu temples and consulted my sketch book to remind myself of the deities I’d drawn in the little temple in Munnar. I then wasted a good hour trying to identify one I’d sketched – a male with 4 arms standing on or in front of a cobra. Haven’t managed to track him down. Tant pis!

I then wasted a bit more time gathering historical events by date to make sure I know what was going on in the world at large while the story takes place. Not that I’ll use it all – in fact probably almost none of it – but adding it to my timeline just helps me think myself more into the characters and their lives.  At the weekend I tried to unstick my “stuckness” by breaking the action down into little chunks and sticking it all on the wall. It’s difficult to understand exactly how this helps – but it does! It unlocked me and got me going again. I haven’t finished this mapping exercise – and will probably leave it neglected on the wall until the next time I get stuck and then I can add to it and hope it gets me going again. Anyway right now there are a few post-its up there that haven’t yet been converted into the story.