By Jenny Hilborne
When I wrote my first novel, Madness and Murder, I wanted a recognizable, popular setting that readers would enjoy, not some remote place no one had ever heard of. Even though the strength of my stories is in the characters rather than in the settings, the locale of a novel is important. It gives the story background and sets the scene. At least, it does for me.
I recently read the Sam Christer novel, The
Stonehenge Legacy. What a fabulous setting for a thriller. I was immediately
drawn to the mystery before I opened the book. The place is iconic, even if
you’ve not yet been there. I visited Stonehenge when the stones weren’t roped
off and it was possible to get right up next to them. This place always gives
me chills, so I couldn’t wait to delve into the book.
An extra treat was the few scenes Christer
wrote that took in my hometown of Swindon, a town about 36 miles from
Stonehenge and not known for its glamour. I liked the fact he chose a
non-typical setting. I could reference all the streets and landmarks, which
further enhanced my enjoyment of his book. In my own novels, I use mostly real neighborhoods in San
Francisco, with a combination of real and fictional streets and establishments.
It’s fun to create streets, maybe even whole towns, and name them.
Last week a reader approached me, with a
copy of my new novel, Hide and Seek, in his hand, and posed this question: are
the streets and venues real? Intrigued, I asked the reader how much it
mattered, whether he had a preference, and if so, why. Turns out he didn’t, but
the question led me to wonder about the preference of other readers and how
important the setting of the story is to them. How much does it depend on
genre? For example, can a historical thriller set in a fictional location be convincing?
What type of environment improves the reader’s focus? To find out, I conducted a mini interview
with ten randomly selected readers (plus a couple of authors) to get their take
on it: a real setting they can visualize, or a fictional one they can imagine?
I asked male/female, younger/older, readers in the US and the UK, and of varied
genres. The answers surprised me.
Almost all those I asked prefer a real
location. The most common reason I was given is based on travel. Readers enjoy
stories that take place in locations they’ve either visited or plan to visit in
the future. Those without the budget or opportunity to travel enjoy doing so
through the author’s eyes.
Some readers say a fictional setting
creates no frame of reference and leaves them remote, less than fully vested in
the story. “If I fall in love with a fictional setting, I can’t visit it.”
The
advantage of a real setting, if captured perfectly by the author, is it allows
the reader to visit the place, which is a huge part of the story for some
readers. To what degree does this create a stronger following between the
author and the reader? One reader cautioned: “If you choose
fictional settings, the writing must be true to the region. I want to sense the
rhythm and the culture.”
I thought Fantasy might be different, but
even the readers of Urban Fantasy I asked chose real world places (with
fantastical elements). The few I asked who didn’t choose real settings
expressed no preference. The answers made me think about my writing style and
the worlds I create. If readers want rhythm and culture, how do I give it to
them in a fictional setting? If an imaginary town is at the centre of
our stories, we must make them seem vivid and real. That’s quite a challenge,
for which we only have our imaginations upon which to draw. They better be
good.
Of course, I only asked ten readers. Others
may feel differently about the setting. Which do you
prefer – real or not?
