Under the Microscope
James McCreet puts the first 300 words of a reader’s novel under his forensic gaze
Driving Down Shore Road
This was it! This was the one.1 A new start and a fresh beginning.2 That’s all Maisie wanted, all she needed.3 Was it too much to ask for?4 It had seemed so.5 Until now.6
Breathing an inward sigh of relief7 Maisie felt her exhausting,8 and often soul destroying,9 search for a home was finally over.10 She hadn’t really thought it would be possible.11 After all she did have such a tiny budget accompanied by a very lengthy list of particulars required to find the perfect home for herself and Madison, her very loving and loyal Golden Labrador.12
“What do you think?” The estate agent’s gentle enquiry pulled Maisie out of her reverie.13 Too caught up in her thoughts to respond immediately,14 Maisie uttered a non-commital ‘Mmmm’15 and continued up the steps leading to the front door.16
“I like the door colour,” murmured Maisie.17
“Yes, it’s just recently been re-painted. The warm terracotta hue gives it that nice Meditteranean feel,” replied Tim,18 the overly enthusiastic estate agent.19 Not sure Dilshaw could be classed as an exotic town thought Maisie, but hey, it was a gorgeous coastal town in Devon so practically the next best thing.20
Holding her breath nervously twiddling with her long brown curls, she watched Tim unlock the front door.21 Maisie glanced eagerly around the communal hallway. Her previous experience of these entrances had been distinctly negative,22 with their insalubrious threadbare carpets and fusty air.23 But this one, she thought, might just pass muster.24 The junk mail, a small stack of takeaway menus and free circulars,25 had been tidied away onto a table neatly tucked away in a corner.26 The brown bedouin carpet looked immaculate27 and even the solitary potted fern looked verdant and thriving.28