Braindead Dairy #6: A Sense of Time & Place

Sometimes I think it’s cheating using computers for writing. Most of the greats used typewriters. They had to punch the keys. Typos were a bitch. They had to perform under more pressure. I guess getting one would be cool, make you feel empowered…it would also be really stupid…

The focus this week has been trying to create that sense of time and place. From all the tales I’ve read most fell into the category of being story driven, while the smaller percentage had much more detailed location descriptions. It’s a rare thing, a skilful balancing act, to keep a story nicely ticking along while colouring in the background, giving the reader a flavour for where the characters are.

It’s that nice middle ground I want.

This trilogy begins in the Victorian era so it’s got to have some of that – objects, clothes, facial hair. Just randomly mentioning them is no good though – basically what I did for the first draft. The odd twirl of a moustache or bell skirt is not going to cut it. It’s also in a mountain village with uniquely coloured homes so I’ve given myself a shit ton of work.