Setting Your Novel: There's Gold in Your Own Backyard
I started my first manuscript during my junior year at Virginia
Tech. I had a couple of characters in mind, a flimsy skeleton of
a plot, and one pressing question. Where to set the book?
At that point in my life, I hadn't traveled too far past the
Virginia state line. And to me, the rest of the world sounded
alluring in a way the town I grew up in couldn't compare.
So I considered my options. My story could take place on an
island. An obviously appealing setting. Palm trees, sinking pink
sunsets, water as blue as a robin's egg. And of course,
glistening white sand.
Or what about Italy? A place I had always dreamed of going.
Olive groves, the chiming of beautiful old church bells, faded
stucco buildings.
I set my first few manuscripts in exactly that kind of locale.
The only trouble was, I had never been to any of those places.
And once I got past the generic descriptions, I found myself
facing what felt like an empty reservoir from which to draw my
story.
I had read the advice in practically every creative writing
handbook. Write what you know. And I began to understand that
they weren't just talking about plot and characters, but the
place where the story unfolds as well.
What I knew was southwest Virginia. But what could the rest of
the world possibly find interesting about it? Despite my
skepticism, I finally started a manuscript set in a small
Virginia town much like my hometown. This was the first of my
books to sell. No coincidence, I'm sure. How did I finally come
to see what was around me and what others might find appealing
about it? By looking at where I've lived and what it has meant
to me.
The physical beauty of Virginia is indisputable. Spring arrives
with its paintbrush of green. Summer fills the orchards with
apples and peaches, thickens fields with grass for hay. Fall
dips maples and oaks in red and gold. Winter lays ice across our
lakes and hides our roads under snow.
Those are the broadbrush strokes of my story, but I believe the
details that bring a setting to life come from the individual
places that populate a small community. From the Main Street of
my childhood, there was Ben Franklin and the Melody Shop.
Kittinger's Drug Store, Brammer's Five and Ten and N. Morris
Department Store. Ben Franklin was a favorite. After digging out
coins for the parking meter, we would head downstairs to the toy
department. The snack bar was also on the bottom floor, and I
can remember the delicious smell of steamed hot dog buns and
french fries wafting up in greeting.
The Melody Shop was the place to buy 45 rpm records - yes, I
know, I'm dating myself! Kittinger's for a cherry Coke. And at
Brammer's Five and Ten, my sister and I stocked up on five-cent
candy which we resold at elevated prices to our cousins in the
pretend store we set up in my grandma's basement.
Country stores show up in my stories on a regular basis, and
I'm sure their origin is the one owned by my great aunt and
uncle. My sister and I spent many Saturday nights there with our
grandparents. All the adults sat on stools in the middle of the
store and talked, while we drank Sun-drop and ate Wise potato
chips from bright blue bags. Much of my love for the place where
I grew up comes from my grandpa. He loved just getting out and
looking at it. Bright and early on Sunday mornings, my sister
and I would climb in his old blue and white Chevrolet truck and
drive over to the local Quickette for the morning paper. We
always took a detour of some sort, to check on cows, look at
hay, see a pony he was thinking about buying for us. These were
adventures, and we learned the county roads like our own
backyard.
Pieces of these places have shown up in each of my books. I
loved them, and I think that rings true with readers. I've
traveled a bit since those first manuscripts, and although I may
venture out in future books to other settings, it will be with a
healthy respect for the gold in my own backyard.