I usually ignore the piece of writing advice that says 'write what you know'. For one thing, it wouldn't take very long for me to write what I know, and no one would ever want to read it anyway.
{Epiphany}
Wait a minute. My town has a great east coast atmosphere.
It suddenly made perfect sense to set my tales in Newfoundland. I know this place so well. Of all the places I've been, there is no place more eerie, romantic, rugged, colourful, or beautiful than this province.
So I've decided that my current WIP should take place right here. But in order to really get the full flavour of the location, I have to say more than "They lived in Tiny Harbour, Newfoundland".
This is the fun part, describing the sights, sounds, and smells of an outport community. Jewel coloured houses scattered along the shore. The salty sting of the wind off the water. The cry of the gulls circling over the harbour. But more than this, the reader should know about all the little quirks and idiosyncrasies of the place. These details make the setting come alive.
As a reader, I want the author to take me away, make me feel like I'm in that place watching the story unfold. I've read stories, good ones, that have left the setting in the background, but the stories I remember are the ones that surround me with mountains, or streets, or fields. Lucy Maude Montgomery has transported generations of readers to Prince Edward Island. J. R. R. Tolkien did the same with his fictional Shire.
When it comes right down to it, i want my cowboy to ride off into a real sunset, not one of those painted backdrops.
Tell me about your favorite setting - the good ones you've read or the ones you like to write.
My favourite settings bask in the glow of yesteryear which for me is anywhere from 1950 and back into the mists of time. Country or city doesn't matter as long as I can be transported back, back.......I was never much on forward, always back.
ReplyDeleteLaurita, that is a great idea. New Foundland. I can't say I've ever read a novel set there. Are there any others?
ReplyDelete- Maurice Mitchell
The Geek Twins | Film Sketchr
@thegeektwins | @mauricem1972
Not to speak for Laurita, Maurice, but some of the world's very finest novels have been set in Newfoundland. The one that springs to mind first and foremost is Annie Proulx's Pulitzer Prize winning The Shipping News. A must read!
DeleteI've always felt that write what you know advice was aimed mainly at themes, not necessarily settings. But when you do get inspired by something that can take place in your backyard, more power to you as you can really make the world come alive with the descriptions much more easily.
ReplyDeleteGood for you and best of luck!
There are a lot of worse places to write from. To be honest, setting has not depicted many of my works in years. People make the settings germane in both of my recent novels, and almost all of my recent short stories. The places I create - like this prison three fools just broke out of, hundreds of years old, rotten from neglect, surrounded by an inky fog emanating from subterranean squid - is just the product of the people I know have been there. Maybe I've gotten too far away from the ground itself.
ReplyDeleteThe Rock has so much going for it, and I know, from reading some of your vignettes that you have set close to home, that you have a wonderful way of transporting the reader so that they share a fraction of the beauty that surrounds you out there - can't wait to see the WIP come to fruition!
ReplyDeleteI've had some of my most fun using "real" locations in my stories. I've set two or three around the cottage my family had on Lake Superior as a kid, and my postage-stamp apartment in Toronto has made its own appearance as well. It makes a huge difference, when you've been where you're trying to describe. If you're making a place up, you paint in broad strokes - hills, trees, houses, etc. On the other hand, if you've been, you find little interesting details like half of a place being painted vibrant green, and the other side of that very building being blasted to dull grey by the constant wash of the sea.
Good post Laurita!
Hi Laurita .. sounds like you've come the full circle .. home is home and home is where the writing heart is .. makes sense - cowboys in Newfoundland though is new to me .. have fun using the land of your birth as your backdrop .. cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteLandscape has always been my first priority with writing and reading. I love the work of a fellow West Australian, Tim Winton, who 'nails' the feel of this place every time.
ReplyDeleteThe sea, the sea. Yes.
Well, you know I'd love to read a story set there. Of course, I'm a bit biased. :)
ReplyDelete(Have you ever read a nonfiction book called THE DAY THE WORLD CAME TO TOWN by Jim DeFede? It's about a number of planes that were forced to land in Newfoundland when the airspace over the US was closed on 9/11. Very well written. )
Always, always write about that which you know--something that often gets forgotten. I would love to build up a sensory image of Newfoundland!
ReplyDeleteI think you'd be just crazy to NOT write about Newfoundland. As much as you travel, it is this place that lives in your heart. And you should always, always write from your heart.
ReplyDelete