tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post8780732214771177486..comments2024-03-28T10:16:38.716-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: A Whole Town--Imagine ThatLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-64445120428475259132018-10-07T17:44:19.146-04:002018-10-07T17:44:19.146-04:00Earl, I somehow didn't see your comment until ...Earl, I somehow didn't see your comment until now--my apologies.<br /><br />You're absolutely right: whatever works. And it sounds as if you're pretty flexible. I do love the name Watango, Texas. Someone once said you have to be careful choosing a pseudonym because once something's published using it, it becomes as permanent as a tattoo. Same thing goes for these fictional place names. You have to choose wisely, because after the first one, you're stuck with it!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-64918029902716023552018-10-07T17:40:12.716-04:002018-10-07T17:40:12.716-04:00Rob, that WAS a big favor, naming a town after Cro...Rob, that WAS a big favor, naming a town after Cronley. Good story. And I look forward to reading your piece in Trace Evidence. Congrats on yet another AHMM appearance!<br /><br />Josh, glad to hear about the upcoming EQ story--Iceland should be an interesting setting for a mystery. And YES, I agree that Google Earth and Google Maps are a great help. Thanks for the comment!!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-45337504089461981322018-10-07T15:50:52.767-04:002018-10-07T15:50:52.767-04:00Yet another thought-provoking piece, John. I enjoy...Yet another thought-provoking piece, John. I enjoy setting my work in foreign climes. Eight of my ten Mahboob Chaudri stories were set in Bahrain, with one of the other two taking place in Morocco and the last one on a US Navy ship making a "show the flag" run from Bahrain to Pakistan. This year, I had a story set in Belgium in MYSTERY MOST GEOGRAPHICAL, and next year I'll have one set in Iceland in EQMM. Sometimes, though, my settings are invented, and when I make a place up I usually don't name it. When I use actual locations, Google Earth and Google Maps are my best friends. Keep these fascinating posts coming, buddy!joshpachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123432071405643210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-92212737931818546332018-10-07T12:15:25.769-04:002018-10-07T12:15:25.769-04:00Funny thing. I have written a piece about making ...Funny thing. I have written a piece about making up places which I am about to offer to Trace Evidence, the blog of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. The reason is that the November issue of AHMM will feature "A Bad Day For Algebra Tests," my third story set in fictional Brune County.<br /><br />One of my favorite fictional place names: After Jay Cronley, an Oklahoma City sports writer, wrote two hilarious crime novels that obviously owed a lot to Donald Westlake's Dortmunder novels, Westlake returned the favor in DROWNED HOPES by sending Dortmunder to a miserable ghost town: Cronley, Oklahoma.Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-80480570601801792392018-10-07T11:09:13.954-04:002018-10-07T11:09:13.954-04:00I've handled setting three different ways, Joh...<br />I've handled setting three different ways, John. First, I've written stories set in Baltimore and Ocean City, Maryland. I spent most of my life in that beautiful state, and knew both those cities well enough that I could describe them with accuracy. Second, I've placed my fictional female sheriff in the fictional county of Watango, Texas, for a number of stories. I chose to make up a fictional county so I could give it whatever details and features the story needed. Third, I have some stories set in the Middle East and felt it best to use real cities and areas to give the stories credibility. I relied on my friend Google for the details I needed. I guess you could say when I comes to settings, I go by the one true rule of writing: Whatever works best. Earl Staggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13349667172813175960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-60228505496555966532018-10-07T11:07:27.069-04:002018-10-07T11:07:27.069-04:00I've handled setting three different ways, Joh...I've handled setting three different ways, John. First, I've written stories set in Baltimore and Ocean City, Maryland. I spent most of my life in that beautiful state, and knew both those cities well enough that I could describe them with accuracy. Second, I've placed my fictional female sheriff in the fictional county of Watango, Texas, for a number of stories. I chose to make up a fictional county so I could give it whatever details and features the story needed. Third, I have some stories set in the Middle East and felt it best to use real cities and areas to give the stories credibility. I relied on my friend Google for the details I needed. I guess you could say when I comes to settings, I go by the one true rule of writing: Whatever works best.Earl Staggshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13349667172813175960noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-20135990329044098082018-10-07T07:40:28.801-04:002018-10-07T07:40:28.801-04:00Hi Leigh!
I think Eerie, Indiana, was actually ...Hi Leigh! <br /><br />I think Eerie, Indiana, was actually a TV show back in the 80s or 90s, about spooky happenings in a town of the same name. I'll look it up. And I don't think the town in Jackson's story "The Lottery" was named. (But it was sure memorable.)<br /><br />I didn't know about (or had forgotten) the town you mentioned in The Avengers. That's the best town name of all.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-29364891905112469092018-10-06T23:58:10.763-04:002018-10-06T23:58:10.763-04:00John, that's one comprehensive list. I recall ...John, that's one comprehensive list. I recall a television program with Eerie, Indiana, but I can't say I watched it.<br /><br />Little Storping on the Swuff in the Avengers was not a place you'd want to visit. Twin Peaks was slyly named.<br /><br />Was the town in Shirley Jackson's The Lottery (and similar stories) named? HP Lovecraft er, lovingly crafted an entire region in Massachusetts, centered around the towns of Arkham and Innsmouth.<br /><br />Damn, when I started to write this, I had another in mind, which totally escapes me now.<br />Leigh Lundinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-55316068948091032912018-10-06T18:32:21.132-04:002018-10-06T18:32:21.132-04:00Good thought, Eve. And I can't believe I left...Good thought, Eve. And I can't believe I left out Poisonville. As for LA and New Orleans, they're both unique enough and interesting enough to be featured as they really are. (San Francisco, too.)<br /><br />Something we haven't talked about is the fact that you can fictionalize parts of real towns, and go half-and-half, in a way. (Let's hear it for poetic license!)John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-45947029552112988932018-10-06T18:11:13.645-04:002018-10-06T18:11:13.645-04:00My favorite is Poisonville - Hammett's Red Har...My favorite is Poisonville - Hammett's Red Harvest. <br />I like both fictional towns and real towns for settings. I mean, if you're going to set something in urban California or urban Louisiana, you just about have to use LA or New Orleans. But the intermediate and the small towns can be all your own.Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-53454168294885583542018-10-06T15:10:33.514-04:002018-10-06T15:10:33.514-04:00Melodie, I love Gina Gallo's description of sm...Melodie, I love Gina Gallo's description of smog. And also, your suggestion that writers treat setting as a character. It really IS a character, in many of the novels and stories I like the most.<br /><br />Sounds as if Quarryville DID turn out to be a good idea, Michael. And West Texas is an interesting place anyhow.<br /><br />Thanks, Jacqueline. Like you, I like to choose fictional towns that resemble those I'm already familiar with, if possible. Sort of gives you the best of both worlds.<br /><br />I appreciate the comments, folks. Keep up the good work! John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-47696719461059979862018-10-06T14:12:34.727-04:002018-10-06T14:12:34.727-04:00A great list of fictional towns! My Kim Reynolds m...A great list of fictional towns! My Kim Reynolds mysteries, the last one being THE BAD WIFE, are each set in Wilson Township, NJ which bears a striking resemblance to the town we lived in for forty years. I think basing the setting of a mystery on a place a writer knows well adds an aura of reality and authenticity.Jacqueline Seewaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09177500620940251009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-22526624275128596442018-10-06T13:52:53.603-04:002018-10-06T13:52:53.603-04:00"Quarryville, Texas," which appears in T..."Quarryville, Texas," which appears in <i>The Private Eye Writers of America Presents: Fifty Shades of Grey Fedora,</i> is the only story I can recall where I created a fictional town and then used the town's name for the story title.<br /><br />Creating Quarryville turned out to be a good idea. I've set two additional stories there—"Smoked" (<i>Noir at the Salad Bar,</i> reprinted in <i>The Best American Mystery Stories 2018</i>) and "Mr. Sugarman Visits the Bookmobile" (<i>Shhh...Murder!</i>). I've also written several other stories in which a scene or two take place in Quarryville and several more stories that take place in surrounding towns.<br /><br />So, creating Quarryville led to the creation of an entire region of West Texas. I don't see an end to the number of semi-related stories I can set in the area, and I suspect someday I'll have written enough of them to fill a collection of West Texas stories set in and around Qyarryville.Michael Brackenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01072019804281421944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-44554128574410399062018-10-06T13:44:53.733-04:002018-10-06T13:44:53.733-04:00Where possible, I use real places that I know well...Where possible, I use real places that I know well. Sometimes I disguise the name (Dunnville becomes Mudville). But I get a kick out of setting most of my novels in Steeltown, aka The Hammer, real name Hamilton. You can smell the steel plants just going over the huge suspension bridge from Hamilton to Burlington. Once experienced, never forgotten. "We consider smog a condiment," says my mob heroine, Gina Gallo.<br /><br />I think where novice writers make mistakes is in setting their stories in "Anyville" USA, so that the place has no real character. My students tell me it's easier to do that, because they don't have to know the place or research anything. I remind them "Setting is Character," meaning you should make your setting *live and breathe*, just like a character does.Melodie Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07870938103759179132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-83798506149377838722018-10-06T10:29:57.774-04:002018-10-06T10:29:57.774-04:00Barb, a plus to all this is that researching that ...Barb, a plus to all this is that researching that kind of thing is usually fun. And yes, I like the idea of using a real town name but not going into a lot of detail otherwise. I've probably been about half-and-half, on using real towns vs. fictional towns--and the real towns I've used are often places that I know pretty well.<br /><br />And yes, I also think (or I like to hope) that people in the real towns aren't too hard on us when we make mistakes.<br /><br />Thanks for the insights.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-524823713238889982018-10-06T10:14:26.657-04:002018-10-06T10:14:26.657-04:00I usually figure out where approximately my story ...I usually figure out where approximately my story will be set on a map, be it southeast Virginia or Maine. My actual location will be fictional to make the writing easier, but I'll strive to get regionalisms correct and details like sunrise time. This week, for instance, I checked whether someone in my fictional town in southern Virginia would order iced tea, sweet tea, or simply tea. There are other times I use actual town names, but in those cases, I typically don't need a lot of setting detail, which is important because I wouldn't want to get something wrong. (Though I have made up public officials such as prosecutors in otherwise real places. I hope the real people in those spots give me a pass.)Barb Goffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16013123434790272424noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-19344298737836528742018-10-06T09:01:00.130-04:002018-10-06T09:01:00.130-04:00O'Neil, I actually thought of you when I was w...O'Neil, I actually thought of you when I was writing this, because New Orleans is such a big part of much of your work. Your detailed, firsthand knowledge of the city is a huge plus, I think, to your N.O. stories and novels. (And yes, we can all learn from Elmore Leonard.) Thanks for your insight, on this.<br /><br />Paul, I too see L.A. as a character in your work, just as New Orleans is, in a lot of O'Neil's. And yes, the real locations can be a plus, not only to residents but to others who have visited or read a lot about the city and the area. But I'm glad to hear you say you also feel the freedom to add fictional places to your "real" setting now and then, depending on the needs of the plot. (Good old Eddie Haskell--if that series had a villain, I guess it would've been Eddie.) <br /><br />Thanks, guys, for your thoughts on this.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-63512297612777800262018-10-06T08:22:17.106-04:002018-10-06T08:22:17.106-04:00Fun piece, John. A lot of my work is set in L.A. o...Fun piece, John. A lot of my work is set in L.A. or at least Southern California. And in some ways I see L.A. as another character in the stories. I feel like the real locations help to anchor things in the real world. But within that real world I sometimes make up a restaurant or other location. On the other hand, I often use real places. It depends what's going to happen there.<br /><br />And, while I do write a lot about L.A., I have set things in other places, St. Louis, Maury's Piers in New Jersey and other places. And it is nice to be able to write about other places sometimes -- it's almost like taking a vacation. And I noticed you mentioned Mayfield. That sounds like a peaceful place to hang for a while...as long as Eddie H. doesn't pop your tires or something ;-) .Paul D. Markshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15466234708772287399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-52500603797454077162018-10-06T07:16:47.715-04:002018-10-06T07:16:47.715-04:00You ask, "As a writer, what works for you?&qu...You ask, "As a writer, what works for you?"<br /><br />Depends.<br /><br />My New Orleans novels are stong on setting with accurate descriptions of real places. I named ever chapter for a street, avenue or park in my first few novels and set action there. Got a good response from New Orleanians.<br /><br />Recently I wrote a novel set in the Caribbean. I was going to use Saint Lucia for the setting but no matter how much research I did, it wasn't working so I made up an island which gave the book its title (and theme): SAINT LOLITA.<br /><br />My historical mysteries set in New Orleans are difficult but enough research gets me by. New Orleans changes street names often. My most recent challenge is setting a Gilded Age novel in a northern state. We did not have a Gilded Age in most of the south. We had Reconstruction. I needed a small town where I could not screw up the details, so I made up one.<br /><br />Still, setting is important. Getting the sights, sounds, smells, atmosphere, flora, fauna and so many variables correct is daunting but I seem to manage. Elmore Leonard teaches us to not get bogged down with details.O'Neil De Nouxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03142721824657611738noreply@blogger.com