tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post8065812130706306168..comments2024-03-16T07:27:27.752+00:00Comments on Novel Points of View: Do I know this place? by Mary SmithRae Cowiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10213969901991611348noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-2559819181595543102013-06-26T22:20:10.575+01:002013-06-26T22:20:10.575+01:00Thanks, Linda.
Interesting what you say about the ...Thanks, Linda.<br />Interesting what you say about the time factor because of course the setting and the time are bound together aren't they?Mary Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14688996930245857265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-161486527074217602013-06-26T13:00:30.757+01:002013-06-26T13:00:30.757+01:00Interesting what you say about short stories....I ...Interesting what you say about short stories....I always 'see' the setting - often a cafe or a restaurant for the time factor - before I see the problem, the person, and the plot...:)<br />Have FB'd and Tweeted about this blogpost, girls.Linda Mitchelmorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10948518126405880012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-1194310361680728922013-06-26T11:39:45.466+01:002013-06-26T11:39:45.466+01:00Sounds like everyone thinks you are on the right l...Sounds like everyone thinks you are on the right lines, Jenny, with your fictional town in a real place. <br />Gill, there is another D E Stephenson book out and another one due - it should have come out but the printer went into administration so there's a delay. These are more of the books 'foudn in the attic' Gray Ladies has published them.Mary Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14688996930245857265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-82165823947371127362013-06-25T17:17:38.999+01:002013-06-25T17:17:38.999+01:00I think a fictional town in a real place (like Eas...I think a fictional town in a real place (like East Lothian) is ideal Jenny, and tends to be the way I go, too. As to street names, I find it particularly annoying when reading books set in London and the writer constantly refers to'she walked down this street, turned at the corner of that and that street..' as if everyone knows what the writer is talking about. The writer doesn't even bother to describe the streets because we are all expected to know them. Not good writing imo!<br /><br />Other books that have a wonderful sense of place I can read again and again - D E Stephenson springs to mind, also Lesley Cookman's Libby Sarjent series.Gill Stewarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03139563775181908912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-6069373340048170842013-06-25T13:33:33.264+01:002013-06-25T13:33:33.264+01:00Definitely a good topic for a blog post, Jennifer....Definitely a good topic for a blog post, Jennifer. I'm sure it would prompt quite a lot of discussion and many different opinions. Mary Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14688996930245857265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-37658720600189771292013-06-25T13:31:58.155+01:002013-06-25T13:31:58.155+01:00I think you are right to go with your fictionalise...I think you are right to go with your fictionalised town, Jenny. I actually find it quite distracting when the setting is a real place with real street names mentioned. I always find myself doing a mental check to see if the writer has it correct. Mary Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14688996930245857265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-70458248068773813192013-06-25T12:36:57.843+01:002013-06-25T12:36:57.843+01:00I think it's because I'm a geographer but ...I think it's because I'm a geographer but I find that the sense of place is probably the most important thing in a novel after the characters - even more so than a plot. (Now there's atopic for discussion!)<br /><br />I agree with Jenny - I tend to make key places fictional, although with real points of reference - but I still feel I have to know the area well in order to portray it. Jo Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12976757854217324838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3855283511538601375.post-79297329302309163622013-06-25T10:03:25.501+01:002013-06-25T10:03:25.501+01:00You are so right, Mary - setting is vital. Scarlet...You are so right, Mary - setting is vital. Scarlett's passion about Tara practically defines Gone With The Wind. And what about those Agatha Christie novels set on boats or trains or railway carriages? A close, confined setting where people rub up against each other and there's nowhere for the murderer to run to was ideal from her point of view.<br /><br />Ian Rankin has made Edinburgh practically his own, others have purloined Glasgow as a setting. It has all led to the coining of the term 'tartan noir' - and I suppose the rest of the world now thinks it's very dangerous place to visit!<br /><br />I have created a fictional small town in East Lothian. I did this to avoid any potential problems with shops, cafes, schools or people coming back and accusing me of heaven knows what. However, I'm not convinced I've done the right thing, because of course it won't have that immediacy of recognition that people love when they read.<br /><br />What do others think?Jenny Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16721428313351462045noreply@blogger.com