Amanda Meuwissen's Blog - Posts Tagged "location"
Impact Readers with Real Locations in Fiction
There are as many locations in fiction as the mind can think up, because fiction never needs to be based in reality. If you’re writing about colonization on the moon, chances are it’s not going to be based off of any real place. Even when writing contemporary fiction, there are no rules that say you HAVE to write about a real city; you can make one up, and many authors do.
But there is something to be said about taking real places, places that the author knows well or researches thoroughly, that can have even more personal impact for readers.
My series, The Incubus Saga, has many real life locations mentioned, particularly one of the main settings, my home of Minneapolis, MN, and its surrounding suburbs.
When I describe the apartment complex in St. Louis Park where the brothers in the story first meet Sasha Kelly, that’s a real location I passed on the bus many times.
When I describe what’s around Loring Park, those are real details.
Schuester’s high-rise apartment by Lake Calhoun? You better believe I salivate over those awesome lofts, and that I even looked up the apartment layouts to give an accurate description of that building’s accommodations.
Obviously, there is some liberty taken with specifics, interior design, and the view a certain Irish Pub might have of the city it overlooks, but I always strive to capture a real location and give details someone who lives there might recognize. If someone happens to live in Chicago, Pittsburgh, or even Rushville, MO, it may not be as detailed as I can make my own hometown, but it will be as close as I can get it.
How do you use real locations in your fiction? Do you prefer to always make locations up instead? If you do use real places, feel free to share pictures or details of the town/city/location that inspired the setting of your story and why it was included.
But there is something to be said about taking real places, places that the author knows well or researches thoroughly, that can have even more personal impact for readers.
My series, The Incubus Saga, has many real life locations mentioned, particularly one of the main settings, my home of Minneapolis, MN, and its surrounding suburbs.
When I describe the apartment complex in St. Louis Park where the brothers in the story first meet Sasha Kelly, that’s a real location I passed on the bus many times.
When I describe what’s around Loring Park, those are real details.
Schuester’s high-rise apartment by Lake Calhoun? You better believe I salivate over those awesome lofts, and that I even looked up the apartment layouts to give an accurate description of that building’s accommodations.
Obviously, there is some liberty taken with specifics, interior design, and the view a certain Irish Pub might have of the city it overlooks, but I always strive to capture a real location and give details someone who lives there might recognize. If someone happens to live in Chicago, Pittsburgh, or even Rushville, MO, it may not be as detailed as I can make my own hometown, but it will be as close as I can get it.
How do you use real locations in your fiction? Do you prefer to always make locations up instead? If you do use real places, feel free to share pictures or details of the town/city/location that inspired the setting of your story and why it was included.
