Allan Krummenacker's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-vampyre-blogs"
Creating A Fictional Setting...
"Welcome to Pointer, West Virginia"
For those who have never heard of this place, do not fret. It doesn't exist. I made it up to be the setting for "The Vampyre Blogs". A good setting is extremely important to any story. Your story's setting can shape your character's personality depending on how long they've lived there. For instance, if they've been there a short time there's the getting to know the place and the people. Certain action sequences may take place in particular areas. The town's history may come into play. If they've lived there all their lives, they should know a lot of people, have a reputation (are they considered cool, friendly, or weird by the other people? Etc., etc...) Already you can see the importance of your setting and you should know the place at least in your own mind, so you can convey it to the readers. I don't care if it's a real place here on Earth or another world. You need to become familiar with where your story is taking place.
I've touched on settings for stories in the past, but "Pointer, West Virginia" is very different for me. You see, I've never been to West Virginia. I do not have any personal knowledge of what the place is like. I don't know how people talk there, what kind of accents they have, etc.
Creating a fictional place doesn't have to be super complicated, but whatever setting you build has to be believable. In my case, I like to blend a bit of reality into my settings. When I created New Swindon in Connecticut, for my first book "The Bridge", I was familiar with the area where I placed it. My grandmother had lived in Salisbury Connecticut for years and I became familiar with some of the other nearby towns. I blended the characteristics of several of them to create New Swindon to make it seem more real and authentic. I would refer to certain landmarks, roads and the things that actually do exist in real life. This allowed me to make my town more believable and real.
In my second soon-to-be-released book, "The Ship", I used an actual setting from real life that I was very familiar with. However, I also took steps to make sure only my characters were fictional and that they blended right in with their real-life setting. I had the knowledge of Santa Cruz and Seacliff to make this happen smoothly and very believable. (Remember the old saying: write what you know about).
So why am I using West Virginia, a place I've never been too, as the location for my third novel? History! West Virginia is steeped in it, especially when it comes to the Civil War, which is the time-frame my main character Nathaniel lived in. So how did I approach this situation to so
So what did I do? Simple, it was time for a little research on the internet and here is some of what I learned:
-West Virginia was created as a direct result of the Civil War. Most of Virginia sided with the south during that turbulent time, except for the section now known as West Virginia. They were not inclined to enforce slavery or returning runaway slaves, and decided to break off from the rest of Virginia. There was a lot of tension when this happened, and there were a number of famous battles that took place within the newly formed state.
So right there I had a rich source of background to play with for my new novel. However, I still had a number of obstacles to overcome for the story. Where in West Virginia should I place my fictional town? I checked over some county maps and saw where towns and cities were located and took notes. I wanted an area that didn't already have an actual town, so I could refer to the real places as being nearby. Plus I wanted a location that was near the disputed Virginia/West Virginia border. There were some hostilities there, and I had planned for my town's history to include a bunch of raiders (southern sympathizers) who crossed the border and nearly wiped out Pointer's population in one terrible "Night Of Fire". Could such a thing have happened? Absolutely, because I checked up on atrocities that took place during the Civil War. Both the North and South committed atrocities, some extremely barbaric. So right there, I had foundation to create such a background history for the town.
I also, checked to find out what are the more prominent religions in the area, so I could populate the the town with a churches and denominations. Plus I researched, what kinds of agriculture and commercial businesses are most prominent and where they are located in West Virginia.
Now I know a lot of this sounds complicated and detailed, but I simply made a few notes to myself. The object was to be able to make 'general references' to real aspects of the area, to make my fictional town blend in and seem more real. That's all. I won't be dedicating entire chapters to detailed descriptions, mostly it will be comments and points of reference made by the characters. I even found where a community college is located in the county where I am placing my town, so one of the secondary characters can be an instructor there.
I know a lot of my readers may have never stepped foot in West Virginia, but there will also be some how do live there and I want them to feel like I treated their state fairly. I try to make the settings enjoyable and fun to think about. Who knows, some people may even want to visit them one day to see what it's like for themselves. It depends on the picture you paint, so to speak.
A few of your might be asking, how much time did I spend on researching the area? Well, I'd say I spent a total of maybe 10-12 hours over a several day period to get my vision for "Pointer". I checked Google for images so I can describe buildings and streets, I checked maps for counties, I looked up the state's governing body and typical law enforcement agencies, as well as the average population of towns so I could populate mine with the right number of civil servants and local government.
Finally, as I mentioned earlier, I checked out some of the state's history. Again I didn't go into great detail, but simply made notes I could refer back to in order to make the town fit in and seem real. Even the name of my fictional town comes from actual state history. In May 1788 Fort Donally was attacked early in the morning hours by a group of indians led by Cornstalk. The fort housed soldiers, wives and children. One of the defenders who helped keep the gates blockaded and fired through a hole in the gate, was a slave named Dick Pointer. For his courage and loyalty during the fight, he was given his freedom AND a piece of land with a cabin that people built just for him. A rare honor at the time. Upon his death in 1827 he was buried with military honors in Lewisburg West Virginia.
For my story, I'm going to have it that one of the children who saw him in action that day helped found my fictional town and named it after his hero. A town named for a former slave would understandably be targeted by the raiders in my story and make it more believable.
So there you have it. Here's another one of my methods for making a believable fictional setting. What are some of yours? Please share in the comments below or give us links to a blog where you may have discussed your style of doing things.
I hope this entry has helped some of you. And as always, take care and keep writing.
For those who have never heard of this place, do not fret. It doesn't exist. I made it up to be the setting for "The Vampyre Blogs". A good setting is extremely important to any story. Your story's setting can shape your character's personality depending on how long they've lived there. For instance, if they've been there a short time there's the getting to know the place and the people. Certain action sequences may take place in particular areas. The town's history may come into play. If they've lived there all their lives, they should know a lot of people, have a reputation (are they considered cool, friendly, or weird by the other people? Etc., etc...) Already you can see the importance of your setting and you should know the place at least in your own mind, so you can convey it to the readers. I don't care if it's a real place here on Earth or another world. You need to become familiar with where your story is taking place.
I've touched on settings for stories in the past, but "Pointer, West Virginia" is very different for me. You see, I've never been to West Virginia. I do not have any personal knowledge of what the place is like. I don't know how people talk there, what kind of accents they have, etc.
Creating a fictional place doesn't have to be super complicated, but whatever setting you build has to be believable. In my case, I like to blend a bit of reality into my settings. When I created New Swindon in Connecticut, for my first book "The Bridge", I was familiar with the area where I placed it. My grandmother had lived in Salisbury Connecticut for years and I became familiar with some of the other nearby towns. I blended the characteristics of several of them to create New Swindon to make it seem more real and authentic. I would refer to certain landmarks, roads and the things that actually do exist in real life. This allowed me to make my town more believable and real.
In my second soon-to-be-released book, "The Ship", I used an actual setting from real life that I was very familiar with. However, I also took steps to make sure only my characters were fictional and that they blended right in with their real-life setting. I had the knowledge of Santa Cruz and Seacliff to make this happen smoothly and very believable. (Remember the old saying: write what you know about).
So why am I using West Virginia, a place I've never been too, as the location for my third novel? History! West Virginia is steeped in it, especially when it comes to the Civil War, which is the time-frame my main character Nathaniel lived in. So how did I approach this situation to so
So what did I do? Simple, it was time for a little research on the internet and here is some of what I learned:
-West Virginia was created as a direct result of the Civil War. Most of Virginia sided with the south during that turbulent time, except for the section now known as West Virginia. They were not inclined to enforce slavery or returning runaway slaves, and decided to break off from the rest of Virginia. There was a lot of tension when this happened, and there were a number of famous battles that took place within the newly formed state.
So right there I had a rich source of background to play with for my new novel. However, I still had a number of obstacles to overcome for the story. Where in West Virginia should I place my fictional town? I checked over some county maps and saw where towns and cities were located and took notes. I wanted an area that didn't already have an actual town, so I could refer to the real places as being nearby. Plus I wanted a location that was near the disputed Virginia/West Virginia border. There were some hostilities there, and I had planned for my town's history to include a bunch of raiders (southern sympathizers) who crossed the border and nearly wiped out Pointer's population in one terrible "Night Of Fire". Could such a thing have happened? Absolutely, because I checked up on atrocities that took place during the Civil War. Both the North and South committed atrocities, some extremely barbaric. So right there, I had foundation to create such a background history for the town.
I also, checked to find out what are the more prominent religions in the area, so I could populate the the town with a churches and denominations. Plus I researched, what kinds of agriculture and commercial businesses are most prominent and where they are located in West Virginia.
Now I know a lot of this sounds complicated and detailed, but I simply made a few notes to myself. The object was to be able to make 'general references' to real aspects of the area, to make my fictional town blend in and seem more real. That's all. I won't be dedicating entire chapters to detailed descriptions, mostly it will be comments and points of reference made by the characters. I even found where a community college is located in the county where I am placing my town, so one of the secondary characters can be an instructor there.
I know a lot of my readers may have never stepped foot in West Virginia, but there will also be some how do live there and I want them to feel like I treated their state fairly. I try to make the settings enjoyable and fun to think about. Who knows, some people may even want to visit them one day to see what it's like for themselves. It depends on the picture you paint, so to speak.
A few of your might be asking, how much time did I spend on researching the area? Well, I'd say I spent a total of maybe 10-12 hours over a several day period to get my vision for "Pointer". I checked Google for images so I can describe buildings and streets, I checked maps for counties, I looked up the state's governing body and typical law enforcement agencies, as well as the average population of towns so I could populate mine with the right number of civil servants and local government.
Finally, as I mentioned earlier, I checked out some of the state's history. Again I didn't go into great detail, but simply made notes I could refer back to in order to make the town fit in and seem real. Even the name of my fictional town comes from actual state history. In May 1788 Fort Donally was attacked early in the morning hours by a group of indians led by Cornstalk. The fort housed soldiers, wives and children. One of the defenders who helped keep the gates blockaded and fired through a hole in the gate, was a slave named Dick Pointer. For his courage and loyalty during the fight, he was given his freedom AND a piece of land with a cabin that people built just for him. A rare honor at the time. Upon his death in 1827 he was buried with military honors in Lewisburg West Virginia.
For my story, I'm going to have it that one of the children who saw him in action that day helped found my fictional town and named it after his hero. A town named for a former slave would understandably be targeted by the raiders in my story and make it more believable. So there you have it. Here's another one of my methods for making a believable fictional setting. What are some of yours? Please share in the comments below or give us links to a blog where you may have discussed your style of doing things.
I hope this entry has helped some of you. And as always, take care and keep writing.
A DECISION HAS BEEN MADE!
Allan Krummenacker
*UPDATE: THE NEXT BOOKS IN MY PARA-EARTH SERIES WILL BE...*
After giving it a lot of thought and listening to feedback from readers both here and on my blogs I've come to a final decision on what order the next few books will be coming in...
Late November 2014 "THE VAMPYRE BLOGS" will be released first. This will be the first of at least 2 books. The story line I've been creating has grown to such an extent that it cannot be told in just one novel So I will do what I've been doing with the other books. A complete story will be told with a few dangling plot lines that will be addressed and wrapped up in the 2nd book which will come in time for Christmas 2015.
In May 2015 "THE DOOR" will be released and will take up where both "THE BRIDGE" and "THE SHIP" left off. It will reunite Alex, Veronica, Cassie and Julie. I won't give any spoilers away except to say that not only with the looming confrontation with the mysterious white-haired man will take place, but also the secret behind the ghostly Brandon will be fully revealed.
NOTE: Even though the story will wrap up a number of plot lines, this will NOT be the last you see of these characters. They will be back in future stories as well as making appearances in other novels So if you've grown attached to them, know you'll be seeing more of them down the road.
So that's where things stand and what you can expect in the next 18 months folks. I want to thank everyone who gave me feedback. I plan to try and release 2 novels a year, provided my school schedule for the next 3 years will permit.
In the meantime, please spread the word about my books to everyone you know. I'm leaving the link to my webpage below, which has both books and how to get them in whichever format they wish: KINDLE, NOOK, PDF, SONY E-READER, APPLE, or TRADE PAPERBACK:
http://allankrummenacker.wix.com/alla...
An Early Halloween Treat From Me To All Of You...
*HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone! I decided to give you all an early treat by sharing a snippet from "The Vampyre Blogs" novel itself. Unlike the other entries you've seen here on this blog, this entry actually shows up in the book. I was careful to choose this particular entry since all three characters are well known to you by now. Plus it doesn't give too much away, while hopefully leaving you with some questions to think about until the novel's release at Christmas. So without further ado, here are Marisa, Lisa and Nathaniel. I hope you enjoy*
MARISA’S MUSINGS - October 7th, 2012
It’s been such a strange day, especially this evening. I still don’t know what think at the moment.
Waking up and finding Dad was still at home sitting in front of the TV just like in my dreams, gave me a start.
Especially when I saw he looked a little greyish, but then Mom opened the curtains and I saw he was just tired. I literally blew a sigh of relief, but it still set me on edge for the rest of the day.
Unfortunately, most of my classes were on the quiet and boring side today, which meant I kept worrying about my dad.
Allan Krummenacker
Thank God Lisa was in all of them with me. I don’t know what I would’ve done without her around trying to distract me. But I still couldn’t get that damn dream out of my head. It had felt so real.
Then, just as we arrived at The Crypt, I started wondering if it had actually been some kind of warning. The idea it might be really put me on edge.
Unfortunately, that’s when Dianne showed up and started in with me, as usual. Normally I can ignore her comments, but tonight, I just couldn’t. God I feel so bad about what happened. Poor Lisa got caught up in things and could’ve wound up getting hurt if Nathaniel hadn’t stepped in when he did.
I still feel bad about blowing up at him the way I did at the time. But that’s not the only thing that’s bothering me about him. After tonight, I can’t look at him the same way I used to.
Finding out he was once married and that his wife pass away in his arms, really hit me hard. I guess that’s why I kissed him the way I did. I just wanted to wipe away the pain I knew he was experiencing at that moment, along with my own. I didn’t tongue him or anything, but for a second I nearly did. Something about him that made me feel so alive that I didn’t want it to stop. But I remembered Lisa was with us and I know she has a crush on him. So I backed off. But a part of me wanted to go right back to kissing him. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted someone so bad in all my life.
And truth be told, I still want him. But I’m also a little leery of him, because of because of what happened next.
I excused myself and started to fix my make-up. After all that crying I’d done earlier, I knew I must look like hell.
Nathaniel was kind enough to walk away and give me my space, while Lisa checked on me quick before she went over to join him at the window. As I heard the two of them talking quietly, I stole a glance over my shoulder. Lisa was hanging onto him in a playful way, and I started to get jealous for a moment.
Quickly, I shook my head and pulled out my compact so I could use the mirror as I fixed my make-up. Surprisingly, I didn’t look too bad and was able to make myself presentable rather quickly.
Then I decided to use the mirror to take another at Lisa and Nathaniel to see what they were up to. And that’s when it happened. I could see Lisa still acting if she were draped all over Nathaniel, only he wasn’t there.
I blinked and stared at the mirror again, but the image had not changed. From the way Lisa was positioned, I knew she had to be hanging onto someone, because there was no way she could keep her balance in that pose. But there was no one there.
Carefully I took another look over my shoulder and saw the two of them just as I had before. Then I looked back at my mirror and saw only Lisa holding on to empty air. I let out a little gasp and dropped everything, including the compact which shattered on impact.
Immediately, Lisa came rushing over to see what was wrong and quickly helped me gather everything. Nathaniel on the other had stayed by the window. He seemed to be in deep thought.
Naturally, I didn’t tell either of them what I saw, or rather what I didn’t see. Instead, after Lisa helped me get all my make-up back in the purse, I told them I felt like going back down to the dance floor. I’d remembered there were huge mirrors on the walls down there and wanted to see what would happen when we got down there.
To my amazement and relief, I saw all three of our reflections in every one of them. At that point I was fully ready to believe my eyes had simply played a trick on me.
But now my mind has gone back to the day in my Aunt Betsy’s office when I first met Nathaniel. She had brought in those beautiful fresh cut flowers. But after he went near them to get his coat and hat, we’d found them black and withered.
Is he what I think he is? I’ve seen enough movies to know all the signs. Yet, I saw his reflection in the mirrors of the club. Plus he has a bunch of mirrors in his home which I’ve seen him use.
No, I think I’ve just been stressing out too much lately. There’s no such thing as vampires. Right?
MARISA’S MUSINGS - October 7th, 2012
It’s been such a strange day, especially this evening. I still don’t know what think at the moment.
Waking up and finding Dad was still at home sitting in front of the TV just like in my dreams, gave me a start.
Especially when I saw he looked a little greyish, but then Mom opened the curtains and I saw he was just tired. I literally blew a sigh of relief, but it still set me on edge for the rest of the day.
Unfortunately, most of my classes were on the quiet and boring side today, which meant I kept worrying about my dad.
Allan Krummenacker
Thank God Lisa was in all of them with me. I don’t know what I would’ve done without her around trying to distract me. But I still couldn’t get that damn dream out of my head. It had felt so real.
Then, just as we arrived at The Crypt, I started wondering if it had actually been some kind of warning. The idea it might be really put me on edge.
Unfortunately, that’s when Dianne showed up and started in with me, as usual. Normally I can ignore her comments, but tonight, I just couldn’t. God I feel so bad about what happened. Poor Lisa got caught up in things and could’ve wound up getting hurt if Nathaniel hadn’t stepped in when he did.
I still feel bad about blowing up at him the way I did at the time. But that’s not the only thing that’s bothering me about him. After tonight, I can’t look at him the same way I used to.
Finding out he was once married and that his wife pass away in his arms, really hit me hard. I guess that’s why I kissed him the way I did. I just wanted to wipe away the pain I knew he was experiencing at that moment, along with my own. I didn’t tongue him or anything, but for a second I nearly did. Something about him that made me feel so alive that I didn’t want it to stop. But I remembered Lisa was with us and I know she has a crush on him. So I backed off. But a part of me wanted to go right back to kissing him. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted someone so bad in all my life.
And truth be told, I still want him. But I’m also a little leery of him, because of because of what happened next.
I excused myself and started to fix my make-up. After all that crying I’d done earlier, I knew I must look like hell.
Nathaniel was kind enough to walk away and give me my space, while Lisa checked on me quick before she went over to join him at the window. As I heard the two of them talking quietly, I stole a glance over my shoulder. Lisa was hanging onto him in a playful way, and I started to get jealous for a moment.
Quickly, I shook my head and pulled out my compact so I could use the mirror as I fixed my make-up. Surprisingly, I didn’t look too bad and was able to make myself presentable rather quickly.
Then I decided to use the mirror to take another at Lisa and Nathaniel to see what they were up to. And that’s when it happened. I could see Lisa still acting if she were draped all over Nathaniel, only he wasn’t there.
I blinked and stared at the mirror again, but the image had not changed. From the way Lisa was positioned, I knew she had to be hanging onto someone, because there was no way she could keep her balance in that pose. But there was no one there.
Carefully I took another look over my shoulder and saw the two of them just as I had before. Then I looked back at my mirror and saw only Lisa holding on to empty air. I let out a little gasp and dropped everything, including the compact which shattered on impact.
Immediately, Lisa came rushing over to see what was wrong and quickly helped me gather everything. Nathaniel on the other had stayed by the window. He seemed to be in deep thought.
Naturally, I didn’t tell either of them what I saw, or rather what I didn’t see. Instead, after Lisa helped me get all my make-up back in the purse, I told them I felt like going back down to the dance floor. I’d remembered there were huge mirrors on the walls down there and wanted to see what would happen when we got down there.
To my amazement and relief, I saw all three of our reflections in every one of them. At that point I was fully ready to believe my eyes had simply played a trick on me.
But now my mind has gone back to the day in my Aunt Betsy’s office when I first met Nathaniel. She had brought in those beautiful fresh cut flowers. But after he went near them to get his coat and hat, we’d found them black and withered.
Is he what I think he is? I’ve seen enough movies to know all the signs. Yet, I saw his reflection in the mirrors of the club. Plus he has a bunch of mirrors in his home which I’ve seen him use.
No, I think I’ve just been stressing out too much lately. There’s no such thing as vampires. Right?
