This is a problem I come across time and time again in my writing and I would like some tips and opinions on it please.
This year my characters are two people who grow up in a small town who move into a larger city. While my characters are nothing like me or anyone from my real life, the setting kind of mirrors my life in that this is something that happened to me.
I'm not sure how to plan out a realistic setting without making it too real, i.e, autobiographical. I'm not sure if I should use the names and landscapes of real cities or towns, or create fictional names, or if I should just leave it generic and refer to it as, "the town" or "the city".
HELP!? :)
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Okt 4, 2007 - 01 04
Do whatever works for you, and don't obsess about it too much. You can always call it "the town" and "the city" for now, and come back later and edit in the real name of the town and the streets etc.
I do find it easier to write about cities I've visited (not necessarily lived in). With the aid of a tourist guide or two and a tool like google maps or google earth, you can start and get a feel from the geography of the city. Also, there may be a discussion forum on the net for inhabitants of a town or village you choose - I visited one of those when I chose a small town in Yorkshire as the setting for my 04 nano (I know Yorkshire and it's people and accent, but not that specific town). I never asked any questions (you could, of course) but read and observed their concerns and the things going on in town. You could also use the regional forums here.
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