One of the most important elements of writing a story is the setting. It is easy to fall into the trap of selecting an American location because let’s face it, most novels are based in cities like Boston or New York. I was tempted to do the same for my narrative until some one suggested that I look closer to home instead. Upon reflection I envisioned the magnitude of this idea. It would certainly be easier to base my novel in Ireland because as a home grown citizen, I know the cultural society and history quite well. Also, there is a lesser chance of being geographically inaccurate which could easily happen if I set the story abroad. So, where in Ireland should I choose?
The first step in this selection process was to decide whether the narrative would take place in a large city like Dublin or in more scenic region like West Cork. For me, it was always going to come down to what I knew. With that in mind, the location I felt happy about conveying a story within was a small region in the south of Cork where I spent many summer evenings as a child.
In the early stages of planning this story, I decided a small town was the ideal location for a few reasons. Firstly, I enjoy reading narratives from this type of setting. It breeds a familiarity as I am essentially from one. Secondly, as this is my first would – be – published novel, it was important to begin small. It seemed more manageable to begin with a novel that had a set amount of characters. If this works out then I will dream bigger next time. Thirdly in drafting the story, I considered utilising places such as forest, beach/pier, and a few small businesses. Where else would we find these other than a small town?
Now that I have decided on the setting, the next step was to start creating characters. So how did I do that?
Watch out for that post coming to a blog near you soon!
BookNutsey 