Typical ~ Maressa Mortimer



I enjoy chaos and mad days, crazy challenges and lots of noise and mayhem. There are a few exceptions where I like things straight.

One thing I like is stereotypes. I was gratified to see the grey clouds lower themselves, drizzling down on us, as soon as we crossed into Scotland just a few weeks ago. Just the way I expected it. Of course, most of the two weeks we had in St Andrews and Dundee were lovely and sunny, but cool enough to not upset my ideas of Scotland’s weather. People we met discussed the weather at length, again, just the way it should be.

When Storm Arwen started playing up on Friday, we went to the Old Golf Course in St Andrews to have a look around. The kids loved the wind, and whilst we struggled to stop the car doors from flying off the hinges, my husband talked to another guy unloading his car. Of course he was going to play golf; it was just a bit of wind after all. Of course. I smiled, feeling the storm pass me by.

St Andrew' Old Golf Course, which I only remembered from Chariots of Fire.


I managed to overcome my love for stereotypes by eating ice cream at a special Ice Cream Parlour in St Andrews. Apparently, they sell the best ice cream in Scotland. I can well believe it, it was amazing. It was dark outside, cold and windy, it was Scotland, and we were eating ice cream. I know, it was all wrong, but delicious.

It also makes it easier to tell people the price of your book with a smile. Naturally, they’ll want to know the price of your book before even looking at the blurb. It’s Scotland after all, and like the Dutch, who cares what the book is about if you’re not going to spend your hard-earned money on it?

It made me think about writing. When you have typical things in your book, do people roll their eyes at you? Of course, it’s all about chocolate if your book is set in Belgium. Dutch characters all hang around cafes where they serve mushrooms and dodgy cigarettes to their relaxed customers. The English characters seem to have shares in tea, the way they sip away all day. I get that there is something to be said for no stereotypes in your book. But does that sometimes make characters seem less real or believable?

I love the order that typical characters bring to stories, as it feels familiar. But there is something special about unique characters as well. It’s harder to write about people the way God sees us, I think. It’s more about the heart and people’s character than about their favourite drinks or the weather. I realised that it’s the small details that can help us to connect more with the characters. When they love coffee, it warms my heart and makes me like the person already. What if there is a character trait that draws us in, a kindness that warms our hearts? A view of God that stirs our souls?

So, what’s your favourite stereotype you enjoy seeing in books, or do you cringe whenever something is too typical to be true?


Maressa Mortimer is Dutch but lives in the beautiful Cotswolds, England with her husband and four (adopted) children. Maressa is a homeschool mum as well as a pastor’s wife, so her writing has to be done in the evening when peace and quiet descend on the house once more. She loves writing Christian fiction, as it’s a great way to explore faith in daily life. Because of her interest in writing, Maressa is part of Creativity Matters: Find Your Passion For Writing, an anthology encouraging people to write.

Her debut novel, Sapphire Beach, was published in December 2019, and her first self published novel, Walled City, came out in December 2020, followed by Viking Ferry, a novella. Beyond the Hills is the second book in the Elabi Chronicles, and was released on June 18th 2021. All of Maressa’s books are available from her website, www.vicarioushome.com, Amazon or local bookshops.



Comments

  1. A fascinating post, Maressa. Very appropriate for St Andrew's Day!

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  2. I loved this! Weirdly, Scotland, land of drizzle and low-lying cloud is famous for its ice-cream, thanks to the Italian immigrants who escaped from war-torn Italy in the 1850s and brought their recipes with them. I hate romantic novels where the women are all sassy and beautiful and successful and the men are chiselled and silent, and you just know they will find True Love at the end. I'm looking forward to reading a Maressa Mortimer about dodgy mushrooms and fags!

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    1. Thanks Ruth! I might find some special mushroom trope stories!

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  3. Such an interesting post. I think I like it when I have a fixed view of a character and then the character does something unexpected. People do that all the time. E.g. I know quite a serious-minded vicar who loves playing Candy Crush. I like that!

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    1. Yes! It's those quirky things that make it interesting!

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  4. I love the Agatha Christie stereotypes - we all know the kind of people we expect to be in the country house at the weekend houseparty. Also the library is so iconic - either it is where the murder must take place or it is the place where all gather for a new crisis to be discussed or for the mystery to be resolved. I make use of that stereotype in my novel A Passionate Spirit which is set in a gracious Cotswolds manor house.

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  5. How lovely that you were able to take your husband and family too. Your first trip to Scotland? I love Scotland. My father was Scottish and I have been a number of times as my mother-in-law is Scottish too. Hope you managed to sell lots of books too!

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    1. We've been to Inverness, but this was really the first proper visit. We'll definitely have to go again!

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  6. I actually enjoy subverting stereotypes - or at least twisting them slightly, so what the reader gets may not be quite what they expect!

    For example, one of my main characters is a van driver who discovers poetry. Of course, there's no reason why they shouldn't, and I'm sure that there are a lot of people who drive vans and enjoy poetry. But the two things don't naturally go together in most people's minds - and in that there's opportunity for a writer!

    (Though, to be honest, the van driver only got into poetry because he ran a poet down!).

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    1. That's brilliant! Yes, it's fun to play with the unexpected!

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  7. Lovely post! Stereotype? I think I very much like the familiar - the old school or characters that are predictable like me! On the other hand, I'd like to also see characters that make one glorify God like exhibiting the kindness trait you mentioned. Well food for thought.

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    1. Yes! So good to see godly character shining through!

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