Have or would you ever based a story in….?

0 Votes
    47 Views
Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Pinterest

…A place you’ve only visited or never been to?

I’m writing a story, and I hate basing my stories in Texas, where I live. There are so many stereotypes about Texans and I don’t want anyone to picture my character with a red-neck accent just because that’s where I happen to live.

I want to set my setting to be in Massachusetts. It’ll be a fictional town in the west part of the state where it’s more rural. I have been to Boston once for a summer, but besides that, it was my only visit.

I know Stephenie Meyer wrote about Forks when she had only looked up google maps of the area and never stepped foot in. Obviously there are several people that think that was stupid of her.

I’m a little nervous about this. I usually just give the name of the town and leave the location to the imagination, but I think this time it’ll help the story along.

So I want your opinions. Would you set your story in a place you’ve only visited or have never been to before?
Oh darn. A grammatical error in the Title. That sucks…

8

Answers


  1. RunningBear
    I have set a screenplay in Arizona before, and I've never set foot outside the UK. But then, in a screenplay you don't have to describe too much in detail - the camera does it for you - so as long as you get the basics right I think you can get away with it. And I have seen plenty of other films based in Arizona or similar territory to draw from. Writing a novel is a different matter and you'll almost always have to include more description of surroundings. I wrote a novel based in a particular part of the Isle of Wight, and did loads of research on the internet about it, but even then I felt I needed to visit it to be sure I wasn't getting anything stupid wrong. I spent a day there, walked all round it and took loads of pictures, and after that I was able to write about it so much better. In fact it's one of my favourite places now and we go there on holiday sometimes! So. Answer. I don't think it's a good idea to set a novel in a real place you have never visited. I do think a visit is enough, if go with a good idea of what you want to see and learn, and you use your time well. If you're unable to visit, I think the best thing to do is use a fictional place instead. That way you can't get anything wrong! You can use a fictional town name but put it in a particular country, state or region - it's easier to get vaguer things like that right. Most of the time, I do set my stories in fictional places, or just don't say where they're set.
Please signup or login to answer this question.