Why real settings make fiction come alive
by Nick Hirst
Real places have a way of making fiction feel more believable. Real places will inevitably make fiction feel more believable, relatable For example Seattle (pictured below) plays a very important part of the climax of ‘The Shape of Rain’. You don’t have to have been there to relate, let me take you in words and your imagination.
Put a character in a location readers recognise, and suddenly the story feels as though it could be happening just round the corner.
THE POWER OF RECOGNITION
When I write, I often start with somewhere I know. It might be a city I’ve visited, a landscape I’ve travelled through, or simply a place that has stayed in my memory. The details of a real location can provide an anchor for an otherwise completely fictional story.
REAL PLACES, IMAGINED STORIES
That approach has become particularly important in Second Spider from the Right. Although the story is set in 2084, Mundy’s journey takes him through places that exist today. What happens to him in those places is very much fiction.
Although the story is set in 2084, I predict that the UN building in New York will still be there. The difference is (slight spoiler alert here) it is no longer occupied by the United Nations, who have been reduced to a relatively minor philanthropic organisation. The building is now occupied by…no, that would be a revelation too far – you’ll have to read the book!
WHY IT MATTERS
For me, realism isn’t about making everything accurate. It’s about giving the reader enough familiar detail to make the unfamiliar feel possible. If you recognise the street, the building or even the landscape, you may be more willing to believe what happens there next. Below, that’s me on Charles Bridge in Prague which features in ‘The Shape of Rain’.
That’s why I keep returning to real places when I write. They give the imagination somewhere solid to stand – and sometimes the real world is strange enough to provide the best starting point for fiction.
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