Story Settings: Why not make it real?
I’m a Donna Leon fan, so when my husband and I took a trip to Venice several years ago, one of the things we did was walk to her “murder sites” and other places mentioned in her books. It was great fun. When I started writing mysteries, I had that model in mind. But although I like to make the settings for my stories as real as possible, I usually end up blending fact and make-believe or simply omitting actual names of places. Why? Partly because I have two series set in Seattle, and the city seems to be in constant flux—one day you’re walking past a vacant lot littered with old campaign signs and the next day it has been transformed into an office complex. In addition, sometimes it doesn’t feel right to have someone murdered in a specific place where people gather. It’s like asking a ghost to haunt your home.
In my Macavity & Me Mysteries, my protagonist lives on a sailboat at a small urban marina that is remarkably like where I lived aboard a similar sailboat for ten years. All of the details were accurate when I was writing the book. But although my series setting may be frozen in time in my books, I can’t guarantee the “real” place won’t change overnight. There are more and more condos replacing long-time marine businesses in the area. It’s just a matter of time before the setting locked in my memory bank disappears forever. In addition, I was concerned for the privacy of the current liveaboards in the marina.
I’ve also fictionalized or not named a place for other reasons. For instance, in my next Discount Detective book, anyone familiar with a particular park in the Seattle area will recognize where the midnight ritual for a human sacrifice takes place. I personally have walked the trails there so many times that I can visualize every twist and turn. I’ve also researched local policing practices and carefully tracked how much time it takes to drive from place to place. But even though I was careful to be as accurate as possible and there’s no graphic violence in the depiction of the death, I felt uncomfortable associating a place where children play with an ancient barbaric ritual. So I did not reveal the name of the actual park.
As a reader, I love recognizing place. But as a writer, I make the decision about how specific to be on a case-by-case basis. Recently, I was finally able to realize my dream of using real locations when my protagonist takes two friends on a trip up the Inside Passage as far as Bishop Bay Hot Springs. I’ve made the round trip from Seattle to Alaska on a sailboat nine times, but it was some time ago when I was a commercial fisher. Using my old charts of the area, I checked out current satellite coverage and even found virtual tours and YouTubes of some landmarks. I was both surprised and pleased to find how little has changed. Not only did I verify the accuracy of my memories, I was able to momentarily relive many of those wonderful experiences.
Real settings help anchor details and action. At the same time, it can be like writing in sand and may not always be appropriate. That said, if you find yourself in Venice, I highly recommend walks that include following in Commissario Guido Brunetti’s footsteps.
A Macavity & Me Mystery, Book 2
A heated argument on a nearby boat followed by a loud splash . . .
Bryn Baczek lives on a sailboat in a small urban Seattle marina with her cat Macavity and a series of short-lived goldfish. When a neighbor she doesn’t like becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation, she reluctantly seeks evidence to prove him innocent. She ends up being threatened by the victim’s abusive boyfriend and betrayed by a close friend. Although Bryn shares what she learns with a charming detective whose manicured mustache she finds off-putting, she is one step ahead of the police in identifying the murderer . . . a step that puts her in a dangerous face-to-face confrontation.
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Thank you, Lois, for giving me the opportunity to reach out to new readers on your blog. I love writing my humorous mysteries and enjoy sharing them with others.
ReplyDeleteCome back anytime, Charlotte!
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