Writing Prompt Story Starter: Built By Love

Shutterstock / Pavlos Manousiadis©

The impressive building above is the Mortuary Chapel which is in the Western Cemetery, Arbroath.

Not only is it beautiful inside and out, but it’s testament to the love that one man had for his wife.

It was commissioned by the artist Patrick Allan-Fraser as a memorial to his late wife Elizabeth and her deceased parents, John Fraser and Elizabeth Parrot Fraser.

Work on this beautiful building began in 1875 and took 20 years to complete. A few weeks ago I went along, with Jacki from the Production Team, to see inside and hear all about the history of this magnificent token of love.

An Enduring Love

What a story you could create based on this! Your story could be influenced by Patrick Allan-Fraser’s love for his wife, and such a story could be set at the start of construction or indeed nowadays.

The thread running through the story will be love and devotion, but what of the couple themselves? Obviously you would create your own characters, but the idea of such devotion gives you a beginning. You could imagine quite the back story for them.

Of course, you could make your story a contemporary one. Someone could be researching the history of a special old building, or carrying out repairs. Perhaps a mysterious book or letter is found hidden inside? A dual era story can sometimes be tricky, but why not challenge yourself?

Build your story around the building.

To find inspiration for starting to write your stories, we have lots of ideas on our Story Starter page.

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