Sunday, July 8, 2018

Real versus Fictional settings


Writers are advised to “write about what you know.” I was born on the west side of Cincinnati where I’ve lived for most of my life. I love my city, especially the west side, which is why I decided years ago to make it the setting for my Malone mysteries. The first three books take place in upper Westwood and Cheviot, not far from where I grew up. As I wrote, I could picture the places so vividly in my mind and I wanted my readers to be able to do that too.

In the last two books, I chose to change the setting to South Carolina. I had vacationed there numerous times and fell in love with Charleston, Beaufort, Mt. Pleasant and Fripp Island. Those were other places I felt comfortable writing about because I was familiar with them. Not to mention all the printed material I’d gathered on my trips and all the photos I’d taken, never dreaming those places would later be used in my books.

There are many positives to writing about “real” places. For me, one of them has been the wonderful response I’ve gotten from local readers who have told me they love reading about places close to where they live. But there are also negatives to setting a book in a real place. When I wrote my Malone mysteries, I wanted to be geographically and historically accurate but I occasionally needed to exercise poetic license for the sake of the story. I had to explain that to a few readers who were as familiar with the area as I was.

When I finished my five-book series, I honestly didn’t know what I would write next. Nor did I know where the story would take place. I’ve traveled to many fantastic places and I briefly considered using one of those. And then it hit me! Why not create a town? A place where the geography and the history could be whatever I wanted them to be?

As it happened, one Sunday, my mother, my friend, Mary, and I took a day trip to visit The Story Inn, a restaurant/historic site in a remote part of Indiana. The name of my fictional town jumped out at me and, little by little, the plot and the characters came to life. I hope, as you read the book, they’ll come to life for you too.