I've talked about this a bit on this blog, and even more on the Dish blog, but I need to discuss it some more. I'm hoping that some of you writerly types out there will chime in. I love hearing from you guys!
How much does your setting influence the stories that you write? If you write sci-fi, then this may or may not be different for you. I'm looking at this in more of a contemporary light. Does the place where the story happens really mean something, or is it just so much background noise?
There are books that you read where you know that the place is central to the story. You know that the book would not be the same if it were set somewhere else. You just KNOW that location means something. Blame It On Paris, by Laura Florand, is a prime example of how much location matters to some people in a story. The book is a love story, written in memoir style, about two people from very different cultures. The cultures of France and the American South are explored, detailed, and laid wide open for all the world to see. Paris becomes an actual character in the story, as does the hometown of the main female character.
While I loved that book, I don't think that every story needs to identify with its setting in quite the same way. For BIOP, it was very important that the reader get the feel of the land, the people, and actually identify with things in both cultures. It helped to illustrate that people from everywhere are really just people, and that while we may have some major differences, we can still thrive together. The author shows this many times, in many different ways. It was part of the story. But it doesn't always have to be, does it?
I'm just trying to figure this out for my own book. I'm writing the story of a woman that has lived in the South her entire life, minus the first five days. She was actually born in the North, by design. Her mother hated being Southern, and when it was time to give birth, she drove across three states to do it out of the South. The book explores the meaning of family, and how people identify with a presumed set of values inherent in a culture. For me, I could not set this book anywhere but in the South. And I knew just where in the South it had to be set. There was really no question about that for me. Being raised Southern, but always feeling like a fake, is a central part of the story, and I couldn't very well set the book in Detroit to explore those issues.
So where is your story set? And is that setting incredibly important to the story?
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3 comments:
This is such good timing. I've been struggling with this lately. My story is set near here (in South Louisiana), so, I guess being a fairy unique place it does impact the story. Heck, of course it does, but it's such an ingrained part of what's in my head and what I live every day, I forget that not everyone else sees what I see. I have to remind myself to spell everything out, because it isn't just ho-hum-ville I'm writing about. This place is fantastic, and it's as much a part of these characters as the air they breathe. Thanks for reminding me, dee.
You know, that's how I feel. Every single story that I've ever written is unique, and it's generally the setting that sets it apart for me, in my head. It's the same with the books that I call "keepers". PLACE becomes so integral to the story, and you just know that the story probably wouldn't have worked as well, maybe not even at all, if it had been set in another place.
I think this is especially true of Southern books, because there is such a strong and ingrained view that most people have of the South, so many stereotypes to deal with and bust open. We talked about this with Southern women, how many people think of them as wilting flower types, but really, they are those Steel Magnolias. Sometimes though, it's exploring those stereotypes that are held by not only the outsiders that really makes it interesting!
And the place where YOU live - FANTASTIC. I can hardly wait to read your story. I am so in love with that area it's not even funny.
It does depend upon the story, as you said, but when place IS integral, I want to feel like I've been there. It's one of the things I love about Joshilyn's books, that I feel like I've really gotten a sense of a place I've never been to. It comes across subtly, by which I mean it doesn't overwhelm the story, but it's there, and the books wouldn't be the same without it.
I have two WIPs, I guess. The one from NaNo, which I suspect might be my crepe armoir novel but that's OT!--anyway, I did put in some details of the city it's set in, but I suspect it could be set in any mid-size northeastern city. The one I'm working on now began precisely because I wanted to try and write about my weird hometown. While the town doesn't even have a name in the story--you just know it's in Rhode Island--the culture and ethnicity of the place shapes the characters. At least, I hope it does. (Man, it's a weird place, my hometown.)
So I guess to answer your question, sometimes place is extremely important, and sometimes it's not. If it's NOT integral to the story, and it keeps popping up, trying to be its own character, it's probably distracting. But if the place shapes the characters, and thus the story, then the reader needs to understand the place, too. We (as writers) can't just tell the reader that the characters were shaped; we have to show it. That's what I think tonight, anyway. :)
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