January 25, 2026
Why I Name the Rooms First
Before I write a chapter, I name the room where the scene will happen. Not the abstract location, the room itself.
The room is never decoration; it is pressure, permission, and memory at once. A vestry, council chamber, kitchen, or corridor changes how people speak. People lower their voice in one place and perform in another.
Once I understand the room, the dialogue stops sounding invented and starts sounding overheard. It is also how I keep the books humane.
I do not begin with a thesis and then find people to carry it.
I begin with people inside a room that asks something of them, and then I follow what they do.
Clive