Nov 28, 2022
Do you use real or fictional cities in your writing? How do you incorporate them into the story?
There is a town called Oak Grove in Indiana, but it’s not my Oak Grove. I’ve never been there, but I was close. We were taking a shortcut between here and there, stopped at a gas station, and came across the town’s little newspaper. I still have it somewhere.
My fictional Oak Grove sits near the border of Pennsylvania and Ohio, north of Pittsburgh. I’ve kept its location a secret so that I can play with the differing laws and law enforcement structure between the two states. I’m writing fiction—so I can get away with it.
But Oak Grove, the home of Harmony Duprie, is based on several real small towns. As I wrote the second book in the series, I realized it was as much of a character in the story as the people, and tried to show that by focusing on events and people that shape the city. The small towns I’ve lived in for much of my life were the base for how Oak Grove developed.
In building the world around Oak Grove, I mixed in larger, actual cities to give readers a geographic reference. Pittsburgh. Cleveland. Washington D.C. Places I’ve visited so I don’t feel I’m making them up. (and the internet is a marvelous source of maps and images.) My Oak Grove boasts a marvelous Carnegie Library, but as is true in many small towns, the residents may have to travel to a bigger city for shopping or specialized health visits. Of course, these days, some of those issues are resolved thanks to on-line shopping and telehealth.
My urban fantasies are different. Because my wolf-shifters don’t want people to know where they are living, I made their location purposefully vague. I have a general location, and that’s it. The only time I identify a city is when they travel far from their home. (Easter egg: There are some crossover references to the characters from the Free Wolves series in the Harmony Duprie Mysteries. Yes, I realize they attract different types of readers, but I had fun doing it.)
I’m looking forward to seeing how the other authors on this hop answer this question. Can you use real cities in a story set in outer space? (I’m looking at you, Richard!) Just follow the links below to find out with me.
As always, until next time, please stay safe.
Nov 28, 2022
Do you use real or fictional cities in your writing? How do you incorporate them into the story?
Rules:
1. Link your blog to this hop.
2. Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
3. Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
4. Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
5. Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
Using real places is a great way to let the reader connect. It’s fun when you read about a place and think I’ve been there. That little donut shop on the corner of X.
Tweeted.
Yes, keeping its location a secret saves complaints from people who know the town/area and disagree with how it’s described.
Or read your book after the location has changed. The cute little donut shop Daryl visited has been razed and now is a chain drugstore.
I use a bit of both in my writing.
I think many authors do
You have to know a city really well before you can use it, I prefer fictional places, as long as they still feel real, nobody can tell you that you got it wrong.
And the way you remember a place is not always the same I remember it!
I prefer fictional places that draw from real places. It cuts down on the intricacies of world-building while avoiding the mistake of meddling with someone’s beloved hometown.
People do get touchy about their hometowns, don’t they? 🙂
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I use a mix of real and made-up, too. @samanthabwriter from
Balancing Act
Seems as if that’s the standard!