Interior Design for Writers

During the last year, several folks have emailed me about Designs by Gollum. Has it become a book blog? Or food only?

Many people asked if I've stopped posting about home decorating.

So this post is for you all. :-)

 For the last the few years, I've been creating fictional interiors.

 When I write a novel, I'm part-author and part-interior designer.

I don't have a budget and the rooms don't require dusting or vacuuming.

I don't need home owner's insurance, don't pay property taxes, and never need to call a repairman.

Building a fictional setting is similar to shopping for a real house. I spend a long, long time shopping. During this "pre-writing" period, which can last months, I must find a home that defines my character's character.

Once I nail down a house style, I start adding details. Sometimes I find them in magazines or online.

Hand's down, I prefer to use real settings.

And, because I love animals, I'll add a dog. Sometimes I use a real-life dog as a prototype, such as "Zap" from Mermaids in the Basement, but that's a topic for another day.

 I love shopping for houses. But when I'm writing, this is a different kind of shopping because I've been hired to find a home for my character.
Every detail matters. Colors and decorative objects can't be chosen arbitrarily. 

 It was a challenge to decorate a vampire's manse in Acquainted With the Night--how would a wealthy immortal deal with sun-filled rooms?

Would he hire an architect to seal the windows? Or would that cause gossip? Would a human designer kiss-and-tell? What if she created a horrible room? Would the vampire bite her? Perhaps it would be better to hire a designer who works after sunset and intimately understands the need for dark interiors.

 Of course, as a writer, I can't put all of my research into a book, so I have to paint rooms with bold strokes. I don't do this quickly. I can't throw in extraneous details. When you read a book and come upon a fictional room, chances are those objects have been hand-picked by the author.

Writing professors advise authors to add colors and objects that deepen a character and/or move the plot forward. It's as if you've gone to the best tag sale in the world, and you only have a certain amount of money to spend.

Authors agonize over these hard choices.

But that's part of the process.

Unlike real decorating, an imaginary designer must select items that add layers to a character or setting--details must work behind-the-scenes and resonate in a reader's subconscious. Writers must also understand and utilize the psychology of color.

In Gone With a Handsomer Man, Coop O'Malley is a rule-following lawyer, but he secretly wants to see the world in a thousand shades of gray. He didn't rent this beach house on a whim. It says everything about the man he hopes to become.

But the beach house's interior is filled with black-and-white vases, furniture, and paintings. True, his mother, Fat Irene, decorated it, but a mother can shape her son's worldview (as we'll see in the sequel).

It's relevent that Teeny's house is pink with a gray front door. And each time Coop passes through Teeny's gray door, his character transforms.

Readers see fictional rooms and homes in their mind's eye. If the author has done her job, the reader will notice the main items and add their own details.That's the best kind of fictional decor--where authors and readers are co-designers.

So a writer might describe an old world kitchen, and in passing she might mention a fireplace at the far end of the room, with copper pots hanging from the rafters.

Someone, somewhere, will read the book and add these details:

The kitchen in Something's Gotta Give has become an iconic symbol. I blogged about it three years ago, and people are still blogging about it. You can see the photos HERE.
Notice how the white furnishings perfectly depicted the character's world view? All of that ambient white wasn't accidental, was it? By the end of the movie, Diana Keanton's character had stopped wearing white turtlenecks. And she was adding color to her shell collection.

Do you have a favorite fictional decor? Leave me a message, and your name will be added to the drawing for the Kindle, beach-bag giveaway, bird house, turtle cutting board and copper turtle cookie cutter, and the rest of Teeny and Piper's giveaways. If you've left previous messages, your name is already in the bowl, but for each message you write, I'll add your name again.

A sampling of current and future giveaway items at DBG, Acquainted With the Night, and The World According to Teeny.