-21: A Sense of Place

The Red River near Ste. Agathe

I’m a visual writer. I have to see a place first hand, then surround myself with lots of pictures and maps in order to enter my story world. In fact, one wall of my study is painted with magnetic paint so that I can stick up all my visual props.  This gives me a lot of detail to work with, too much at times. The creation of a sense of place is more a deconstruction than a construction.

I’ve never created a fantasy world, but my guess is that the world would start as a mythology, with details of geography, history, flora, fauna, etc. added in layers until the world is whole. Everything added would have a function. In historical fiction, the elements are already in place, and the author must strip away those excess to need. Which details count?

The Wishing Bridge
Frank, Alberta

Sometimes I simply choose details that appeal to me. In Terror at Turtle Mountain, it was a bridge. It wasn’t an important bridge, I just liked it. In RRR, it’s a place by the river.

 

I walked different stretches of the river in the summer, trying to find a spot that appealed. I didn’t know how the spot would be used, but in my mind’s eye I could picture a character returning over and over to one special place. What did he do there? Why was it special?

I’ve decided that this will be the spot where Finn and Peter meet. Important things will pass between them, dramatic scenes will be played out. And when the river floods, it will disappear. This makes sense to me. A flood destroys one’s sense of place.