Creating and using fictional locations.
Last month, I discussed the challenges of using real-life locations in my novels. Researching places for the stories can take up a considerable amount of time and adds to the stress. The last thing any author wants is to hear from readers that they got the facts wrong. As a reader myself, I hate nothing more than a writer getting something incorrect about a location I know.
The plan for my next set of books is to use a fictional location. I started this series at the very beginning of my writing career. I wrote twenty chapters and then realised I still had so much to learn, and I didn’t want to mess up the first book of the series, which means a great deal to me. Instead, I planned Batting for Charlie as a standalone book. (So, OK, it turned into a series.)
I chose a small market town for the setting to give me the chance to be creative with familiar settings in the cosy story style. Next, I needed a name. Please bear in mind that I have been in this process since 2018. I changed backwards and forward between Hursts Bridge and Harts Bridge.
As a romance writer, Harts Bridge sounded like a good idea, but the more I looked, the more I read I saw places with Harts in the name—so obviously, it wasn’t a unique idea. In the end, I chose Hursts Bridge. I’m still looking for a visual bridge to use for my reference. Luckily, my husband is a willing member of my research team and is getting used to me suggesting we “turn left here” so we can check another bridge.
Then, I need to consider what buildings and businesses I need for not just the first four books, but to ensure it’s a location I use again. I already knew I wanted a pub or inn. I needed a post office, a school, and a craft shop. These were needed quite simply because these are the places that the four friends work.
My family all understand, and I hope they enjoy the photo taking and world building involved. As I finish my current WIP, I know I need to sit down and draw a map and make some firm decisions. I think it might be a fun job for the next bank holiday.
Just like any fictional location, I can take buildings and landscapes that I know well from my life and combine them into one delicious small town.
In creating Hursts Bridge, I’ve been able to create a host of side characters who, whatever we think of them, create the atmosphere of a small town.
I’m working on a strong fictional location that will add continuity and depth to the stories. Each book will follow different couples, but they’ll all be bound by Hursts Bridge – its history and its rhythms of life. Like all the best locations, I will enjoy that it will throw up plenty of opportunities to create wonderful places for them to meet or just bump into each other.
The hard part is keeping the details straight. With real-life locations, good old Google Maps is always there for me to refer to. For Hursts Bridge, I will need to create my own map so that I don’t forget which shop is next to which and who lives where.
One of the interesting things about using a fictional location is that your characters can still talk about or visit real locations. This roots the stories into the familiar, helping you understand where they are. My author friends tell me it needs rooting at least within a county.
I haven’t yet resolved this for Hursts Bridge. My gut tells me to use either Nottinghamshire, where I was born and which I love dearly, or Yorkshire, where I have lived since I was eighteen. The problem is, I’ve lived in three towns in Yorkshire, in the South, the West and the East, so three very different places. At some point soon, I will have to decide exactly where Hursts Bridge is in terms of the coast and the major cities.
It will be interesting to see if it is more difficult to use a fictional location, where I will need to work harder to help the reader visualise where the characters are interactive. Hence, places like the pub, the post office, and the garage will help.
I am really enjoying building Hursts Bridge. It’s an ongoing process that I have been doing for the last five years. I hope you will enjoy visiting it as much as I do.
Some other friendly authors are blogging on this same topic this week, too. Check out their blogs and please comment. We all need encouragement.
Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.
Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-3rJ
Anne Stenhouse https://goo.gl/
Helena Fairfax http://www.
Sally Odgers https://
Victoria Chatham http://www.
A.J. Dyer http://ajmaguire.
Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.
Chips at Hornsea
Beverley Station
Model for the train station
Yorkshire farm
It’s great fun building fictional settings, but I’ve been at it so long I probably have enough mine furniture to do it without many visual aids. It’s interesting to read someone else;s take on the subject. I suggest you run a bible as well as a map.
Awesome post! Thank you for sharing.
Since you’re using the same location for multiple books, do you have trouble keeping the narrative fresh and engaging? Do you have any tricks for that?
I ran into this problem with my Tapped series since the majority of the books take place on board their space ship. I resorted to showcasing a different room on the ship for each scene to try keeping things interesting.
Hi Aimee,
At the moment it is just the town three of my characters are from, so it’s been quite simple.
In my WIP one character is using landscape images of the town as she does interior design for the love interest. That has pushed me to create a romantic spot by the river.
I’m a map person, too. Maybe it’s just the way my visual brain works, but as you point out, it’s a good reference when you move on to the next book in the series.
Thank you for your comments
I do love that phrase ‘a delicious small town’. It sums up the essence of so many successful series and sagas. The reader can sink comfortably into the pages no matter what…
I’ve loved hearing about your process, Belinda. I also live in Yorkshire. I understand your dilemma in pinpointing one particular location! There are so many wonderful places to choose from. Some friends and I in the RNA have a series of anthologies based on a fictional Hebden Bridge, which we renamed Haven Bridge. It was fun building the setting. Very best wishes for your writing!
Hi, That series sounds good. I will check it out. Support in the RNA is wonderful.