Inspiration Behind the Story - Worth Waiting For

Another in my series of Inspiration behind the story. This time I am going to tell you how the idea for my story 'Worth Waiting For' in this week's Woman's Weekly, came about.

I was sitting in my doctors surgery waiting for a doctor whose name I couldn't remember. I was just hoping that when the time came, they'd call my name loud enough to drag my attention from the magazine I was reading (don't you just love reading things you'd never normally buy).

As I waited, a succession of doctors came out and called names and as they did, it made me think about how things had changed at the surgery since I moved to the town in 1987. For many years, I had one doctor: I knew him and he knew me. He saw me through my two pregnancies and other general ailments and I trusted him implicitly. When he retired, it was a very sad day (not for him, I'm sure!).

Now the system has changed. Nobody has a doctor - or rather you get to choose who you would like to see. The only problem is, if you want a specific doctor, chances are you will need to make an appointment a week or so in advance (not much good when you're ill and need to see someone that day). I actually saw five different doctors while they tried to sort out my high blood pressure over the course of a few weeks. I had to tell the same thing to each one and lovely though they all were, I never felt I knew any of them.

This led me to think how hard it must be for the older patient who needs the reassurance of a familiar face and with this in mind, my main character, Mrs Parsons, was born. The other character, Izzy Maynard, was based on a young woman who was struggling to get her double buggy through the surgery door.

So you see, inspiration is everywhere. Look out for it next time you are out somewhere.

Also, you might like to look out for my story, 'Too Good to Last', which is in this month's People's Friend Fiction Special.