Strengthening the Sense of Place in Your Novel or Short Story
by Ann Burnett
Is your setting imaginary as is George RR Martin’s land of Westeros in a Game of Thrones or JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings? Or the Brontes’ landscapes of the mind, Angria and Gondal, written in tiny books when they were children? Such settings give the freedom to invent and create settlements and geographical features, customs and traditions, morality and beliefs. Fantasy and SF writers are well-skilled in creating their own worlds. Or like Margaret Attwood, taking a recognised place, and writing The Handmaid’s Tale in an America that isn’t like the present one, but could be. It was written in 1985 but resonates even more strongly today given the present political climate there.
I’ve just finished reading Catherine Czerkawska’s The Poesy Ring, set on an imaginary Hebridean island. There is even a map at the start to help you visualise the setting. Although the place itself doesn’t exist, the author has anchored it firmly in reality, with the same lifestyle as exists today in the Hebrides and characters who would be typical of the area. The house at the centre of the story can be found in many places throughout the islands and even the plants and flowers she describes are native. She has done her research into an area she knows well and used that knowledge to create her own island.
Or is your setting based on an actual town or area? In which case, do your research and feel you are there even if you can’t be physically. Before the age of the Internet, this would entail poring over books and accounts of such a place. Nowadays, you can just google it. One author I know wrote a book set in the aftermath of 9/11 despite having never visited New York. But with Google Maps she could walk the streets where her character lived and worked and soak up a sense of the city.
When I started writing (in the days of pen, paper, battered old typewriter and a bottle of Tippex) I was given the job of writing a Postman Pat story every week for a children's comic. In case you weren’t aware, Postman Pat lives in Greendale, an imaginary village in Cumbria and his route takes him around the farms in the area. Never having been to the north of England (and remember, not such a thing as Google!) I was forced to find a way of discovering all about Cumbrian farming. Fortunately, we had an agricultural college on our doorstep and a lecturer whose daughter was a devoted Postman Pat fan. He wrote me out several pages on farming in Cumbria and what each season would bring and posted it to me – yes, posted, no email either back in neolithic times.
Sensitivity to ongoing situations in your chosen setting is vital. Edna O’Brien’s prize-winning novel Girl, is set in Nigeria and tells the story of a schoolgirl abducted by Boko Haram and forced to marry one of the soldiers. When she is freed, she discovers her problems are far from over as she is rejected by her community. O’Brien travelled to Nigeria to research the background and to help her to understand the cultural values of the community that led them to reject her protagonist. The result is a compelling piece of work.
For myself, I scripted BBC children’s programmes for their Northern Ireland service. This was the time of the Troubles and I was advised to be very careful in choosing, for example, the names of my characters so that they would not be identified with one side of the conflict or the other. Stories which mentioned toy guns or toy soldiers or fighting generally were to be avoided. I remember being struck when my producer said that her son had never been on an escalator as they didn’t go into the centre of Belfast where the department stores were, because of fear of the bombings.
My newly released novel, Festival Fireworks, is set in Edinburgh and Australia, both places I know well. The flat Jill moves into is the one in the Canongate that my son lived in after university. And yes, it does have a large car park for the residents behind it, something much coveted in the city. Andrew’s office is set in the street parallel to Princes Street where the BBC used to have their studios and which I visited several times. And the gardens he would have looked on to are flourishing.
I lived in a rural area of Australia for several years and have been back often, especially to Queensland where Jill’s home was. Many the outdoor barbie we had under the shade of gum trees.
So I used my own experiences for the setting and went back to Edinburgh and walked the streets where Jill and Andrew walked. I breathed in the scents and smells, listened to the noise, especially during the Festival, and people-watched in the Gardens, all to create a believable atmosphere.
As in house-hunting, so in writing. Location is a vital part of the process. Make sure you have a well thought-through location for your characters to come alive in and they will.
About Festival Fireworks: Aussie Jill arrives in Edinburgh at Festival time, at the start of a gap year. Unfortunately, her boss at the temporary job she’s taken turns out to be her grumpy neighbour, Andrew, aka Mr Bossy. As the Festival fireworks explode over the city every night, they start to fall in love. Then Jill has to return suddenly to Australia. Can their budding romance survive or will the fireworks fizzle and die?
Visit Ann’s author website at: https://annburnett.co.uk/
Feeling inspired? ‘52 Dates for Writers – Ride a Tandem Assume an Alias and 50 Other Ways to Improve Your Novel Draft’ is packed full of writing exercises and prompts to strengthen the sense of place in your novel or short story.