Comments on: Settings That Inspire

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:00:45 +0000

I don’t read books set in Nashville BECAUSE of the music industry plots. Those bore me to tears. I would totally read a book set in Nashville that had nothing to do with the music industry. In fact, I actually have. The Needlework Mysteries by Monica Ferris has one that takes place at the big industry trade show in Nashville. How many people know that about Nashville?

I do use settings that I’ve never been to. Russia in particular. The closest I can get right now is pictures from my CP. 1600 of them to be exact!

I don’t write a lot of stuff set in Louisiana. With all the history we have, it’s still very difficult to write what I want to write with Louisiana as my setting. I only have one WIP that’s set in Louisiana, pre-Civil War. The Alexandria I’m writing about in that one doesn’t exist anymore. It burned to the ground in less than 4 hours on May 13, 1864, which happened to be a Friday. Though this one book is trying to turn itself into a series. Hero has 2 younger sisters and they’re starting to talk to me about their experiences during The War and one of them falls in love with a Yankee soldier.

While I’ve lived in Louisiana all my life, my family roots here only go back 2 generations. I’ve got more family in South Carolina, Mississippi and Texas than I do here.

I too have a fictional town, in the Colorado Rockies. I LOVE mountains, but my ears would never allow me to live there. So I have characters live there instead.

By: M. Isaac

M. Isaac — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:03:18 +0000

I think the mountains inspire and relax me. I have been through the Appalacian and Blue Ridge mountains and on both sides of the rockies. My favorite is in the autumn when the trees are turning – just beautiful! In general just a change of scenery helps get the creativity flowing

I don’t write (yet!) but if I wrote it would be about a place I am familiar with. I imagine most people do the same thing! Someone writing about growing up in the South is going to write a very differently than someone writing about growing up in the Pacific Northwest. Thus the trend in seeing “regional authors” featured in bookstores.

By: Nicole (ikkinlala)

Nicole (ikkinlala) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:36:53 +0000

I’m not a writer (of fiction, anyway), so I can’t comment on how I choose settings. I have to admit that when I think of Nashville I do tend to think of country music – cut me some slack, please, I’ve never been there – but I think it would be interesting to read about other aspects of the city, especially the historical ones.

By: PatriciaW

PatriciaW — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:50:16 +0000

Choosing a setting is difficult. Using a real place adds, well, a degree of realism, something today’s readers look for. On the otherhand, using a fictious place gives the author more latitude in terms of creating the perfect environment.

Neither one is without trepidation.

I’m using a fictional place in my current wip but it’s near real places that I can reference. I guess I’m trying to meld the two options.

By: Sharon Lavy

Sharon Lavy — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:42:01 +0000

I have gone with a SW Ohio scene, but the towns have ficitous names and several the state park elements are combined.

By: Amy

Amy — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:07:07 +0000

Setting can make a story exotic. When writing a series, setting can become comfortable for the reader to read about more details of a familiar place, and fun. The place is sometimes the most tangible key that holds a series together.

It’s fun to learn things as you read a novel. Place certainly counts for this: a little exotic, and IMHO any place can be made exotic with the vision that a writer employs.

By: CJ

CJ — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 20:37:58 +0000

Writing fanfic makes the process easier. Places, as well as main characters, are already defined

By: Georgiana Daniels

Georgiana Daniels — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:51:51 +0000

I try to stick to places that I’m intimately familiar with. For some reason, my settings bear a strong resemblance to my home town. Of course, I did try the Alaskan wilderness setting, which was fun and I had spent some time there. I love the photo!

By: Emilie

Emilie — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:48:53 +0000

While the town in my current books is fictional, it’s location is deliberately near Purdue University, where I went for undergrad. Loved the school and the area, and if my husband hadn’t gotten a job in the Seattle area, we’d still be living there. I worked as a journalist for a few months after graduation and I got to know the surrounding small towns very well. Those formed the basis for my fictional town. Plus, having it close to Lafayette (a mid-sized city) makes it fairly close to Indianapolis (a big city), and even though my POV character doesn’t spend much time in either of those places, it does make the town seem a bit more connected to the outside world.

Maybe someday I’ll set a novel in Seattle, but my mindset is still very Midwestern, especially my writing mindset. Who knows–it might be fun:)

By: rose mccauley

rose mccauley — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:26:17 +0000

I can’t wait to read about Bonneterre! My current WIP is set in a fictional town in KY that I am basing on two towns put together to give me some frame of reference. I picked rural KY because that is where I’ve lived for 36 years. I do think setting is very important to a story.